New Belgium or New Netherland?

It is well-known that the Dutch were the predecessors to the English on the eastern coast of the United States, following what would be the Thirteen Colonies. But what is more interesting is a unique name that has appeared on numerous maps of this era. Apart from the usual New Netherland (singular), a New Belgium or Novum Belgium was used to mark the earliest European colonies of the United States. 

New Belgium would cover what is today New Jersey and parts of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont states between the Delaware and Connecticut rivers. New Jersey is also the location of a brief Swedish settlement, New Sweden that existed between 1638 to 1655. At this time, what is today's Belgium, was then fragmented states and counties of the Holy Roman Empire; the counties of Flanders, Brabant, Hainaut, Namur etc. But still, this doesn't justify why that area was given the name of New Belgium. The Southern Netherlands territory at this time was controlled by the Habsburg monarch that was spread from Spain to pockets in central and eastern Europe. At this time, it was Spain from where the Southern Netherlands was controlled. 

The Latin translation for Low Countries is Belgica, corresponding to Belgium and Luxembourg. The Netherlands itself is pronounced variously by different languages, something that can be found on 17th-century maps of the US. Names such as Tierra de Nuremberg, Norombega, Nouvelle Pays Bas etc. have been used in the vintage era to denote the New Netherland region. The etymology of Nuremberg is still debated as the German city lies in the Bavaria state, far away from any of the Low Countries. Furthermore, there was no connection of German states of the Holy Roman Empire with entire America - North and South - continent. 

The New England region co-existed with New Belgium / New Netherland. One could find settlements such as Fort Orange (today's Albany, New York), Staten Lant (in New York City), Cape Hinlopen (Cape Henlopen, Delaware) co-existing with Egmouth (a settlement marked on several maps) and Southampton (on Long Island, New York). Along with the European settlements, native Americans such as Sankikans (Sanhican), Coiuiotahaga (?), Minquacis (?), Sennecas (Seneca) etc. Basically, New Belgium would inhabitants indigenous communities such as the Mahicans (or Mohicans), Pocumtuk, Wappinger, Lenape, Munsee, Unami etc. speaking Abnaquiois (Algonquian) languages. 

If we look at the neighbours of New Belgium, to its south was marked as Virginia, while the extreme north going towards Canada would be Nova Britannia and Nova Francia / Canada. The origins of today's New York is marked as Nouvelle Amsterdam (New Amsterdam). It's interesting as the name New Amsterdam is still in current use for two such towns in Guyana and Suriname (as Nieuw Amsterdam), where there is no Dutch presence anymore (although Suriname was a Dutch colony between 1667 to 1954. Similarly, the nation of Papua New Guinea retains an island named New Britain although the English rule ended on the island in 1975. In the future years, New France would stretch its boundaries to as far as Louisiana. 

The term 'New England' still exists and refers to the US states of Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. The visibility of the name 'New Netherland' slowly got wiped out when the English colonists divided the region into New York and New Jersey, which still continues to date. 

Below is a recreational map of the USA's east coast, circa 1690, originally sketched by Nicolaes Visscher (1649-1702). Additional help is taken from a 1657 dated map, originally sketched by Nicolas Sanson (1600-1667). The source for the Native American names is from the Library of Congress.