Esopus Wars

The Esopus Wars were a series of conflicts from 1659 to 1663 between the Native American tribe of the Esopus and the mostly Dutch colonists who arrived to settle on the banks of the Esopus Creek, a tributary of the Hudson River, in what is now Upstate New York. The conflict took place within the boundaries of New Netherland, a colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands established in 1624. The first clash in 1659 was instigated by the colonizers while the second conflict was carried out by the Esopus as an act of retribution against the Dutch settlers in 1663.

Background

The Dutch were one of the earliest European powers to explore and colonize North America, with Dutch sailors reaching the region as early as the sixteenth century. The first Dutch settlement in North America was established in 1614 on the island of Manhattan. The Dutch called their settlement New Amsterdam. The Dutch West India Company was established in 1621 with the goal of promoting trade and colonization in North America. The company sent out numerous expeditions to explore the region and establish trading relationships with the Native American tribes in the area.

In 1624, Dutch explorers established a permanent settlement in what is in modern times the Hudson Valley region, which they called New Netherland. This colony included much of present-day New York, New Jersey, and parts of Delaware and Connecticut. The Dutch colony was characterized by its diversity, with settlers from many different European countries, as well as enslaved Africans and Native Americans. New Netherland grew quickly, with Dutch settlers establishing farms and towns throughout the region. The colony also became an important center for shipbuilding and trade, with New Amsterdam becoming one of the largest and most prosperous cities in North America.

The Dutch also established trading posts throughout the New Netherland region, exchanging goods such as cloth, tools, and weapons to Native Americans in exchange for furs, tobacco, and lumber. In doing so, they developed close relationships with the local tribes, including the Lenape, Mohawk, and Mahican. Increasingly, groups of Indigenous peoples came to largely rely upon European-supplied firearms and metal tools.

The Esopus people, a tribe of the Lenape, were living along the Esopus Creek when the Dutch appeared and attempted to establish themselves. The Esopus relied heavily on the natural resources of the area for their way of life. They were skilled hunters, fishermen, and gatherers, and used a variety of tools and techniques to exploit the resources of the region. Initially, their interactions with the Dutch were mutually beneficial, but relations between the two communities gradually turned violent as the Dutch continued to establish themselves permanently in the region.

Overview

In the early seventeenth century, the Esopus tribe was involved in conflicts with the Dutch and English colonizers who were settling in the region. Violent encounters included the 1614 destruction by the Esopus of a Dutch trading post in what is now known as Rondout. When the settlers returned in 1658 they established a fortified settlement known as Wiltwyck on the high ground between the Esopus and the Rondout. The fort was constructed with 14-foot-high walls built out of tree trunks. After the land was tilled around the fort, some local members of the Esopus tribe were hired to work in the corn fields. They were often compensated for their labor with brandy. This arrangement led to the first conflict in September 1659.

On the evening of September 20, a group of Esopus were drinking brandy around a fire not far from the fort. The Dutch reacted to their celebrations with fear and sent a group of armed settlers to investigate. Upon discovering the festive group of Esopus, the Dutch men threatened them and fired upon them, killing one and capturing another. Later, the Dutch would claim the Esopus had fired first, but historians question why they would have done so.

In retaliation, more than five hundred Esopus began a siege of Wiltwyck the next day that would last for three weeks. Although they were unable to breach the palisades of the fort, they slaughtered all of the livestock outside the walls and destroyed the crops. By late October, the weather prohibited the Esopus from camping out continually in front of the fort and the siege was lifted as they retreated to their homesteads. Hostilities resumed in the spring of 1660, when the Dutch attacked an Esopus fort and sold the captives they took to the island of Curacao in slavery. Following these attacks, an uneasy peace was brokered between the two communities with the help of Native Susquehannocks and Mohawks acting as intermediaries.

The second part of the Esopus Wars occurred from June 7, 1663, through early September 1663. On the morning of June 7, the Esopus infiltrated Wiltwyck and began ransacking houses and killing residents. The Esopus killed 21 colonists and captured 44 before the alarm was raised and the Esopus were quickly driven out of the fort. Over the next three months, skirmishes between the two groups would take place along trading routes and Esopus villages, which the Dutch attacked by burning the surrounding fields. A decisive battle occurred in early September when Chief Papequanaehen was killed and the Esopus retreated.

Following this battle, a treaty was signed, which granted the Dutch control over the region and established a trading relationship between the two sides. In September 1664, the Dutch ceded the province of New Netherland to the British. When they took over, the British acknowledged the Indigenous population’s right to the land by redrawing the boundaries of the region to recognize Indigenous territory and paying for land they intended to settle. Furthermore, they forbade further settlement on established Native-controlled land without mutual agreement. The new treaty, known as the “Richard Nicolls Esopus Indian Treaty of 1665,” established safe passage for both settlers and Natives for purposes of trading. It further declared “that all past Injuryes are buryed and forgotten on both sides,” and promised respect to the Esopus chiefs and their communities.

Bibliography

Eck, Franklin. “History of the Esopus Wars: Part I (1659–1660).” Stony Brook Undergraduate History Journal, 26 Sept. 2020, you.stonybrook.edu/undergraduatehistoryjournal/2020/11/26/history-of-the-esopus-wars-part-i-1659-1660/. Accessed 19 Apr. 2023.

Eck, Franklin. “History of the Esopus Wars: Part II (1663-1664).” Stony Brook Undergraduate History Journal, 9 Apr. 2021, you.stonybrook.edu/undergraduatehistoryjournal/2021/04/09/history-of-the-esopus-wars-part-ii-1663-1664/. Accessed 19 Apr. 2023.

Foley, Gerard. “The Esopus Wars: Dutch Aggression against Lenape Natives.” Hudson River Valley Institute, www.hudsonrivervalley.org/documents/401021/1058093/esopus‗wars‗foley.pdf/477e47b0-4415-44d0-b3ea-9fa8aa1c2f5e. Accessed 19 Apr. 2023.

Gibbons, Ann. Daily Freeman, 28 Aug. 2011, www.dailyfreeman.com/2011/08/28/esopus-people-left-their-mark/. Accessed 19 Apr. 2023.

Kreiger, Martin. “Journal of the Second Esopus War; by Capt. Martin Kreiger.” Hudson River Valley Institute, www.hudsonrivervalley.org/documents/401021/1055071/EsopusJournal1663.pdf/dce57736-35ae-4c95-b32e-43436fd04ff1. Accessed 19 Apr. 2023.

Levine, David. “The Esopus Wars: A History of the Battle Between the Dutch and Local American Indians in the 1660s.” Hudson Valley Magazine, 21 Oct. 2013, hvmag.com/life-style/history/the-esopus-wars-a-history-of-the-battle-between-the-dutch-and-local-american-indians-in-the-1660s/. Accessed 19 Apr. 2023.

“Richard Nicolls Esopus Indian Treaty 1665.” Ulster County Clerk’s Records Management Program - Archives Division, 2002, www.jrbooksonline.com/PDF‗Books/EsopusIndianTreaty.pdf. Accessed 19 Apr. 2023.