Timeline-altering Star Trek Voyager game kicks off a four-part expansion pass, inspired by classic episodes If you were enticed by the fate-shifting stories of Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown, you're in luck, as developer Gamexcite has just kicked off a new expansion pass for the space strategy game. The DLC is spread across four parts, with one live right now and the rest scheduled to...

New Amsterdam was the main port in the Dutch colony of New Netherland in North America. The Dutch were pioneers of modern commerce and the wealth generated by businesses in the city helped boost the Dutch economy and laid the foundations of New Yorks reputation as a major financial center. The descendants of the Dutch settlers have continued to play a prominent role in business and politics.A Trading Outpost Becomes a Port CityAn illustration of Dutch explorer Peter Minuit dealing with the Lenape natives on Manhattan by Alfred Fredericks, 1909. Source: Wikimedia CommonsBetween 1624 and 1664, New Amsterdam saw a major evolution in its role in the Dutch Empire. When the Dutch first took control of Lower Manhattan, they set about building a small colony that was envisioned to be a trade post. Goods from outlying farms and fur trappers would be sent to Dutch ports. However, few officials in the Dutch States-General thought that the city would become a major colonial and financial powerhouse.This started to change when the Dutch West India Company lost its monopoly on trade in the port. More settlers were arriving and private businesses in Europe began investing heavily in the colony. This influx of capital proved to be decisive in New Amsterdams shift from a minor outpost to becoming a wealthy Dutch colony. The growth of the settler population created a middle class that stimulated growth from within the colony.The city became a critical junction where goods from the Hudson River (furs and lumber) and the Chesapeake (tobacco) were collected and processed for shipment to Europe. Additionally, New Netherland was located in a region of North America with an abundance of natural resources. This appeal extended to European businesses, even those from outside of the Netherlands. The woodlands provided plenty of material that was in high demand by the booming Dutch shipbuilding industry.The Fur Trade and Atlantic CommerceFlag of the Dutch West India Company, 2011. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThere was high demand for North American furs for winter clothing in 17th-century Europe. Beaver fur was uniquely prized for its short, barbed under-hairs, which locked together to create a durable, waterproof felt. Overhunting meant that beavers were almost extinct in mainland Europe and Russia. Therefore, supply of beavers from the Americas proved to be a boon to European fur traders.New Amsterdam proved to be a vital node in the global fur trade network. European settlers traded with Indigenous tribes in the New York area, especially the Mohawks and the Haudenosaunee. Furs were brought from the Great Lakes region to Fort Orange, now located in Albany. From there, they were transported down the Hudson River to New Amsterdam and then sent overseas.The trade was immense for its time; between 1626 and 1632 alone, more than 52,000 pelts were shipped from New Amsterdam to the Netherlands. At its peak in 1657, over 38,000 pelts were traded in a single year, and at one point beaver pelts became local currency owing to a shortage of coins in the colony.Dutch traders gave wampum beads to the tribes in exchange for the pelts, solidifying a dense trade network throughout the colony. While the trade fostered a mutual dependency, it also led to severe overhunting, the displacement of Indigenous societies, and the introduction of European diseases and weaponry into local power dynamics.Dutch Commercial InstitutionsDutch merchants trading with Native tribes in New Amsterdam. Source: Granger Historical Picture ArchiveThe Dutch colonial government managed to set up commercial institutions fairly quickly when the colony was developing. The biggest company operating in New Netherland was the Dutch West India Company, which had been given a charter in 1621 by the States-General. The company held nearly absolute administrative, judicial, and military power. It appointed all governors and regulated all trade through its staple port policy in New Amsterdam.In 1653, the Court of Burgomasters and Schepens was set up to regulate markets, oversee public finances, and maintain urban infrastructure. It created stability for international commerce to flourish beyond the Companys direct control. This was done in response to the growing middle class in the city and the removal of the Companys monopoly.Several other institutions proved vital for the colony. A weigh house was set up where all