Where Did Dutch Ships To America Sail From?

The Pilgrims’ voyage to America began on July 22, 1620, when a group of Dutch colonists boarded the Speedwell in Delfshaven, Netherlands. This journey across the Atlantic Ocean took between 50 to 120 days. The first leg of the Pilgrims’ journey to America involved sailing from Leiden to Delfshaven, where they could sail to Southampton and embark on the Mayflower. Between 1609 and 1664, more than 150 ships undertook around 250 voyages between the Dutch Republic and the colony of New Netherland.

The journey across the Atlantic Ocean took between 50 to 120 people. Sailing ships like the Emil, a Prussian brig, or the Katherine Jackson provided the earliest transportation to North America from Rotterdam or Amsterdam. In May 1903, a group of over 200 Dutch emigrants sailed on the steamship Oropesa shipping company Pacific Steam Navigation Company from La Rochelle (La.) to New York City.

For over three decades, NNI has helped cast light on America’s Dutch roots. The preferred arrival port in North America for immigrants was New York City. In the early years, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans, and Boston were the preferred arrival ports. The Holland-America Line, a Dutch steamship company that covered transatlantic routes, covered transatlantic routes, mainly between the ports.

The Holland-America Line’s first ship was the original Rotterdam, which sailed its 15-day maiden voyage from the Netherlands to New York City on October 15, 1872. For the entire sixty-year period, 46.7% of the Dutch emigrants sailed to the United States directly from Rotterdam, while 58.5% transshipped from other ports. Captain Adriaen Block was commanding one of the ships looking for trade on the American coast after Hudson’s voyage.