Very interesting. Do these names have meanings in dutch? From the little bit of history I know the English, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch were the main competitors for this continent. I'm not %100 sure but I remember there are some isolated areas far south in south America where only dutch is spoken.
Sorry to have hi-jacked the thread btw, but I guess this is where my national pride get the best of me...
They are phonetic bastardizations of Dutch cities more than anything
Brooklyn = Breukelen
Flushing = Vlissingen
Harlem = Haarlem
Staten Island = Staten eiland (Island of the states)
Stuyvesant was the Govenor of New Netherland at its prime and mostly responsible for it flourishing trade and peace treaties with the local Indians.
You are sort of right, that would be Suriname. Although not far in south in South America. They gained independence in the 70's but Dutch is still the official language. Check the attached map, it shows where the Dutch, a tiny nation, had solid colonial interests in the world. Pretty impressive, I think.