Esopus Wars
The Esopus Wars were two localized conflicts between Dutch settlers of the colony New Netherland and the Esopus , an Indian tribe of the Lenni Lenape , in the second half of the 17th century. Like many other wars in the colonial days of North America, they arose primarily from misunderstandings and the discrepancy between European and Indian cultures. The outbreak of the Esopus Wars came at a time when England's interests were focused on the neighboring Dutch colony in North America. The British also realized that they would need more diplomatic skills than the Dutch in order to negotiate with the indigenous people of the Dutch territories.
Historical background
In 1609, Henry Hudson explored the river that now bears his name. Many of the indigenous people he met had never seen a white man before and some were actually amazed that there were still different looking people in this world. They did not like the fact that a Dutch trading post was built near what is now Kingston just five years later . The Esopus inhabited the land for centuries and used it for growing corn, beans and squash , as well as for hunting. They soon destroyed the trading post and drove the Dutch settlers from their land. The Dutch did not build a new settlement there until 1652, but the resentment of the Esopus had not changed and the settlers were again driven out.
In 1658 the Dutch came back because the farmers had realized that this area was the best, fertile farmland. This time they fortified their new settlement, built a palisade all around and named the place Wiltwijk . There were again differences with the Indians, but the Esopus were no longer able to drive out the settlers. Instead, they officially authorized the Dutch to use the land in the hopes the strangers would be satisfied with it and have no further claims for land.
See also: Timeline of the Indian Wars
First Esopus War
The first Esopus War (1659–1660) was a brief, armed conflict between Dutch farmers and Indians, which arose largely from the Europeans' fear of the savage and from misunderstandings. On September 20, 1659, several Esopus were working on Dutch farms, received their wages in the form of alcohol that evening and fired a musket while drunk. Although no one was injured, the settlers feared worse. After even a troop of soldiers had not noticed any special incidents, a mob of farmers and soldiers gathered to attack the Indians. Most of them escaped, but returned the next day with reinforcements, destroying the crops, killing the cattle and burning the houses.
The few Dutch soon ran out of ammunition and had little chance of winning the war. But they launched a counterattack to destroy the Esopus fields as well. The Esopus, for their part, destroyed Dutch farms in the Esopus Valley, prisoners were burned alive and the refugee settlers besieged in the fortified village for three weeks before Governor Petrus Stuyvesant arrived with 200 men. His arrival had been delayed because he had previously had to fight the Metoac on Long Island . The Esopus fled west into the mountains but continued their raids. In the spring of 1660 Stuyvesant launched an offensive and the tide turned in favor of the colonists. The war ended on July 15, 1660 and the Esopus signed a peace treaty exchanging land for peace and food. But the peace was fragile and there were still great tensions between the Esopus and settlers, which eventually led to the second Esopus War.
Second Esopus War
On June 5, 1663, Dutch negotiators came and asked for new treaty negotiations with the Esopus. The sachems of the tribe were willing to do so, but asked to negotiate without weapons and in the open air. The Indians appeared in large numbers at Wiltwijk on June 7th, the gates were opened and some wanted to sell goods to the Dutch. Apparently it was scouts who were supposed to scout out every corner of the fortified village. The Esopus warriors spread out in the village, surprised the Dutch with their attack and soon had conquered large parts of the village. They set fire and took women and children prisoner, but were eventually driven out of the town. 24 settlers died and 45 women and children were taken as prisoners by the Indians. That was the beginning of the Second Esopus War (1663–1664).
On June 16, the Esopus attacked a Dutch column that was supposed to bring supplies of ammunition to Wiltwijk, but the attack could be repulsed. The Dutch tried to scout out the strength of the Esopus, but were unable to distinguish the members of different tribes from one another. The Esopus guerrilla tactics caused them great problems, because the Indians fought in small groups, attacked surprisingly and then disappeared again into the thick forests. After several unsuccessful skirmishes, the Dutch were able to win some mohawks to serve as scouts, interpreters and warriors. At the end of July, the Dutch had received sufficient reinforcements to march to the Esopus Fort in the north. However, the march was hindered by their heavy equipment and difficult terrain. So they changed their tactics, turned back and destroyed the Esopus cornfields to starve them.
It was quiet for the next few weeks and apart from some skirmishes by the scouting squads, there was no fighting. It was not until the beginning of September that there was a new attack against Esopus Fort, this time successful, in which a number of residents were killed, among them Sachem Papequanaehen . The surviving Esopus fled, the Dutch plundered the village and returned with booty and prisoners. Stuyvesant ordered Esopus children to be taken hostage to enforce peace, but the Esopus fled deeper into the land of the neighboring Minisink . The next spring, Stuyvesant gave the order to exterminate the Esopus and asked the Mohawk for help. Together with the Seneca they destroyed the main town of the Minisink on the upper Delaware River. Attacked from all sides, the Esopus finally signed a peace treaty with the Dutch in May 1664.
consequences of war
After the second war, the Dutch colonists remained deeply suspicious of all Indians. Reports that reached the Dutch government in New Amsterdam were full of suspicion of the Wappers and even the Mohawk who had helped put down the Esopus uprising. Dutch prisoners had been transported through areas no white man had seen before. After the prisoners were released, reconnaissance teams were sent out because of their enthusiastic description. Some time later, Huguenots settled in this area and established the place New Paltz .
The Esopus then became a people subjugated by the Iroquois. The Dutch suffered a similar fate in September 1664. Without a declaration of war, a British expeditionary force with four ships under the command of Richard Nichols sailed into the port of New Amsterdam on August 29, 1664 . On August 30, the English called on Peter Stuyvesant to surrender . All Dutch people were promised life, land and freedom if they recognized the rule of the English crown. Stuyvesant did not want to hand over the colony without a fight, but found no support from the population and signed the handover contract with a heavy heart. The commander of the English fleet was appointed by the city council to the governor and the city received in honor of the future King James II. , The Duke of York , the new name New York . The former colony of Nieuw Nederland was divided and the English colonies of New York and New Jersey emerged. Except for a brief episode in 1673, in which the Dutch retook New York, the Dutch colonial rule in North America was over.
literature
- Adams, Richard Calmit: The Delaware Indians, a brief history , Hope Farm Press (Saugerties, NY 1995) [originally published by the United States Government Printing Office , (Washington, DC 1909)]
- Otto, Paul: The Dutch-Munsee Encounter in America: The Struggle for Sovereignty in the Hudson Valley (New York: Berghahn Books, 2006). ISBN 1-57181-672-0
- Richter, Conrad: The Light In The Forest , (New York, NY 1953)
- Weslager, Clinton Alfred: The Delaware Indians: A history. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ 1972.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Esopus Indian Wars ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Esopus Indian Wars ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Delaware History
- ↑ Second Esopus War ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
