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Native
Americans of New Jersey: The Lenni-Lenape
Before
Europeans arrived and settled in New Jersey, the
Lenni-Lenape people occupied the land. The Lenni
Lenape, also known as the Delaware Indians, lived
throughout present-day New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
and Delaware. They belonged to the Algonquin nation
and were known for their easy-going nature. They
often played the part of mediator between disagreeing
Algonquin tribes.
The
Lenni Lenape people were separated into three clans;
the Minsi in the north, the Unami in the center,
and the Unilachtigo in the south. The three clans
are also known as the Wolf, Turkey, and Turtle clans.
The tribes were nomadic and traveled with the seasons
in order to make better use of the available natural
resources, but they had permanent settlements where
they returned in the winter. During the spring,
they planted gardens of corn, beans, and squash.
They also foraged for fruits and nuts and hunted
game and fowl. In the summer they migrated to the
coast to collect oysters and clams. They ate the
meat and used the shells for jewelry. In the fall
the Lenni Lenape would migrate back to their settlements
to harvest their gardens and prepare for winter.
The
Lenni Lenape had a strong culture that included
tool making, religion, and specific family dynamics.
They used wood to build canoes and utilized stone
to build tools. Jasper, slate, and flint were used
to make spear points, arrowheads, knives, hatchets,
hammers, and jewelry. Their villages were made up
of families related through the female lineage,
showing that the Lenni Lenape had much respect for
the female gender. Male sachems were chosen by the
village ancestress to regulate laws. The ancestress
was also in charge of the domestic economy of the
tribe. After the exchange of gifts, mothers of each
individual would decide on marriage. The marriage
ceremony did not bind the couple for life, but couples
usually remained together if they had children.
The Lenni Lenape practiced a form of natural religion
and believed that nature was a series of miracles
provided by the Great Spirit. They also believed
in lesser spirits who controlled fire, water, thunder,
and other events. Burial ceremonies consisted of
the deceased being buried in a coffin with gifts
and mourners showed their grief by painting their
bodies black for periods lasting up to a year.
When
the Dutch arrived in the New York/New Jersey area
and created New Netherland, the fate of the Lenni-Lenape
began its slow decline. They had some hostile relations
with the Dutch, including a slaughter at Pavonia
in 1643 where many Lenni Lenape, including women
and children, were killed. The English who took
over New Netherland were less hostile, but they
introduced concepts, such as land ownership, that
changed the Natives' way of life. Through many land
transactions, the English "bought" the land from
the Indians. The Lenni Lenape who chose to stay
faced the horrors of alcoholism and the devastation
from European disease. By 1700, the Lenni-Lenape
population had dwindled from about 2,000 to 500.(1)
The remaining Lenni Lenape sided with the French
during the French and Indian War, but did not find
much success. In 1758, the New Jersey Assembly created
the first Indian Reservation, called Brotherton.
Unfortunately the reservation did not last and it
was sold in 1801. The profits of the sale were given
to the remaining members. The Oneida Tribe of New
York invited the remaining Lenni Lenape to live
with them. Some joined the Oneida and some stayed
and assimilated into New Jersey. The Lenni Lenape
of Brotherton stayed with the Oneida until 1832,
when they moved to Wisconsin. Unfortunately the
Lenni Lenape was unable to remain a cohesive group
because of the displacement caused by the European
settlers.
Early Exploration and Colonization
Europeans
had sailed passed New Jersey long before deciding
to settle it. The first European to sail the New
Jersey coast was John Cabot. In 1498, while working
for the English, Cabot, an Italian, sailed past
New Jersey. Giovanni da Verranzano, another Italian,
became the next European to explore the region.
Working for the French, Verranzano anchored off
Sandy Hook and explored the Raritan Bay in 1524.
It was nearly a century before another explorer
would come to the area, but when he did, settlement
soon followed. In 1609, Henry Hudson sailed into
the New York Bay and dropped anchor. Impressed by
the land and waters of the area, he reported back
to Dutch officials and made two more journeys to
the area leading to the creation of the Dutch colony
of New Netherland.
The
colony was created as a moneymaking effort for the
Dutch West India Company who wanted to profit from
the fur trade. They were not concerned with settling
the land and planting crops; they aimed for self-sufficiency
in order to keep up trade. A small group of Dutch
traders settled in the west bank of the Hudson River.
