Lenape
The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada.
The Lenape's historica ...
people who inhabited the region radiating from
Hudson Palisades
The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs s ...
and
New York – New Jersey Highlands
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995
* "New" (Daya song), 2017
* "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...
at the time of European colonialization in the 17th century.
Etymology
The
exonym
An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...
''Tappan'' is likely a derivation of a word or phrase from the
Algonquian language Algonquian language may refer to:
* Algonquian languages, language sub-family indigenous to North America
* Algonquin language, an Algonquian language closely related to the Ojibwe language
{{disambiguation ...
Lenape
The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada.
The Lenape's historica ...
as used by settlers to
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 ...
, who spelled it as Tappaen. It is not certain what the Tappan called themselves, but there are a variety of interpretations for the word. One suggestion is that it possibly comes from ''tuphanne'' meaning ''cold water''.
Vriessendael
Vriessendael was a patroonship on the west bank of the Hudson River in New Netherland, 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 ...
, one of the first "
bouwerie
Bouwerie is a historic home located at Clermont in Columbia County, New York. The house was built in 1762 and is a large, two-story patterned-brick residence with a gambrel roof and rear frame wings. Also on the property are three interconn ...
s", or homesteads, built in the territory was sometimes called Tappan.
The Tappan are recalled throughout their former territory:
Lake Tappan
Lake Tappan is a reservoir impounded by the Tappan Dam on the Hackensack River, straddling the border between the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. Within New Jersey, the lake traverses the border separating the municipalities of River Va ...
is a reservoir on the
Hackensack River
The Hackensack River is a river, about 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 suburban ar ...
; the
Tappan Zee
The Tappan Zee (; also Tappan Sea or Tappaan Zee) is a natural widening of the Hudson River, about across at its widest, in southeastern New York (state), New York. It stretches about along the boundary between Rockland County, New York, Rockl ...
, widening of the Hudson River and the
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
Bergen County
Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Tappan in
Rockland County
Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state's ...
.
History
The Tappan migrated seasonally and engaged in
companion planting
Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including Weed control, weed suppression, pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial ins ...
, hunting, fishing, and trapping. Like the other natives who circulated in the region and whose territory overlapped, the Hackensack, Acquackanonk and Rumachenanck (later called the Haverstraw). The Tappan were of the Turtle Clan and spoke the
Unami Unami may refer to:
* Unami people, one of the three main divisions of the Lenape Nation
* Unami language, a Delaware language within the Algonquian language family
*Unami Creek, a tributary of Perkiomen Creek in Pennsylvania
*Unami Lodge, a Boy Sc ...
dialect of Lenape. The Tappan and the Hackensack actually were but one tribe and members of it were called either by one name or another according to their dwelling place. They, as well as the Raritan,
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 Dutc ...
, Manhattan (also known as "
Manhattoe
Manhattoe/Manhattoes is a term describing a place and, mistakenly, a people. The location was the very southern tip of the Manhattan island during the time of the Dutch colonization of the Americas at what became New Amsterdam there. The people ...
"), were collectively known as the River Indians. Those groups living in the adjoining
highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau.
Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to:
Places Africa
* Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa
* Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...
to the west and north have become known as the
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 ...
.Indian Tribes of Hudson's River; Ruttenber, E.M.; Hope Farm Press, 3rd ed, 2001,
Contact with the European settlers was at first as trading partners. It is from them that
David de Vries
David (Dave) de Vries (born 1961) is a New Zealand film writer, director, and producer who also writes and illustrates comic books. He was born in New Zealand and emigrated with his family to Australia.
De Vries was born in Wellington, New Z ...
purchased the land (1640) to build the homestead at
Vriessendael
Vriessendael was a patroonship on the west bank of the Hudson River in New Netherland, 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 ...
( Edgewater) and, living among them, became an advocate of learning more about indigenous culture. It was an early
Director of New Netherland
This is a list of Directors, appointed by the Dutch West India Company, of the 17th century Dutch province of New Netherland (''Nieuw-Nederland'' in Dutch) in North America. Only the last, Peter Stuyvesant, held the title of Director General. A ...
,
William Kieft
Willem Kieft, also ''Wilhelm Kieft'', (September 1597 – September 27, 1647) was a Dutch merchant and the Director of New Netherland (of which New Amsterdam was the capital) from 1638 to 1647.
Life and career
Willem Kieft was appointed ...
, who attempted to exact tribute from them (but was ignored), and later allowed a number of them to be slaughtered after they had sought safety at Pavonia (1643), beginning a
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 ...
.
See also
*
Exonym and endonym
An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...