Vriessendael was a

patroon In the United States, a patroon (; from Dutch '' patroon'' ) was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th-century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Free ...

ship on the west bank of the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

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 ...

, the seventeenth century North American colonial province of the

Dutch Empire The Dutch colonial empire () comprised overseas territories and trading posts under some form of Dutch control from the early 17th to late 20th centuries, including those initially administered by Dutch chartered companies—primarily the Du ...

. The homestead or plantation was located on a tract of about about an hour's walk north of CommunipawRuttenber, E.M.,''Indian Tribes of Hudson's River'', (Hope Farm Press, 3rd ed, 2001) at today's Edgewater. It has also been known as Tappan, which referred to the wider region of the New Jersey Palisades, rising above the river on both sides of the

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

state line, and to the indigenous people who lived there and were part of wider group known as

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 ...

(later called Delaware Indian). It was established in 1640 by David Pietersen de Vries (c. 1593-c.1655), a Dutch sea captain, explorer, and trader who had also established settlements at the Zwaanendael Colony and on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. The name can roughly be translated as De Vries' Valley. De Vries also owned flatlands along 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 ...

, in the area named by the Dutch settlers Achter Col. Parts of Vriessendael were destroyed in 1643 in reprisal for the slaughter of Tappan and

Wecquaesgeek The Wecquaesgeek (also Manhattoe and Manhattan) were a Munsee-speaking band of Wappinger people who once lived along the east bank of the Hudson River in the southwest of today's Westchester County, New York,Their presence on the east bank of th ...

Native Americans who had taken refuge at Pavonia and Corlears Hook. The patroon's relatively good relations with the

prevented the murder of the plantation's residents, who were able to seek sanctuary in the main house, and later flee to

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 ...

. The incident was one of the first of many to take place during

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 ...

, a series of often bloody conflicts with bands of

, who had united in face of attacks ordered by the

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 ...

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Vriessendael Marker details
{{Coord, 40, 50.034, , N, 73, 58.311, , W, display=title Edgewater, New Jersey Pre-statehood history of New Jersey Hudson County, New Jersey New Netherland Populated places established in 1640 1640 establishments in the Dutch Empire 17th-century establishments in New Jersey

See also

References

External links