They lived in unnecessary fear of the Lenni Lenape,
and attacked them in 1643, sparking a war that lasted
nearly two years. In 1660, the Dutch decided to
build further into New Jersey, hoping to create
a safer and more stable community. They founded
Bergen, which is now Jersey City, and it became
New Jersey's first town. New Netherland grew tremendously
throughout the 1650s due to a surge in immigration
and the takeover of New Sweden.
Some
Swedes and Finns were among the Dutch of New Netherland.
The Swedes, following the Dutch example, created
their own colony in New Jersey. They too wanted
to capitalize on trade in the New World, but were
less successful. Their settlement lasted from 1638
to 1655 before being conquered by the Dutch. The
Swedes and Finns of New Sweden remained after the
takeover, adding ethnic diversity to the region.
The English Take Control
In
1664, King Charles II had given the Duke of York,
his brother, a tract of land between the Connecticut
and Delaware Rivers. This consisted of New Netherland.
The Duke sent a fleet to take over the land from
the Dutch, and they were successful. The Dutch surrendered
New Netherland to the English as peacefully as the
Swedes had surrendered New Sweden to the Dutch.
New Netherland became New York and the land was
separated into two sections. Governor Nicolls allowed
Quaker and Baptist refugees from the religiously
hostile New England colonies to settle on the newly
acquired land. Meanwhile, the Duke of York had named
the land New Jersey and leased it to two friends,
Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. These
men became the proprietors of the land, empowering
them to choose the governor and make other decisions
from England. Governor Nicolls was outraged by the
Duke's giveaway and resigned. Philip Carteret, a
relative of Sir George Carteret, became governor.
Governor
Carteret was not well received by the Baptist and
Quaker colonists. They did not like his aristocratic
appointment or the feudalistic practices of his
rule. Carteret became increasingly unpopular and
returned to England to be reconfirmed of his power.
His trip was successful and he returned with a new
set of rules. Among the new regulations was the
declaration that any of the former governor's land
grants were declared null and void, anyone who did
not have a land title from the proprietors could
lose their land, and anyone who refused to pay quitrents
(a land tax of feudal custom) could have their land
seized. Also, it was declared that only the governor
could charter towns, establish courts, appoint officials,
and sell unpurchased land. The new power gave a
boost to Governor Carteret's confidence and authority,
but it was short-lived. Rivalry between New York
and New Jersey was growing in the years of Carteret's
rule. The Governor of New York, Sir Edmund Andros,
had much contempt for New Jersey because he saw
it as the Duke's giveaway, and he wanted control
of it. Much like a bully, Andros claimed all the
waters between the two colonies and taxed New Jersey
to use them. This infuriated Carteret and he refused
to pay. The matter was taken to England, where it
was declared in Carteret's favor, but Andros had
the final word when he sent a brut squad to attack
Carteret, eventually leading to his death in 1684.
Before
Carteret's death, New Jersey had been divided in
two; West Jersey and East Jersey. One of the original
proprietors, Lord John Berkeley, sold his land to
two Quakers, strengthening the Quakers' presence
and power. The Quakers flourished and bought East
Jersey from Sir Carteret's widow in 1680. East and
West Jersey had many quarrels about governorship
and land. It was especially hard when the governors
would not leave England to rule. The people of New
Jersey thought that the ascension of the Duke of
York (King James II) to the throne would bring some
stability to the region, but they were disappointed
when his overthrow in 1689 brought Protestant rule
back to the throne, and possibly the return of the
proprietors. The citizens' fear of the proprietors
and the fear of New York's power prompted them to
petition the Queen for direct rule by a royally
appointed governor. Queen Anne agreed, combined
the two New Jerseys into one, and appointed a royal
governor to rule both New Jersey and New York. New
Jersey received a governor of its own in 1738. The
introduction of direct rule from the crown is what
eventually led to the restrictions and angst that
culminated into the American Revolution.
Continue
>>
(1)
Susan
Ditmire, "New Jersey History," <www.usgennet.org/usa/nj/state/NJ-History.htm>
By
Rickie Lazzerini
Historian
BA History
University of California, Santa Barbara
Index
of Historical Reviews
© 2006 Rickie Lazzerini,
All Rights Reserved
This page may be freely linked to but may not
be reproduced
in any form without prior written consent from
the author.
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