n. 1  something that is produced by a cause or agent; result. 2  power or ability to influence or produce a result; efficacy. 3  the condition of being operative (esp in the phrases in or into effect)  take effect â to become operative or begin to produce 1  results. basic meaning or purpose (esp in the phrase to that effect)
New Amsterdam (Dutch: Nieuw-Amsterdam) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, which served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The factorij became a settlement outside of Fort Amsterdam. Situated on the strategic, fortifiable southern tip of the island of Manhattan, the fort was meant to defend the Dutch West India Company's fur trade operations in the North River (Hudson River).
Only a few young men were sent and they would return after their mission. No major families or settlements abroad. Spanish and Portuguese settled more than the French and Dutch, but still were not moving as much as the English. [South Africa was one exception for the Dutch. There they Dutch stayed in large numbers & had a prosperous nation that was at the same time the worst for the natives.] In that wave of English colonies - US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - the locals were mostly driven out to remote settlements and the English immigrants totally took over the land. They brought their ideas and technology and built their homes.