Sarah Rapelje was the first European Christian female, the "first white child" born in New Netherland.
Medallion given to Sarah Rapelje on occasion of her marriage to Hans Hansen Bergen, 1639. Later inserted into tankard, donated by descendants to Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1926
The birth of the first white child is a concept that marks the establishment of a European colony in the New World, especially in the historiography of the United States.
A 1937 United States stamp honoring Virginia Dare
The former Castle of Duarte Coelho, built in 1536 in Olinda, was the first strong-house in Brazil. By Theodor de Bry.