Brooklyn might be, aside from Manhattan, one of the most quintessential NYC locations. Even if you’ve never stepped foot in the 5 boroughs, you know about Brooklyn (probably from T.V.). Parents even name their kids after the place for cryin’ out loud. But does anyone know why we even call it Brooklyn? If you guessed it has something to do with brooks… you are wrong! But read on and educate yourself and next time you’ll have something cool to say at the bar.
The history of Brooklyn actually goes way back to the 17th century, when it was a Dutch-founded town. Yeah, who knew that famous accent was born out of the Dutch! Why Brooklyn? The Dutch named the settlement after Breukelen, a town in the Netherlands. It’s a pretty tiny town, with a population of only 14,000 people, so kind of wild when you think about what it’s New York counterpart was turned into.
Pretty fun, huh? Even better; when the Dutch settled in the now Brooklyn area, they came across the local native tribe called the Lenape, or as they referred to them the “Canarsie.” Man, it’s all making sense now, isn’t it?
Of course, the Dutch lost control of Brooklyn after England’s conquest, in which they reorganized all the old Dutch towns into “Kings County”, after their king, of course. Whip that fact out your back pocket on your next date and see if you don’t impress.