Consul General Speeches

Dutch-American Heritage Day, Hosted by the Stichting Nederland-Verenigde Staten, Pelgrimsvaderkerk, Delftshaven, November 17, 2007

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.

On behalf of Roland Arnall, U.S. Ambassador to The Netherlands, and all of my diplomatic colleagues serving in The Netherlands, I would like to extend my special thanks to the Stichting Nederland – Verenigde Staten for hosting today’s commemoration of Dutch American Heritage Day.

Standing in the Pelgrimvaderskerk, my thoughts inevitably turn to another historic event in the United States that had its origins in The Netherlands.  At this time of year, Americans everywhere are making preparations to celebrate Thanksgiving Day, recalling a harvest feast between the pilgrims and native Americans that has become an iconic celebration of American history and culture.

As an American living overseas, Thanksgiving can be a bittersweet time.  This is one of the most revered American holidays; a time for gathering with family and friends, enjoying a sumptuous meal, a time for reflecting on the many things for which we are grateful and enjoying the spirit of sharing that the original Thanksgiving celebration engendered.  It is a great blessing to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving in The Netherlands, where the footsteps of the Pilgrims echo in the streets of Leiden, and on the streets and quays of Delfshaven, from which they began their grand adventure to the New World.

We are here today to honor another defining moment in the relationship between the United States and The Netherlands.  Only four months after our newly minted nation declared its independence, a brigantine – a small two-masted vessel – called the Andrew Doria that had recently been converted from a merchant ship to one of the first four ships in the Continental navy, sailed into the Dutch port of St. Eustatius.  When the Andrew Doria fired the ritual salute of 11 guns upon entering the harbor, the Governor of St. Eustatius Johannes de Graaff ordered the guns of Fort Orange to return the salute.  That day, November 16, 1776, marks the first instance in which a foreign power recognized the American colonies as a sovereign nation.  And this event has found its place in the annals of both Dutch and American history as the first salute by any foreign power to an American flag.

Not only was this event important as a “first,” but because it is such a signal day in the long history of relations between our two countries.

This year we celebrate 225 years of uninterrupted diplomatic relations between the United States and The Netherlands – and therefore commemorate another “first.”  It was on April 19, 1782, that the Staten-Generaal formally recognized the United States of America as an independent nation.  That gives The Netherlands the distinction of being the first government to formally recognize the existence of the United States of America.  Our first Embassy anywhere in the world was subsequently established in The Hague.  John Adams, who was the first U.S. Ambassador to The Netherlands and later became the second president of the United States, was the key American negotiator in this effort and referred to it as perhaps the greatest achievement of his lifetime.

In March 2008, the Consulate General in Amsterdam adds its own footnote to the history of our relations, when we will celebrate the 60^th anniversary of our purchase of the Consulate General building on the Museumplein. 
And looking forward to 2009, the US and the Netherlands will celebrate the 400^th anniversary of the year that Henry Hudson, under the auspices of the Dutch East India Company, set sail on a journey that would lead him with his crew on the Half Maan to the east coast of what would become the United States, and the first anchorage by a European explorer in what we now know as New York Harbor.  Of course this eventually led to the Dutch founding New Amsterdam, bringing with them their spirit of progressiveness and energy that in many ways helped define the New York we know today.

or our countries are linked not only by history, or by our long relationship, but by common values and shared principles.  The U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1776 echoes the Dutch struggle for freedom from Spanish rule two hundred years earlier.  Besides a commitment to freedom, Dutch settlers brought with them to Manhattan, and many other settlements along the east coast of the United States, deeply held belief in independence and representational government.  We learned from you the foundations for equality and tolerance that have become central to our society today.

Across the years since the first salute on November 16, 1776, The Netherlands and the United States have supported each other in time of need, from Dutch financial support of our revolutionary effort and our early economy, to the sacrifices American soldiers made standing side by side with Dutch patriots to rid this nation of Nazi tyranny, to the Marshall Plan, to the establishment of NATO, to our decades of solidarity resulting in the eventual overthrow of communism in Europe … to addressing the present day threat of global terrorism, to material support in the aftermath of devastating natural disasters – the terrible Dutch flood in 1953, and most recently in my country, Hurricane Katrina.

We have also flourished together.  The Netherlands is the fourth largest investor in the United States and we the largest investor in this nation.  Those of you here today represent many of the vibrant aspects of the relationship that we enjoy and that I hope will continue to prosper and expand.

On this day, the 8 million Americans of Dutch descent in the U.S. will join with us across the Atlantic to celebrate their forebears, their heritage and Dutch contributions to all aspects of life in the United States.  On a day established in 1991 as Dutch American Heritage Day, I am grateful to be with you in marking not only an historic act on an island in the Caribbean Sea, but the beginning of the strong, enduring relationship between our two countries.

Thank you very much.