orth American mainland with the fur trade with the Indians. They established a colony in what is now New York, though they never settled in large numbers and would be overwhelmed by larger numbers of English settlers. They fought three wars with the English, and with their defeat in 1673, their political authority in the region was lost (Nash 88-89).
Relations with the Indian tribes of the region were good so long as the fur trade was good, and the Dutch catered to the tribes in order to maintain good relations, a necessity given the degree to which the Dutch were outnumbered. The cultural element of greatest import to the Dutch at the time was profit, and they needed the Indians more than the Indians needed them. The challenge to the Indian culture was found in the introduction of the same cultural force--profit. The Indians had previously hunted only for subsistence, and now they hunted to trade and improve thei
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