Berkeley Undergraduate Journal

In this paper, I explore the roots of America’s multicultural heritage through examination of Dutch influence in America’s beginnings.  New Amsterdam (colonial New York) had one of the most diverse populations of it’s time due to the West India Company’s (WIC) involvement in the Pacific slave trade.  The consequent diaspora across the Pacific created a contact zone in which the Dutch tradition of tolerance and equal recognition became the foundations on which America became a melting pot.  By illustrating an underrepresented aspect of history, I hope for this paper to bring more understanding into the account of multiculturalism and America’s roots.