| New Netherland series |
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| Exploration |
| Fortifications: |
| Settlements: |
| The Patroon System |
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| People of New Netherland |
| Flushing Remonstrance |
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Pavonia was the first European settlement on the west bank of theNorth River (Hudson River) that was part of the seventeenth-century province ofNew Netherland in what would become the presentHudson County, New Jersey.[1]
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The first European to record exploration of the area was Robert Juet,first mate ofHenry Hudson, an English sea captain commissioned by theDutch East India Company. Their ship, theHalve Maen (Half Moon), ventured in theKill van Kull andNewark Bay and anchored atWeehawken Cove during 1609, while exploring theUpper New York Bay and theHudson Valley.[2] By 1617 afactorij, or trading post, was established atCommunipaw.[3][4]
Initially, these posts were set up forfur trade with the indigenous population. At that time the area was inhabited by bands ofAlgonquian language speaking peoples, known collectively asLenni Lenape and later called theDelawares. Early maps show it to be the territory of the Sangicans.[5] Later, the group of seasonally migrational people who circulated in the region were to become known by theexonym,Hackensack. They, along with theTappan, theWappinger, theRaritan, theCanarsee, and other groups would be known to future settlers as "the River Indians".[6]
Further explorations and settlement led to the establishment ofFort Amsterdam at the southern tip of the island ofManhattan in 1625. In 1629, with theCharter of Freedoms and Exemptions, theDutch West India Company started to grant the title ofpatroon andland patents to some of its invested members. The deeded tracts spanned 16 miles (26 km) in length on one side of a major river, or 8 miles (13 km) if spanning both sides. The title came with powerful rights and privileges, including creating civil and criminalcourts, appointing local officials, and holding land in perpetuity. In return, a patroon was expected to establish a settlement of at least fifty families within four years of the original grant. These first settlers were relieved of the duty of public taxes for ten years, but were required to pay the patroon in money, goods, or services in kind.
A patent for the west bank of theNorth River was given toMichael Pauw, aburgermeester ofAmsterdam and a director of theDutch West India Company. Pavonia is theLatinized form of Pauw's surname, which means "peacock".[7] As was required, Pauw purchased the land from the indigenous population, although the concept of ownership differed significantly for the parties involved. ThreeLenape "sold" the land for 80 fathoms (150 m) ofwampum (shell beads strung together), 20 fathoms (37 m) of cloth, 12 kettles, six guns, two blankets, one double kettle, and half a barrel of beer. These transactions, dated July 12, 1630, and November 22, 1630, represent the earliest known conveyance for the area. It is said that the three were part of the same band who had soldManhattan Island toPeter Minuit then "sold" this land, to which they had retired after that sale in 1626. On August 10, 1630, Pauw obtained a deed forStaten Island,[8] leading some historians to consider Staten Island to be part of Pavonia.[9][10]
The area encompassed by Pauw's holdings onBergen Neck likely included the eight miles (13 km) of shore line on each of the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers fromBergen Point to today'sBergen County line.[11] His agent set up a smallfactorij and ferry slip at Arresick on the tidal island that stills bears his anglicized name,Paulus Hook. He operated an intermittent ferry and traded with the local Lenape population. By 1630 a plantation worked by African slaves had been set up.[12] Pauw, however, failed to fulfill the condition of establishing a community of at least 50 permanent settlers and was required to re-sell his speculative acquisition back to the company. They commissioned construction of a homestead atGemoenepaen for their representativeJan Evertsen Bout during 1633. During 1634 a homestead was built atAhasimus for Cornelius Van Vorst, whose later descendants would play a prominent role in the development ofJersey City.Abraham Isaacsen Verplanck received a land patent forPaulus Hook on May 1, 1638. A small farm went up atKewan Punt. The leasehold of Aert Van Putten atHobuk (Hoboken) was the site of North America's first brewery. Another patroonship was established farther up the river atVriessendael. Although the settlements were small, they were strategic in that they were a foothold on the west bank of what had been named theNorth River across fromNew Amsterdam and were important trading-posts for the settlers and indigenous people, who dealt in valuable beaver pelts, and they were early attempts at populating the newly claimed territory.
Relations between theNetherlanders and the Lenape were tenuous. Trade agreements, land ownership, familial and societal structures were misunderstood and misconstrued by both parties. Language differences most likely did not help matters. These conflicts led to rising tensions and eventually an incident that started a series of raids and reprisals, known asKieft's War.[13]
Willem Kieft arrived in New Netherland in 1639 to take up his appointment asDirector of New Netherland, with a directive to increase profits from the port at Pavonia. His solution was to attempt to exacttribute from the native peoples with claims that the money would buy them protection from rival groups. It was not uncommon among the native population to do so, but in this case his demands were ignored.
