Adriaen van der Donck (ca. 1618–1655) was a Dutch lawyer, landowner, and political activist in the colony of New Netherland.
He is best known as a champion of colonial self-governance and for writing the first comprehensive account of the region.
Van der Donck, a graduate of Leiden University in the 1640s, became the law enforcement officer for the Dutch patroonship of Rensselaerswijck, along the Upper Hudson River in what is now mostly Albany and Rensselaer Counties.
His position enabled him to interact extensively with Dutch colonists and the local Algonquians and Iroquoians. An astute observer, detailed recorder, and accessible writer, Van der Donck was ideally situated to write about his experiences and the natural and cultural worlds around him.
In 1646, he was granted a large tract of land north of Manhattan, where he established his own colony called Colen Donck (Donck’s Colony). Because of his status as a “Jonkheer” (a Dutch honorific meaning “young gentleman” or “young lord”), settlers referred to him as the Jonker, which eventually evolved into the city name Yonkers.
Van der Donck was a fierce advocate for local representative government, often clashing with the autocratic Director General Peter Stuyvesant. He led the “Council of Nine” in petitioning the Dutch government for reforms to give colonists the same rights as citizens in the Netherlands.
His Beschryvinge van Nieuw-Nederlant (A Description of New Netherland) was first published in 1655 and then expanded in 1656 (recently newly re-translated in 2010).
The book was a detailed record of the colony’s geography, wildlife, and Native American cultures, particularly the Mohawk and Mahican tribes, by one of the first European settlers to learn Native American languages.
In his effort to to promote the Dutch colony Adriaen van der Donck’s A Description of New Netherland often blurred the line between factual reporting and humorously inaccurate descriptions.
While he was a highly respected observer, his eagerness to showcase the land’s richness led to several famously exaggerated or questionable claims, including the existence of unicorns and six-foot long lobsters; the “amazing ways” of beavers, including claims that female beavers dragged logs on their backs to help build dams; and that a local species of buffalo (bison) could be easily tamed and bred with domestic cattle.
Upcoming Event
Bethlehem Public Library (451 Delaware Avenue in Delmar, NY) will host a presentation, “The Confident Inaccuracies of Adriaen van der Donck,” on Friday, May 22, 2026, from 1 pm to 2 pm in the Library’s Community Room. More information can be found here.
Illustrations, from above: 1685 interpretation of the Jansson-Visscher map of the American Northeast first published in 1656 by van der Donck; and the title page from Description of New Netherland.
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