Willem Kieft
Willem Kieft (born September 1597 in Amsterdam , † September 1647 off the coast of Wales ) was a Dutch merchant and the fifth general director of the colony of Nieuw Nederland in North America . He is one of the most controversial people in the history of the Dutch colony.
biography
Willem Kieft was born in Amsterdam in September 1597. He worked as a merchant for the Dutch West India Company , or WIC for short , which appointed him general director in Nieuw Nederland on March 28, 1637 at the age of forty. He came as the successor to Wouter van Twiller , whom the WIC did not consider capable enough to solve the problems in the colony.
In Nieuw Nederland
At the end of March 1638, Willem Kieft, a tough and moralistic man, came to Nieuw Amsterdam as the new general manager . Officially, he was the general manager of a company, but with powers equivalent to the function of a governor of the colony. He had instructions to restore discipline, order and morality in the young colony and to make more profit.
One of Kieft's first acts was to set up a twelve-member council for Nieuw Nederland, but he later ignored its decisions. In the following year the WIC gave up its monopoly on the fur trade and every Dutch colonist was allowed to take part in the trade. As a result of this incentive, Dutch immigration to Nieuw Nederland skyrocketed. More and more Indian land was claimed, which inevitably led to tensions with the Indian tribes affected.
In 1639, Kieft decided to impose a tax on the Indians in the vicinity of Nieuw Amsterdams in the form of beaver skins , corn and wampum . In return, Kieft wanted to guarantee them protection from hostile tribes. However, the Indians refused to pay this tax. Kieft sent an armed force to the Tappan villages to collect the taxes. The Tappan had been peaceful so far, but they did not want to accept this treatment by the Dutch. In July 1640 some pigs disappeared from the De Vries plantation and the Indians were immediately suspected as the perpetrators. However, it later turned out that the culprits were Dutch. Kieft demonstrated military strength and sent 100 soldiers to Staten Island to punish the tribe in September . Several Indians were killed, a sachem was taken hostage and the body of another chief was mutilated. This led to the first war between the Dutch and the Indians, which went down in history as the pig war .
Pavonia massacre
In February 1643, a few hundred Wiechquaeskeck fled the attacking Mahican and sought refuge in Pavonia, now Jersey City . The Wiechquaeskeck had previously destroyed an 80-person punitive expedition of the Dutch and they now saw an opportunity to take revenge. On February 25, 1643, they attacked the Indian village at dawn, killed all 120 Wiechquaeskecks and are said to have played football with their heads in Fort Amsterdam. The action went down in history as the Pavonia massacre . Historians have not yet been able to clarify whether the attack really came from Kieft's initiative, but all contemporary sources report that he praised and honored his soldiers for the action.
Wappinger War
When the neighboring tribes found out about the Pavonia massacre, the Wappinger tribes united and raided lonely Dutch farms. This broke out the Wappinger War , also known as the Gouverneur Kiefts War or Kieft's War . Kieft also made enemies of the Metoac on Long Island when he had corn confiscated there and three Canar Sea warriors were killed. The war expanded and the Wappinger Confederation eventually consisted of twenty small tribes that could muster 1,500 warriors. Kieft, on the other hand, only had 250 soldiers and the situation was becoming increasingly critical for the Dutch. Kieft therefore offered the English colonists in Connecticut 25,000 guilders to put down the uprising. The out of the Pequot War experienced Captain John Underhill attacked then with two companies consisting of 120 volunteers and Mohegan - scouts , at the beginning of 1644 in the fighting one. The tide turned, the Wappinger suffered a heavy defeat and ended up with 1,600 tribal members dead. Although little is known about it today, the Wappinger War was one of the bloodiest and cruelest wars of extermination against the Indians.
Discharge and death
Through his administration, Kieft had made enemies not only of the Indians but also of many colonists. Among his most influential opponents were Jochem Kuyter and Cornelis Melijn , two Dutch landowners north of Manhattan and on Staten Island, and Reverend Everhardus Bogardus in Nieuw Amsterdam. When the WIC in the Netherlands learned of Kieft's politics and the massacres, he was finally replaced in 1647 and Petrus Stuyvesant was appointed as his successor. A trial awaited Kieft and his opponents in Amsterdam. In August 1647, Kieft and his opponents boarded the Princess Amalia , which sank off the coast of Wales in September. Kuyter and Melijn survived, but Kieft was killed. With him all documents and papers for the process were lost. It is still unclear whether the allegations against him were justified.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Willem Kieft (Diploma thesis by Fabian Mol) ( Memento of the original from November 11, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ A b Journal of New Netherland 1647. Written in the Years 1641, 1642, 1643, 1644, 1645, and 1646 . 1641-1647. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
- ^ Metoac History
- ^ Metoac History
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kieft, Willem |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Dutch businessman, general manager of Nieuw Nederland |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 1597 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Amsterdam |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 1647 |
| Place of death | off the coast of Wales |