...This may seem a lot to take in and remember but the key to remember is there were other colonists in the ‘New World’ besides the British. In fact there were quite a few European nations in the Americas. Sweden had a colony north of New Netherland, France had the area around modern day Louisiana, Spain was attempting one along the southern coast in Florida, and then there’s the well known British colonies. Being the first Europeans in the area and witnessing plant and animal life they had never seen; the Dutch colonists were the first to name these items and many of these have stuck down to this day. A brief look at the map just north of New York City would prove this. Town names of Orangeburg, Sparkill, Tappan, West Nyack, and Blauvelt prove this point. Orangeburg is a take on the Dutch royal color of Orange, Sparkill translates to Spar=spruce and kill=creek, and Nyack and Blauvelt are Dutch surnames. Many names were even changed from their original Dutch. An example would b...