The Birth of New York City

Death, death, and more death surrounds Henry VIII's final years.What happens when a monarch is trapped by physical decay, paranoia, and lethal court factionalism? He may have secured an heir and severed ties with Rome, but Henry VIII found no peace. And once he turns away from yo ...  Show more

**Contains graphic description of execution**What happened when one monarch's personal obsession dismantled an entire international order? How did Henry VIII transform a marriage crisis into the English Reformation—and at what point did royal ambition cross the line into outright ...  Show more

Before New York was New York, it was New Amsterdam. Dutch colonists arrived on the East Coast in the early 17th century, creating the New Netherlands. At its heart was a settlement on the tip of the island of Manhattan, centred on the fur trade. Russell Shorto tells Don how Ne ...

How did the English take Manhattan from the Dutch in the 17th century without firing a single shot? Speaking to Elinor Evans, historian Russell Shorto explains a many-layered colonial history, including pragmatic deals, personal rivalries, and ideological divides, that led to the ...  Show more

A city built on water, Amsterdam has often set the tone of European modernity. It first gained prominence as a miraculous centre for pilgrimage, and then stood out for its relationship with the Reformation, and for its role in the birth of modern capitalism. Join Tom and Dominic ...  Show more

In the years after Adrian Van der Donck won a municipal charter for New Amsterdam, and under Peter Stuyvesant's stern but capable rule, the city flourished. Even English residents of New England and Virginia sent their goods to Europe via the future New York Harbor, because the D ...  Show more