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Penhawitz was a 17th century 
Penhawitz, along with fellow Canarsee Kakapetteyno, facilitated the "purchase" of
Munsee
The Munsee () are a subtribe and one of the three divisions of the Lenape. Historically, they lived along the upper portion of the Delaware River, the Minisink, and the adjacent country in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They were prom ...
leader who was well known among the Dutch in New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, 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 (trading post), fac ...
.
He was Sachem
Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Alg ...
of the Canarsee
The Canarsee (also Canarse and Canarsie) were a band of Munsee-speaking Lenape who inhabited the westernmost end of Long Island at the time the Dutch colonized New Amsterdam in the 1620s and 1630s.
They are credited with selling the island of M ...
band of Munsee
The Munsee () are a subtribe and one of the three divisions of the Lenape. Historically, they lived along the upper portion of the Delaware River, the Minisink, and the adjacent country in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They were prom ...
in the 1630s and 1640s, and cultivated a relationship with the government of New Netherland
New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...
. He was the first Long Island sachem known to the Dutch, and was based in modern Brooklyn.
Penhawitz, along with fellow Canarsee Kakapetteyno, facilitated the "purchase" of Flatlands, Brooklyn
Flatlands is a neighborhood in the southeast part of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The current neighborhood borders are roughly defined by the Bay Ridge Branch to the north, Avenue U to the south, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Fl ...
by Andries Hudde
Andries Hudde (1608–1663) was a landowner and colonial official of New Netherland.
Early life and New Amsterdam
Andries Hudde was born in Kampen, Overijssel in the Netherlands in 1608 to Hendrick Hudde (himself son of the local burgomaster ...
and Wolfert Gerritse in 1636. His group's longhouse
A longhouse or long house is a type of long, proportionately narrow, single-room building for communal dwelling. It has been built in various parts of the world including Asia, Europe, and North America.
Many were built from lumber, timber and ...
at modern Canarsie, Brooklyn
Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin, East 108th Street, and Louisiana Avenue; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on th ...
was labeled ''Keskachaue'' on the 1639 Manatus Map
The Manatus Map is a 1639 pictorial map of the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary at the time the area was part of the colony of New Netherland. Entitled ''Manatvs gelegen op de Noort Rivier'' (''Manhattan situated on the North River'') it sh ...
(the westernmost field sold to the Dutch was ''Keskateuw)''; with increasing Dutch encroachment, it does not appear on later maps. In 1640, Penhawitz alerted his colonial allies to an English expedition to Long Island that had torn down the copper Dutch Republic Lion
The Dutch Republic Lion (also known as States Lion) was the badge of the Union of Utrecht, the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, and a precursor of the current coat of arms of the Kingdom the Netherlands.
Background
When the county ...
off of a tree, and they foiled the occupation
In March 1643, after the initial massacres of Munsee men, women, and children that began 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 N ...
, Penhawitz invited David Pietersz. de Vries to come to Rechqua Akie near Rockaway for a negotiation with Munsee leaders. Described at this time as one-eyed, Penhawitz joined De Vries on his return to Fort Amsterdam
Fort Amsterdam, (later, Fort George among other names) was a fortification on the southern tip of Manhattan Island at the confluence of the Hudson River, Hudson and East River, East rivers in what is now New York City. The fort and the island ...
to sign a peace treaty, which did not hold. His son Tackapausha
Tackapausha – also spelled as Tackapousha – was a Lenape sachem, a successor of Penhawitz (his mother's brother, an important father-like figure in the Algonquian matrilineal kinship system). Tackapousha represented a broad coalition of Munse ...
succeeded him during his lifetime, and Penhawitz's later life is not recorded.
In popular culture
A fictionalized version of Penhawitz appears in the 2008 children's fantasy novel ''Gods of Manhattan
''Gods of Manhattan'' is a 2008 children's novel by Scott Mebus. The book was first released on April 17, 2008 through Dutton Penguin and follows a young boy that has discovered a city that runs parallel to Manhattan.
Synopsis
The book follows ...
'' and its sequels.
See also
*Oratam
Oratam (or Oritani/Oratamin) was sagamore, or sachem, of the Hackensack Indians living in northeastern New Jersey during the period of early European colonization in the 17th century. Documentation shows that he lived an unusually long life (almo ...
*Wampage
Wampage I (), also called Anhōōke and later John White, was a Sagamore (or chieftain) of the Siwanoy Native Americans, who resided in the area now known as the Bronx and Westchester County, New York. He was involved in the murder of Anne Hutc ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penhawitz Lenape people 17th-century Native American leaders People from New Netherland People from Canarsie, Brooklyn History of Brooklyn Kieft's War