Taking Manhattan: Russell Shorto on the Epic Origins of New York (Stefan Bielinski Memorial Lecture)

Acclaimed historian and bestselling author Russell Shorto delivers a compelling lecture on his new book, Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America. In this thrilling and deeply researched narrative, Shorto explores the dramatic events of 1664, when England set its sights on the Dutch-controlled city of New Amsterdam. What unfolded was not only a military conquest, but a complex negotiation between empires and cultures that would give birth to the city we now know as New York. With his blend of storytelling and scholarship, Russell Shorto brings to life the paradox at the heart of New York and America’s origin story as a place of promise built on displacement, resilience, and reinvention. This program is presented in collaboration with the New York State Museum, the New York State Archives Partnership Trust, and donations in Stefan Bielinski’s honor. Stefan Bielinski (1946–2024) was a historian at the New York State Museum for 43 years, devoting his life’s work to the Colonial Albany Social History Project.