Ground plan of the new town of New Amsterdam to be built at the Canje Creek

Title Leupe: Project teekening tot het aanleggen van een nieuwe Stad, genaamd Amsterdam, in de Colonie van Rio de Berbice, met kopie.

During the French interim government of 1782-1784, the directors of the Society still decided to move their main settlement and governmental residence to the mouth of the Berbice River. In 1875, Herlin was instructed not to put any more work into Fort Nassau or the unfinished government buildings in New Amsterdam, but instead make a syggestion for the location of the new town, which was also going to be called New Amsterdam. This map is a further elaboration at a large scale of the central part of the projected main settlement, where all the insitutions of the Society would be housed.

This only preserved version of the design for the new town by Jan Carel Willem Herlin, unfortunately not accompanied by a legend, is actually a copy signed by him, of which the authenticity was confirmed in an added formal declaration by the Amsterdam-based surveyor Jan Bolten. This plan only elaborates the central government quarters and surrounding canals, with the letter (d) indicating the governor's residence and number (1) probably the house and office of the ontvanger-generaal (tax collector). On this map on the right, that is to the south of this part of the city, Herlin had envisioned a quarter for the freeburgers, i.e. those who were not employed by the Society. The third, northern part has been marked as 'place for the Negerij [settlement] of the Colony slaves', i.e. slaves in posession of the Society of Berbice.

The main settlement was projected on a swampy terrain on the eastern bank of de Berbice River, slightly upstream from the confluence with the Canje, which prior to building should be made into a polder. His choice of location was approved by the directors after some deliberation, after which the land reclamation was started.

Leupe wrongly attributes the map to Jan Bolten

An alternative version, VEL1659A, has not been separately included in this database.

North is lower left.

Scale bar of 1200 Rhineland feet = c. 1 : 2400