Catalyntje and Joris met in Amsterdam, where they were both religious refugees.  They each fled to this welcoming city for protection during the Spanish Inquisition. Joris was an illegitimate child born in Valenciennes, Spanish Netherlands. His mother wasn’t around, and his father died when he was young, so he was an orphan when he arrived in Amsterdam. He was also illiterate but trained as a textile worker, so he most likely used that skill once he arrived in Amsterdam.

Catalyntje and Joris were each making a fresh start when they met in Amsterdam. They met, fell in love, and married before sailing to New Netherland. They seemed to be doing alright in Amsterdam, so why did they choose to go to the New World, where their lives would be filled with uncertainty again? That is a question I’ve thought a lot about during the past several years as I’ve written my book about Catalyntje.

If you lived in the 1600s, would you have chosen to settle in the New World?