My district in West Michigan has some of the deepest roots of DutchAmerican history and heritage in the country. Dutch explorers. traders and settlers were a significant part of the earliest European exploration of the New World. especially in New York and New Jersey. However. the first major wave of Dutch immigration began in the 1840s with the Dissentings (later on known as Calvinists). a new group of religious people in the Netherlands. Like so many of the original settlers here in America. they wanted more religious liberty than they experienced in their home country. They were also seeking prosperity in a time of economic downturn and agricultural hardship in Europe.
Keywords matched
immigration