goods were officially weighed and taxed, ensuring standardized and fair trade practices. The Broad Street Canal functioned as a logistical hub, allowing small boats to float into the heart of the city to unload goods directly into the warehouse district. These institutions made New Amsterdam one of the main commercial centers in colonial America and laid the groundwork for New Yorks economic prosperity in later centuries.The Citys Diversity and Its Economic ImpactCongregation Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New Amsterdam. Photograph by Gryffindor, 2010. Source: Wikimedia CommonsWhile New Amsterdam was a Dutch colony, its population was very diverse by design. The Dutch government hoped that, by attracting talent from all over the world, they could turn New Amsterdam into an economic powerhouse. In the 1640s, observers noted that as many as 18 languages were spoken in the colony. This especially became the case after the Companys monopoly on trade was lifted.Different communities specialized in different areas of the economy. For instance, Walloon and German settlers often focused on farming and building the colonys physical infrastructure, while Dutch and English merchants managed the export of beaver pelts and tobacco. Slaves imported from Africa helped construct much of the colonys infrastructure and Indigenous peoples across the colony were vital in supplying the furs.New Amsterdam also witnessed the arrival of a small contingent of Jews from Brazil in 1654. Initially, Director-General Peter Stuyvesant rejected their presence, claiming that they would undermine the Christian community. However, the Company ordered that they be admitted and, over time, they integrated into the citys life. Most of them would set up their own small businesses or worked for the Company.Urban Growth, Land, and LaborCastello Plan of New Amsterdam. Original dated 1660; redraft by John Wolcott Adams from 1916. Source: Wikimedia CommonsNew Amsterdams growth followed a trajectory from a fortified town model to a more organic, commerce-driven urban landscape. Initially, the settlement was based around Fort Amsterdam because the ramparts could protect settlers from local tribes. It resembled the medieval-style walled towns common throughout the Low Countries. As the decades went on, population growth expanded the city and the Company established a regime of building codes and regulations.By 1660, the city had reached its peak Dutch density with approximately 300 houses serving a population of roughly 1,500 people. The surveyor Jacques Cortelyou created the Castello Plan, a map showing the layout of New Amsterdam in great detail. The development of the city fundamentally altered the landscape. Approximately 50% of Lower Manhattan south of City Hall is the result of land reclamation that began during the Dutch period.Contrary to Manhattans famed grid pattern of streets, New Amsterdams roads followed the terrain. This can be seen in Lower Manhattan today, where the streets often curve and follow irregular patterns. This only changed after the English took over and began expanding the city. They did keep many of the Dutch regulations in place, such as the 25 x 100 lot size.The Transition to English RuleThe Fall of New Amsterdam, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, 1932. Source: New York City ArchivesIn 1664, King Charles II of England granted his brother, the Duke of York (the future King James II), a charter to claim all of the Dutch territory in North America by conquest. The English and Dutch were engaged in a fierce commercial rivalry and New Amsterdam was an attractive target because of its strategic location and the Dutch government did not allocate meaningful resources to its defense.In August 1664, an English fleet arrived off the citys shores with several hundred troops aboard. Stuyvesant hoped to fight, but the local merchants begged him to surrender the city, fearing that the warships guns would destroy their businesses. Stuyvesant was forced to capitulate on September 8, 1664, and New Amsterdam was renamed New York in honor of the Duke of York. The Dutch briefly retook the city in 1673 but relinquished it permanently under the terms of the Treaty of Westminster in 1674.The English did not want civil unrest after seizing the colony, so they kept the economic infrastructure in place. Many of the Dutch merchant families remained there and were still the dominant class of society for many decades. The influx of Europeans in North America led to the further expansion of the city, stimulating further the future growth of New Yorks economy. The main difference was that exports now went to England instead of the Netherlands. The commercial legacy of New Amsterdam was sustained beyond British rule to the independent United States all the way to the present day.

