ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
During the many years that I have worked on this project, I have relied on the help and encouragement from colleagues, institutions, friends, and family. Without them, this book would not exist.
Early on in the process, I was fortunate enough to receive the mentorship from several remarkable scholars. Linda Heywood and John Thornton encouraged me to study the history of slavery in Dutch New York, and their continued guidance proved essential to this study. Lois Horton was one of the very first people to support my research, and she has remained an important influence. In the Netherlands, I received significant encouragement from Dienke Hondius.
Conversations with Brendan McConville and Allison Blakely helped me frame this study when it was still in its early stages. Since then, multiple people have aided me with my research: Michael Douma, Russell Gasero, Charles Gehring, Wendy Harris, Jeroen van den Hurk, Jaap Jacobs, Helene van Rossum, Francis Sypher, Janny Venema, and David Willem Voorhees helped locate or translate documents. Sherril Tippins scanned documents at the Albany County Hall of Records when I was not able to travel to New York.
Several people have read my work and given me invaluable feedback. Wim Klooster, Richard Boles, Dirk Mouw, D. Ryan Gray, and Graham Russell Hodges read all or parts of this manuscript at its various stages. Special thanks go to my good friend Melissa Graboyes, who was kind enough to read and comment on an earlier version of this manuscript. I am similarly grateful for the New Orleans–based writing group that I have been a part of: without the thoughtful comments from Laura Rosanne Adderley, Nikki Brown, Guadalupe García, Elisabeth McMahon, Angel Adams Parham, and Sharlene Sinegal-DeCuir this book would have looked very different. All of these people have helped me improve my research and writing tremendously.
I could not have completed this research without the assistance of archivists and librarians at the Brooklyn Historical Society, New-York Historical Society, Gilder Lehrman Collection, New York Public Library, New York State Archives, New York State Library, Albany Institute of History and Art, Ulster County Clerk Archives Division, Historic Huguenot Street Archives and Library, Reformed Church of America Archives, Jacob Leisler Institute, Nationaal Archief in the Hague, and Stadsarchief Amsterdam. Equally important has been the help I received from clergy, church historians, and administrative staff at the Reformed Church of America churches I visited, and from the various site managers and guides who showed me around historic homes. Special thanks go to Cordell Reaves, who organized visits to some of these sites.
Several associations and institutions have made this research possible. The Society of Colonial Wars, the Gilder Lehrman Institute, the New York State Archives, the New York State Library, Boston University Graduate School, Boston University History Department, the American Historical Association, the University of New Orleans Muckley Bequest, and the Reformed Church of America all provided crucial financial assistance. Support from the New Netherland Institute (NNI) has been especially important. NNI has given me opportunities to workshop my research with peers, meet wonderful scholars, and share my work with the wider public. I am honored to have this book appear in Cornell Press’s New Netherland Institute Studies series.
Over the years, I have come to rely on several colleagues and friends for advice, feedback, and fellowship. I have spent many hours discussing New York and Dutch Atlantic history with Liz Covart, Deborah Hamer, Jared Hardesty, Erin Kramer, Dennis Maika, Nicole Maskiell, and Sarah Mulhall Adelman. Their friendships enriched me as a historian. The camaraderie of fellow BU grads David Atkinson, Anne Blaschke, Kathryn Cramer Brownell, Estelle Pae Huerta, and Ginger Myhaver have been similarly invaluable.
I owe much to my colleagues and students at the University of New Orleans (UNO). I am especially grateful to James Mokhiber for his friendship, Mary Niall Mitchell for her mentorship, and Robert Dupont for his steady support of my research. Thanks also go to the UNO librarians who helped me access numerous books and articles.
Michael McGandy, my editor, deserves special mention. He first reached out to me when this project was still in its early stages, and his guidance and support have proven absolutely crucial.
Finally, I could not have completed this book without the unwavering support from family and friends. Mariska Jansen, Jenevièvre Telles, Marit Smit, Monique Havinga, and Nynke Boersma welcomed me into their homes on my many research visits to the Netherlands. Jessica van der Laag often watched my daughter while I was in the archives. My love for books and history originates with my mother. She passed away when I just started this project, but she continues to inspire my work. The encouragement I received from my father, stepmother, and siblings proved absolutely crucial in being able to continue this research. My children and stepchildren—Assane, Ousseynou, Aminata, Mariama, and Saliou—have provided mostly welcome distractions from writing and research. They remind me daily of what is most important. Lastly, I could not have done this without my husband, Masse Ndiaye. Not only has he spent many hours listening to me talk about my research, he has also helped me develop several of the concepts that I write about in this book. I am forever grateful for his love and support.