The Peach Tree War, also known as the Peach War, was a large-scale attack on September 15, 1655 by the

Susquehannock The Susquehannock people, also called the Conestoga by some English settlers or Andastes were Iroquoian Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, ranging from its upper reaches in the southern pa ...

Indians and allied tribes on several

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 what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva ...

settlements along the

North River (Hudson River) North River is an alternative name for the southernmost portion of the Hudson River in the vicinity of New York City and northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The entire watercourse was known as the North River by the Dutch in the earl ...

. The attack was motivated by the Dutch reconquest of

New Sweden New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden f ...

, a close trading partner and protectorate of the Susquehannocks. It was a decisive victory for the Indians, and many outlying Dutch settlements were forced to temporarily garrison in

Fort Amsterdam Fort Amsterdam was a fort on the southern tip of Manhattan at the confluence of the Hudson and East rivers. It was the administrative headquarters for the Dutch and then English/British rule of the colony of New Netherland and subsequently th ...

. Some of these settlements were completely abandoned, such as the

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

colony, while others were soon repopulated and equipped with better defenses. Director-General

Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Ne ...

repurchased the rights from the Indians to settle the west bank of the Hudson.

Background

In March 1638, Swedish colonists led by

Peter Minuit Peter Minuit (between 1580 and 1585 – August 5, 1638) was a Wallonian merchant from Tournai, in present-day Belgium. He was the 3rd Director of the Dutch North American colony of New Netherland from 1626 until 1631, and 3rd Governor of New ...

landed in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Unami language, Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North ...

and established

on the west bank of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before ...

. The area had previously been claimed by both the English and the Dutch, but neither had managed more than marginal occupation. Minuit had been a director of the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ...

colony, and he was familiar with the terrain and local custom. He purchased the right to settle the land from the Susquehannocks. The Indians were distrustful of the Dutch because of their close alliance with the Iroquois Confederation, who were enemies of the Susquehannocks. They had lost their English trading partner when the new colony of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

had forced out

William Claiborne William Claiborne also, spelled Cleyburne (c. 1600 – c. 1677) was an English pioneer, surveyor, and an early settler in the colonies/provinces of Virginia and Maryland and around the Chesapeake Bay. Claiborne became a wealthy merchant ...

's trading network centered on

Kent Island Kent Island is the largest island in the Chesapeake Bay and a historic place in Maryland. To the east, a narrow channel known as the Kent Narrows barely separates the island from the Delmarva Peninsula, and on the other side, the island is sep ...

. The Susquehannocks quickly became New Sweden's main supplier of furs and pelts and customers for European manufactured goods. In the process, New Sweden became a protectorate and tributary of the Susquehannock tribe. The English and Dutch both rejected Sweden's right to its colony, but the Dutch had greater reason for concern since they had already claimed the Delaware River, which begins above the

42nd parallel north The 42nd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 42 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. At this latitude the sun is ...

. In 1651, the Dutch attempted to consolidate power by combining forces previously stationed at Fort Beversreede and Fort Nassau; they relocated Fort Beversreede's structure downstream of the Swedish

Fort Christina Fort Christina (also called Fort Altena) was the first Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony. Built in 1638 and named after Queen Christina of Sweden, it was located approximately 1 mi (1. ...

, naming it

Fort Casimir Fort Casimir or Fort Trinity was a Dutch fort in the seventeenth-century colony of New Netherland. It was located on a no-longer existing barrier island at the end of Chestnut Street in what is now New Castle, Delaware. Background The Dutch c ...

Johan Risingh Johan Classon Risingh (1617 in Risinge – 1672) was the last governor of the Swedish colony of New Sweden. Biography Risingh was born in 1617 in Risinge, Östergötland, Sweden. After gymnasium at Linköping, he attended the University of ...

was commissary and councilor to New Sweden's governor

Johan Printz Johan * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada * Jo-Han, a manu ...

, and he attempted to expel the Dutch from the

Delaware Valley The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...

in 1654. Fort Casimir was assaulted, surrendered, and renamed Fort Trefaldighet (Fort Trinity), leaving Swedes in complete possession of their colony. On June 21, 1654, the Indians met with the Swedes to reaffirm their agreements. A squadron of ships under the direction of

seized New Sweden between September 11–15, 1655.

The attack

The Susquehannocks had gained dominance over the

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 inclu ...

Indians, and this allowed them to assemble an army of warriors from multiple allied and neighboring groups. Six hundred warriors landed in New Amsterdam (

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

), wreaking havoc through the narrow streets of the town which was mostly undefended, as the bulk of the garrison was in New Sweden. They then crossed the

and attacked Pavonia (today's

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,69 ...

and

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark. They took 150 hostages and held them at Paulus Hook (Jersey City). They also attacked farms at

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, and the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. Stuyvesant had led the assault on New Sweden, but he hurried back to his capital on news of the attack. The ransomed settlers took temporary refuge in New Amsterdam, and the settlements on the west shore of the river were depopulated. On Staten Island, 23 Dutch Settlers were killed and 67 were captured by the Hackensack tribe. Captain Adriaen Crijnin Post, who led the settlement of the Colony for Baron Hendrick van der Capellan, had learned the language of the Natives. Chief Penneckeck trusted him and permitted him to leave captivity to negotiate with Stuyvesant for the release of the settlers on behalf of the Natives. The captives were safely returned, including his own wife and children, for the price of ammunitions, wampum and blankets. The Baron ordered the 67 settlers to return and build a fort. They found their homes burned to the ground, crops destroyed or damaged, and their livestock and horses set free to roam or killed. Many of the inhabitants soon moved to the Long Island Colony. Post remained with a few settlers to fulfill the Baron's wishes, but his health declined temporarily and he was not able to complete his goal. He eventually moved his family to what became

Bergen County, New Jersey Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Delaware Valley The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...

) were aware that the Susquehannock's attack was in retaliation for the Dutch conquest of

, but the New Netherland colonists believed that it was because of the murder of a young

Wappinger The Wappinger () were an Eastern Algonquian Munsee-speaking Native American people from what is now southern New York and western Connecticut. At the time of first contact in the 17th century they were primarily based in what is now Dutches ...

woman named Tachiniki whom a Dutch settler had allegedly killed for stealing a peach from the property of

Cornelis van Tienhoven Cornelis van Tienhoven (ca. 1601 Utrecht- November 1656 ?, Manhattan ?) was secretary of the New Netherlands from 1638 to 1656 and as such one of the most influential people in New Amsterdam. Van Tienhoven was born the son of Luyt (Lucas) Corneli ...

, an incident which had raised tensions shortly before the assault and which provided the name for the war. Stuyvesant repurchased from the Indians the right to settle the area between the Hudson and Hackensack rivers. He established the fortified hamlet of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

and required blockhouses to be established there and at other outlying towns. The colony of

Cornelis Melyn Cornelis Melyn (1600 – c. 1662) was an early Dutch settler in New Netherland and Patroon of Staten Island. He was the chairman of the council of eight men, which was a part of early steps toward representative democracy in the Dutch colony. Ea ...

was abandoned on Staten Island.

References

Notes Further reading * {{Authority control New Netherland Second Northern War Colonial American and Indian wars Conflicts in 1655 Pre-statehood history of New Jersey Battles involving Native Americans Wars involving the Netherlands Wappinger Battles in New Jersey Battles in New York (state) Native American history of New Jersey Native American history of New York (state) Susquehannock 1655 in North America

Background

The attack

See also

References