At the time, the settlers inNew Amsterdam were in intermittent conflict with their nativeRaritan andWappinger neighbors.[14] OnStaten Island, Dutch soldiers routed an encampment in retaliation for the theft of pigs, later discovered to have been stolen by other settlers. The death of a Dutchwheelwright, Claes Swits, at the hands of aWeckquaesgeek (Wappinger on the east side of the Hudson River) particularly angered many of the Dutch when the tribe would not surrender the murderer. AtAchter Kol, in revenge for a theft, a Dutchman was shot with arrows while roofing a new house.[15]
Kieft decided, against the advice of the council ofTwelve Men, to punish the native population who had taken refuge among the Netherlanders (their presumed allies), when fleeing raidingMahican from the north, by attacking Pavonia andCorlear's Hook.[6] The initial strike which he ordered on February 25, 1643, and took place atCommunipaw, was a massacre: 129 Dutch soldiers killed 120 Native Americans, including women and children. Historians differ on whether or not the massacre was Kieft's idea.[16][17] This is sometimes referred to as the Pavonia Massacre.[18] The same night also saw a similar if smaller attack in Manhattan, theMassacre at Corlears Hook. Native Americans call it "The Slaughter of the Innocents".[19] This attack united theAlgonquian peoples in the surrounding areas, to an extent not seen before. On October 1, 1643, a force of united "tribes" attacked the homesteads at Pavonia, most of which were burned to the ground. Many settlers were killed and those who survived were ordered to the relative safety of New Amsterdam. Pavonia was evacuated.
For the next two years during what became known asKieft's War the united tribes harassed settlers all across New Netherland, killing sporadically and suddenly. The sparse European forces were helpless to stop the attacks, but the natives were kept too spread apart to mount more effective strikes. Finally a truce was agreed upon during August 1645, in part brokered by the Hackensacksachem,Oratam. Kieft was recalled to the Netherlands to answer for his conduct in 1647, but he died in ashipwreck before his version of events could be told. The war was extremely bloody in proportion to the population at the time: more than 1,600 natives were killed at a time when the European population of New Amsterdam was only 250.[17] The uneasy truce with the Lenape allowed for further settlement, includingConstable Hook (1646) andAwiehawken (1647).[20]
Kieft's successor wasPeter Stuyvesant. During 1653 Pavonia became part of the newly formedCommonality ofNew Amsterdam. In late 1654 a series of grants were made for tracts "achter de Kol" orAchter Col[21] atPamrapo,Minkakwa, andKewan.The colony grew and the situation remained relatively peaceful until 1655, when Pavonia and Staten Island were attacked by a united band of approximately five hundred Lenape. 50 settlers were killed. Over one hundred were taken hostage and held atPaulus Hook until their release could be negotiated. This incident is known as thePeach War, and is said to have been precipitated by the killing of a young Lenape woman who had stolen a peach from a settler's orchard on Manhattan Island, but may have been in response to the Dutch attack onNew Sweden, the Lenape's trading partner on theDelaware River.[6][22]
During 1658, wishing to further formalize agreements with the Lenape, Stuyvesant agreed to "re-purchase" the area "by the great rock above Wiehacken," then taking in the sweep of land on the peninsula west of the Hudson and east of theHackensack River extending down to theKill Van Kull inBayonne.[23] A mural that adorns the atrium of theHudson County Courthouse depicts this transaction:On January 30, 1658, the Peninsula between the Hudson and Hackensack rivers south from Weehawken was finally purchased from the Indians and granted to the inhabitants of Bergen in the Year 1661.[24] A new village at today'sBergen Square was founded by settlers who wished to return to the west bank of the Hudson giving it the nameBergen, which would refer to its situation. The wordberg taken from the Dutch means hill, whilebergen means place of safety.[25] Its semi-independent government was granted on September 5, 1661, by Stuyvesant, as part of his efforts re-gain a foothold on theNorth River's western shore and expand beyondNew Amsterdam on the southern tip ofManhattan, under the condition that a garrison be built. Located atopBergen Hill, it was part of the original patroonship, close to the southern end of theHudson Palisades. It was the first self-governing European settlement in what would become the state of New Jersey.
During 1664,Fort Amsterdam and, by extension, all ofNew Netherland was peacefully surrendered to the British. For the next ten years it was traded at the negotiating table and, for a short period, recaptured. TheDutch Empire finally relinquished control with theTreaty of Westminster during 1675. Bergen's charter was renewed by the government ofEast Jersey and the area retained its Dutch character for years.
Although the entire region was originally Pavonia, the name now tends to be associated with the former Jersey City area of theHorseshoe encompassingHarsimus Cove,Hamilton Park, andWALDO-Powerhouse. Since the 1980s the former site of theErie Railroad's Hudson waterfrontPavonia Terminal and thePavonia Ferry has been redeveloped asNewport. ThePATH rapid transit system'sNewport Station, formerly called Pavonia, and theHudson Bergen Light RailPavonia-Newport station are in this section of the city.
Pavonia Avenue is a street interrupted in sections as it runs east-west inPavonia Newport, atHamilton Park, inJournal Square, and in theMarion Section. Pavonia Court, at theNewark Bay in Bayonne has its name from the Pavonia Yacht Club established during 1859 on theNew York Bay. There is also a Pavonia Avenue in Kearny.Saint Peter's College, located on land that was part of the patroonship, has as its mascot a peacock, to which its publications make reference: Pauw Wow (newspaper), Pavan (literary magazine), Peacock Pie (yearbook). There is also a Pavonia Branch of theJersey City Free Public Library.[26] The Pavonia Yardstreetcar depot was located nearFive Corners.[27] ThePavonia Yard, located inCamden, was operated by thePennsylvania Railroad, which also maintained terminals and yards inDowntown Jersey City.[28]
40°43′25″N74°02′33″W / 40.7237°N 74.0424°W /40.7237; -74.0424