Sankin-kotai, or alternate attendance in Japanese, sprang from a policy created by the Tokugawa Bakufu (military government) soon after the Tokugawa family consolidated their power in Japan after 1600. The Tokugawa family, led by the smart, tough, and politically canny Tokugawa Ieyasu, emerged as the victor of the brutal Warring States or Sengoku period.Since 1467, civil wars and social upheaval had raged throughout Imperial Japan as daimyos or nobles clashed. By the late 16th century, the Tokugawa faction and a daimyo faction supporting the five-year-old son of his rival, the late Toyotomi Hideyoshi, remained. At the 1600 Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa crushed his rivals and took political control of Japan. Tokugawa soon rebuilt Japans political map, distributing fiefs across Japan. His allies got rewarded, and his enemies weakened. In 1603, the emperor appointed him Shogun, or military leader, of Japan. Tokugawa established the Tokugawa Bakufu and began significant changes. First, he created a four-tier society with the samurai at the top.How the Tokugawa Shogunate Bankrupted the Daimyo to Enforce LoyaltyTokugawa Ieyasu. Source: Wikimedia CommonsTokugawa made Edo (later Tokyo) the seat of power and expanded this village to a capital city of thousands. He strategically arranged allies and enemy domains around Imperial Japan to keep them off balance. As part of that arrangement, the Bakufu implemented sankin-kotai, or alternate attendance. This system required all daimyo to alternate living in their domain and Edo. Here, Tokugawa police kept them under surveillance. The important parts of sankin-kotai were meant to control the daimyo, including former enemies. During the Tokugawa Era, this system only ended in 1862.Edo Castle. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe first and maybe most important piece of sankin-kotai was alternate attendance. By law, the daimyo maintained two residences: one in their domain and the second in Edo. The daimyo annually rotated in which location they resided. When in the city, the Bakufus agents watched and reported. However, Edos cost of living increased over time, straining many nobles who sought loans from wealthy merchants.Two Samurai with a dead Mongol at their feet. Votive image (ema) at the Komodahama Shrine at Sasuura on Tsushima. Source: Wikimedia CommonsThe daimyos families lived in Edo permanently, essentially as Bakufu hostages. Simple and more effective than two residences, their familys safety depended on their loyalty. Like the attendance system, the financial strain of city living, keeping an entourage, and traveling costs between home and Edo drained the daimyos coffers. Little money would be left to finance any rebellions. When combined with Bakufu control, the Tokugawa family effectively curbed rebellions.How a Policy of Oppression Accidentally Sparked a Japanese Economic RenaissanceThe Tokaido Road in a village, 1865. Source: Leiden University LibraryThe Tokugawa Bakufu codified sankin-kotai in 1635 under Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, Ieyasus grandson. As political stability ensued after decades of war, the sankin-kotai policy began to pay off economically and culturally. Peace reigned, allowing for economic growth by keeping the daimyo from amassing power, forcing their allegiance, and bleeding financially. They spent their money locally in Edo or on their required travel.Legally, the daimyo maintained two residences; thus, the Tokaido Road, or the Eastern Sea Route, emerged. Starting in Tokyo and connecting with Imperial Kyoto, the road spanned 320 miles. Four other roads sprang up, but the Tokaido is the best known, and these altered Japan. With 260 daimyo domains, road traffic increased several times a year. Though not an official toll road, it contained 53 checkpoints called sekisho. Maintained by the Bakufu to monitor and restrict travelers, these officials checked travel papers or taxed certain goods. Many checkpoints slowly grew into thriving towns, thanks to the Bakufu.Cultural ExchangeProcession of a Daimyo. Source: Art Institute of ChicagoAt the sekisho and later towns, travelers found spots to eat, rest, or sleep. Most travelers came on foot. Daimyo or wealthy individuals could travel by horse or palanquin. By regulating travelers, the Bakufu kept daimyo and commerce in check. With stability came prosperity and easier administration. Another unforeseen benefit of sankin-kotai was the cultural exchange. During the Sengoku era, few people traveled beyond their home region. The daimyos forced travel to Edo mixed people from different areas, laying down roots that would unite Japan. The policy chipped away at the regional differences.The wily Tokugawa Bakufu knew the sankin-kotais burden lay on the daimyo. Just the cost alone of traveling with a large entourage annually, maintaining the two residences, plus domain costs was significant. Its estimated daimyos spent 25% of their budgets on just these. Many went deeply into debt, raising taxes or local spending to maintain their status.The sankin-kotai system worked for the Tokugawa Bakufu. It controlled potential rivals, the daimyo, but it also entrenched the government. Only a major upheaval would force the Tokugawa out.

Oftentimes in books, TV shows, and movies, the best parts of these stories are the sudden and surprising twists that completely reshape how audiences perceive everything that was shown or told before. Video games are filled with just as many exciting twists.

If you were enticed by the fate-shifting stories of Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown, you're in luck, as developer Gamexcite has just kicked off a new expansion pass for the space strategy game. The DLC is spread across four parts, with one live right now and the rest scheduled to arrive throughout the remainder [...]

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