The programme features interviews with two authors about Dutch women who settled in the U.S. in the 17th century. Dheera Sujan meets Professor Olwen Hufton, author of the book “The Prospect before her”, a history of European women from the 16th to the 19th centuries. David Swatling talks to Professor Carol Berkin, author of “First Generations: Women in Colonial America”. Her book features Margaret Hardenbroeck, one of New Amsterdam’s most respected traders. There are also readings from Michael Pye’s novel “The Drowning Room” about an Amsterdam girl who becomes “the first whore of New York” in the 17th century.
Producer: David Swatling
Broadcast: August 1999