Vriessendael was a patroonship on the west bank of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...

, the seventeenth century North American colonial province of the Dutch Empire. The homestead or plantation was located on a tract of about about an hour's walk north of CommunipawRuttenber,E.M.,''Indian Tribes of Hudson's River'', (Hope Farm Press, 3rd ed, 2001) at today's Edgewater. It has also been known as Tappan, which referred to the wider region of the New Jersey Palisades, rising above the river on both sides of the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

state line, and to the indigenous people who lived there and were part of wider group known as

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

(later called Delaware Indian). It was established in 1640 by

David Pietersen de Vries David Pieterszoon de Vries ( – 13 September 1655) was a Dutch navigator from Hoorn.Joris van der MeeKoopman in de West; De indianen en de Nieuw Nederlanders in het journaal van David Pietersz. De Vries, 2001 (Dutch) Biography In 1617, De ...

(c. 1593-c.1655), a Dutch sea captain, explorer, and trader who had also established settlements at the Zwaanendael Colony and on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

. The name can roughly be translated as De Vries' Valley. De Vries also owned flatlands along the

Hackensack River The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles (72 km) long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the subur ...

, in the area named by the Dutch settlers

Achter Col Achter Kol (or Achter Col) was the name given to the region around the Newark Bay and Hackensack River in northeastern New Jersey by the first European settlers to it and was part of the 17th century province of New Netherland, originally adminis ...

. Parts of Vriessendael were destroyed in 1643 in reprisal for the slaughter of Tappan and

Wecquaesgeek The Wecquaesgeek (also Manhattoe and Manhattan) were a Munsee-speaking band of Wappinger people who once lived along the east bank of the Hudson River in the southwest of today's Westchester County, New York,Their presence on the east bank of the ...

Native Americans who had taken refuge at Pavonia and

Corlears Hook The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an i ...

. The patroon's relatively good relations with the

prevented the murder of the plantation's residents, who were able to seek sanctuary in the main house, and later flee to

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

. The incident was one of the first of many to take place during

Kieft's War Kieft's War (1643–1645), also known as the Wappinger War, was a conflict between the colonial province of New Netherland and the Wappinger and Lenape Indians in what is now New York and New Jersey. It is named for Director-General of New Nethe ...

, a series of often bloody conflicts with bands of

, who had united in face of attacks ordered by the Director of New Netherland.

References

External links

Vriessendael Marker details
{{Coord, 40, 50.034, , N, 73, 58.311, , W, display=title Edgewater, New Jersey Pre-statehood history of New Jersey Hudson County, New Jersey New Netherland Populated places established in 1640 1640 establishments in the Dutch Empire 17th-century establishments in New Jersey

See also

References

External links