One reason that the colony of New Netherland grew slowly was that ...

1 American Indians in the area were not interested in trade with colonists.

2 colonists were more interested in the fur trade than in permanent settlement.

3 the colony was not situated near any viable rivers or harbors.

4 the Dutch East India Company had used up all the farmable land in the colony.

New Netherland (Dutch: Nieuw-Nederland, Latin: Nova Belgica or Novum Belgium) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Seven United Netherlands that was located on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod, while the more limited settled areas are now part of the Mid-Atlantic States of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut, with small outposts in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

The colony was conceived as a private business venture to exploit the North American fur trade. During its first decades, New Netherland was settled rather slowly, partially as a result of policy mismanagement by the Dutch West India Company (WIC) and partially as a result of conflicts with Native Americans. The settlement of New Sweden encroached on its southern flank, while its northern border was re-drawn to accommodate an expanding New England. During the 1650s, the colony experienced dramatic growth and became a major port for trade in the North Atlantic. The surrender of Fort Amsterdam to England in 1664 was formalized in 1667, contributing to the Second Anglo-Dutch War. In 1673, the Dutch re-took the area but relinquished it under the Second Treaty of Westminster ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War the next year.

The inhabitants of New Netherland were Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans, the last chiefly imported as enslaved laborers. Descendants of the original settlers played a prominent role in colonial America. For two centuries, New Netherland Dutch culture characterized the region (today's Capital District around Albany, the Hudson Valley, western Long Island, northeastern New Jersey, and New York City).