A Quaker Legacy: Religious Freedom, Commerce & Compassion
During the early days of settlement, economics in New Netherland trumped religion or identity. Pragmatism and tolerance were essential conditions of coexisting in a multi-national and multi-lingual colony, not abstract ideals. The Dutch Reformed Church may have been the official religion, but citizens were free to worship other teachings.
A substantial population of Huguenots, Quakers and Calvinists settled along the Hudson River. They were followed by Jewish immigrants. New England did not provide such leniency.