Dutch Empire/Place Names

New York City was once called New Amsterdam. Parts of New York City are named after original Dutch colonial settlements: Brooklyn, after Breukelen, Harlem after Haarlem. Staten Island, was originally called Staten Eylandt after the Dutch parliament (Staten) who paid for the expeditions up the Hudson River. The place Old Town on Staten Island was originally called Oude Dorp, which in English means Old Town. The last Director-General of the colony of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, has given his name to several streets, a neighborhood and a few schools in New York City. In Columbia County, near Albany, there is a town named Stuyvesant. thumb|250px|Monument of Peter Stuyvesant, it reads "Pieter Stuyvesant, Director General of New Netherland and Aruba" The following towns in New York have names that were derived from Dutch: Claverack, Cobleskill, Greenbush (East and North), Kinderhook, Plattekill, Nassau, Poestenkill, Rensselaer, Saugerties, Valatie, Voorheesville, Watervliet, and Wynantskill. Many towns and cities in Suriname share names with cities in the Netherlands, such as Alkmaar, and Groningen.