- What was the Dutch West India Company and why and when did it send people to New Netherland?
The Dutch West India Company (WIC) constituted Dutch merchants engaged in trade with other countries or regions outside Europe. The charter expanded through its establishment of trading posts in other countries as well as colonization of territories and other trade monopolies. Dutch merchants traded various goods and commodities such as food and spices, and alcohol and tobacco among others, and also largely participated in slave trade. During the early and mid-1600s, WIC established a post for fur trade in New Netherland. To further take advantage of the trade monopoly and expand its territories, WIC sent African slaves in New Netherland to increase labor and rate of production.
- What were the trade, social, and economic relationships between the Dutch and Munsee?
The Munsees primarily contributed to the Dutch fur trade as laborers. The Munsees traded animal pelts with the Dutch. Moreover, the Munsees worked well with the Dutch as some of them willingly gave up their land titles in exchange for trade goods such as food and under the condition that they would remain in their homes to farm and hunt. Eventually, however, trade relations between them declined due to inadequate commodities to fuel fur trade. To maintain trade relations, the Munsees began trading wampum with the Dutch.
- What countries/regions did the European settlers of New Amsterdam come from?
European settlers in New Amsterdam were from different countries but primarily from Western Europe. The first settlers in New Amsterdam – the Walloon and Fleming families – were from Belgium (Flemish or Belgian). Other settlers were from England, Holland, Germany, the Netherlands, and France (French Huguenots) among others.
- Identify the following: William Kieft, Peter Stuyvesant, An Hoock?
William Kieft was appointed as the director of New Netherland by the WIC. Kieft was aggressive in colonizing Native American land, which led to a war. Due to losses after the war, WIC dismissed him.
Peter Stuyvesant replaced Kieft as director of New Netherland in 1647. Stuyvesant significantly contributed to development in New Netherland due to various infrastructure projects and the introduction of education opportunities for settlers.
An Hoock, also known as Wampage, was the leader of the Siwanoy, a Native American tribe in New York. Wampage was known for killing Anne Hutchinson. Wampage was one of the few Siwanoys who sold their lands to Thomas Pell. Wampage and the Siwanoys’ land became the Pelham, a small town in New York.
- Discuss the different roles of wampum for the Munsee, before European settlement, and for the Dutch and the Munsee in New Amsterdam. How did it become the Munsee’s “chief entry into the new economy?”
Prior to the European settlement, the Munsees used the wampum, shell beads made from clam shell, as their primary mode of currency. The wampum also served cultural significance in terms of the way that the Munsees use to seal deals and treaties or record historical events through transcriptions on the shells.
As formerly noted, when the fur supply dwindled and the Dutch could no longer draw profit from the Munsees, the latter sought to find other valuable commodities to continue its relations with the Dutch. As a result, the Munsees offered wampum as one of their primary commodities for trade.
Works Cited
Alexander, Leslie M. & Rucker, Walter C. Jr. 2010. Encyclopedia of African American history. ABC-CLIO.
Brown, T. Robins. 2001. The architecture of Bergen County, New Jersey: The colonial period to the twentieth century. Rutgers University Press.
Hornsby, Alton J. 2011. Black America: A state-by state historical encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.
Meuwese, Mark. 2011. Brothers in arms, partners in trade: Indigenous alliances in the Atlantic World, 1595-1674. BRILL.
Williams, Williams H. 1999. Slavery and freedom in Delaware, 1639-1865.
