Colin Woodward

July 30, 2015

NYC aka New Netherland: Mapping the 11 Different Cultural ‘Nations’ Within the U.S.

Those of us who live in the tri-state area tend to get accused of thinking the country is made up of the northeast, the west coast, and maybe Florida, and then forgetting about the entire rest of the country. A new map that is part funny, part culturally realistic takes a look at the "11 distinct cultures that have historically divided the U.S.," according to Business Insider. The spot-on map comes from award-winning author and journalist Colin Woodward's newest book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures in North America. In Woodward's map, New York City and northern New Jersey is renamed New Netherland, as it was settled by the Dutch and is a very commercial area. The author describes this nation as "materialistic, with a profound tolerance for ethnic and religious diversity and an unflinching commitment to the freedom of inquiry and conscience."
Find out about the other nations of our nation