William Elliot Griffis

“ In the eighteenth century the first stages of colonial life had passed and wealth had accumulated. The English governors sent to rule New Netherland were surprised not only at the fine manners of the Dutch, which were no new thing, but at the luxury so generally enjoyed.
On the frontier it was necessary to have in the shops supplies of what the Indians wanted. The new materials and appliances of Europe had almost annihilated native crafts and industries. The red man could not make for himself or repair the guns, tools, and textiles which he bought for furs and wampum. ”

“ The forces of destruction and advance must be in equilibrium, with a general tendency toward the prevalence of the good, or the race reverts to brutishness. It was not the Indian only who illustrated this law. The European colonists who left the Church and social restraints, and, it may be, adopted Indian ways, sank lower and lower, and furnished the social waste, of which, all things considered, there was in New Netherland surprisingly little.
The settlements on the site of Albany, Dutch and English, for a hundred years remained the centre of the Indian trade. ”

“ With the demand for luxury, finer clothes, and a natural desire to have prosperity display itself in elegant and sometimes ostentatious living, shops were early opened to supply the needs of the Dutch folks. Clothing, many things of adornment, and almost every sort of smallclothes were made at home, but shoes were imported ready made. Both at Albany and on Manhattan some of these shops became famous throughout the province. ”