<P> New Netherland (Dutch: Nieuw Nederland) was a 17th - century colonial province of the Seven United Netherlands that was located on the East Coast of North America . The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod, while the more limited settled areas are now part of the Mid-Atlantic States of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut, with small outposts in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island . </P> <P> The colony was conceived as a private business venture to exploit the North American fur trade . During its first decades, New Netherland was settled rather slowly, partially as a result of policy mismanagement by the Dutch West India Company (WIC) and partially as a result of conflicts with Native Americans . The settlement of New Sweden encroached on its southern flank, while its northern border was re-drawn to accommodate an expanding New England . During the 1650s, the colony experienced dramatic growth and became a major port for trade in the North Atlantic . The surrender of Fort Amsterdam to England in 1664 was formalized in 1667, contributing to the Second Anglo--Dutch War . In 1673, the Dutch re-took the area but relinquished it under the Second Treaty of Westminster ending the Third Anglo - Dutch War the next year . </P> <P> The inhabitants of New Netherland were Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans, the last chiefly imported as enslaved laborers . By 1664, at the time of transfer to England, the colony had an estimated population of between 7,000 and 8,000 people, half of whom were not of Dutch descent . </P> <P> Descendants of the original settlers played a prominent role in colonial America . For two centuries, New Netherland Dutch culture characterized the region (today's Capital District around Albany, the Hudson Valley, western Long Island, northeastern New Jersey, and New York City). </P>

Who took over new netherlands from dutch settlers