We would all be speaking Dutch, right now, if it weren’t for the Treaty of Westminster, which resolved once and for all that New York — then known as New Netherlands — would be ceded to the British, a transfer that officially happened in November of 1674 — 335 years ago this month. England had actually first captured the city in 1664, but the Dutch managed to recapture it 1673 before finally giving it up again in 1674 in exchange for Suriname.

Our brief stint as a Dutch holding is often overshadowed in the history books by the British colonial period. But this week we can brush up on our Dutch origins by visiting the Lefferts Historic House in Prospect Park, where rarely seen 17th century documents will be on display on Nov. 11, 14 and 15 from 1 to 4:30 p.m. They include land deeds signed by Peter Stuyvesant, the authoritarian, one-legged director general of Dutch New Netherlands from 1647 to 1664.

Built by a Dutch family in the 18th century farming village of Flatbush, Lefferts Historic House interprets the history of Brooklyn’s environment from pre-Colonial times until the present. The house is accessible through the Park’s Willink Entrance, at the intersection of Flatbush and Ocean avenues and Empire Boulevard. Admission is free.

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