On September 14, 1609 the “Halve Moon” sailed into the Tappan Zee and Henry (sometimes called “Henrick”) Hudson found his ship and crew being welcomed by canoes filled with members of the local Lenni Lenape tribe, bearing gifts of “Indian Corn and Pompions”. Robert Juet (sometimes spelled “Jewett” as in the street high above down town near Upper Depew Avenue), Hudson’s English first mate would write in his log book “a high point of land was seen, which ‘shewed’ out to us bearing north by east five leagues off from us.” This high point of land would later be called “Verdreitld Hock” by the Dutch and “Hook Mountain” by you and me. (As mentioned in an earlier post, the Dutch name meant “Tedious Point” because it appeared to take “forever” to get past the very tricky currents around the base of the mountain, especially by sail).
Hudson landed (we think) either at the location of the current Memorial Park, or at the base of what is now my own street, Fourth Avenue. Okay, call me selfish, but I’d like to believe the second… Hudson found the natives to be rather attractive according to all of his descriptions and those placed in the log books by Juet, and also found them friendly, curious and generous in bringing gifts of food. He described his visit to what would become Nyack like this: “I sailed to the shore in one of their canoes, with an old man, who was a chief of a tribe, consisting of forty men and seventeen women; these I saw there in a house well constructed of oak bark and circular in shape, with the appearance of having a vaulted ceiling. it contained a great quantity of maize, and beans of last year’s growth, and there lay near the house, two mats were spread out to sit upon, and immediately some food was served in well made red wooden bowls; two men were also dispatched at once with bows and arrows in quest of game, who soon after brought in a pair of pigeons which they had just shot…….. The natives are a very good people; for when they saw that I would not remain, they supposed that I was afraid of their bows, and taking the arrows, they broke them in pieces, and threw them into the fire……”
Poor Henry thought he had discovered the fabled “Northwest Passage” a northern route through the new continent and out to the Pacific. Actually, modern scholars don’t blame him for his early assumptions – the Hudson, after all, is tidal all the way to TROY, more than 10 miles north of Albany, and Hudson frankly allowed the Halve Moon to drift NORTHWARD on the tide as far as what is now Hudson, New York in Columbia County – anchoring when the tide ran the other way, and hoisting anchor when the tide flowed north. The width of the Tappan Zee and Haverstraw Bay – over three miles – along with the cliffs of the Palisades and the mountainous entrance to what is now the Hudson Highlands would lead any mariner to believe he was sailing through a strait, not a river.
The river which would later bear Hudson’s name was called by the Dutch “Mauritius” and by the Lenni Lenape “Muhhekunnetuk” meaning “the river that flows both ways” is actually a tidal estuary, by strict definition it is not a river at all except in the stretch from Lake Tear in the Clouds in the Adirondacks to Troy. Upon learning of his error, Hudson returned to Europe stopping first in his home, England before returning to report on his “failure” to his bosses at the Dutch East India Company in Amsterdam. Hudson would try again to find the Northwest Passage not long after, and only a few years after his “wasted voyage” that brought European notice to the Hudson Valley; Henry and his son and several loyal officers would be set adrift by his mutinous crew in the iceflows of what is now called “Hudson Bay” in Canada, when after spending an entire winter with the Half Moon trapped in ice, he refused to admit defeat and return to Europe.
The members of the Dutch East India Company were of different mind than Hudson himself. His description of the lands around the island of Mannahatta and the fishing point of Nay-ak had guilder signs lighting their eyes. Shortly thereafter, New Netherland would be founded, and eventually become a represented province with the government of the Netherlands, no longer a colony, but an overseas state much like our Hawaii. Unlike the other colonies being founded on the North American coast by the other European powers, the residents of New Netherland and its various townships such as Vriesendael (Blauvelt/Tappan and the actual name of Route 303, Vriesendael Road), Pavonia (Jersey City), Fort Orange (Albany), Yonkers (duh…), Haarlem, and New Amsterdam (New York City) were not seeking freedom from religious or political persecution, nor were they destitute. They were businessmen (and women, who had far more rights under Dutch law) and came here to make money. Something which did not change when in 1664 the British sailed into New Amsterdam harbor and demanded surrender. Our history, written with rather a British bent, tends to make us believe the Dutch colony was a failure. Really? Then why was the colony so attractive that the British began a war over it, and permitted the merchants already in place to continue living under their Dutch City charter and laws so long as they paid taxes to the British Crown, if the colony was such a failure? On the contrary, the British finally realized that this region and “Hudson’s River” were the key to opening the entire continent – and both the Dutch and the British turned out to be correct.
So remember poor frozen Henry Hudson today as you gaze out on the river that would come to bear his name, and thank him for coming in relative peace (compared to the others who would settle our land) setting us up for a history a bit different from our neighboring colonies, and a future as bright and wide as the Tappan Zee… How ironic that in 2009, four centuries after Henry’s voyage here, a “Northwest Passage” would open up above Canada for the first time in a millenia – and modern Dutch, British AND American shipping companies would be here to take advantage of it…
[…] 401 Years Ago Today… 20100914 // On September 14, 1609 the "Halve Moon" sailed into the Tappan Zee and Henry (sometimes called "Henrick") Hudson found his ship and crew being welcomed by canoes filled with members of the local Lenni Lenape tribe, bearing gifts of "Indian Corn and Pompions". Robert Juet (sometimes spelled "Jewett" as in the street high above down town near Upper Depew Avenue), Hudson's English first mate would write in his log book "a high point of land was seen … Read More […]
The story about the men and the arrows was about Peekskill, a little north of Nyack and on the opposite shore. It was a different tribe.
Only a few of the new settlers were businessmen. My ancestor Gerrit Hendrickson, who later changed his name to Blauvelt, came over in 1638 when the Dutch cleared out the orphanages to work the farms in the new world.
Many different types came over from the Patroons who were like royalty to people like the Huguenots, who came over in the late 1600s seeking religious freedom.
Many of the early settlers to Rockland were seeking religious freedom.
The the original settlements at Nyack, Haverstraw and Tappan were nearly wiped out when the local Indians revolted in 1643, killing hundreds of settlers. There used to be a mural in the Nyack Post Office depicting the massacre, but it was deemed insensitive and painted over.
Thanks for the comment Fitz! I found conflicting sources that stated both Nyack and Peekskill (the danger of internet research!). We do know he came ashore here, and that poor Patroon DeVries would eventually have to abandon Vriesendael due to the uprising – which stemmed from a series of misunderstandings and violent one-upmanship on both sides. The new director for the DEI Company should have maintained his predecessor’s attitude toward the Lenni Lenape rather than trying to “set an example” by butchering an entire encampment of dozens of L.L.’s as a gross overreaction to the murder of several Europeans, which was a gross overreaction on the part of a Lenni Lenapi man for being cheated by a Dutch merchant. It escalated out of all proportion. A Shame, as the Dutch were generally far more interested in trading with the native population rather than fighting with them.
I really loved reading your blog. It was very well authored and easy to undertand. Unlike additional blogs I have read which are really not tht good. I also found your entries very interesting. In fact after reading, I had to go show it to my friend and he ejoyed it as well!
Oh, that mural is still there in the Nyack post office, all right.
[…] 401 Years Ago Today… 20100914 On September 14, 1609 the "Halve Moon" sailed into the Tappan Zee and Henry (sometimes called "Henrick") Hudson found his ship and crew being welcomed by canoes filled with members of the local Lenni Lenape tribe, bearing gifts of "Indian Corn and Pompions". Robert Juet (sometimes spelled "Jewett" as in the street high above down town near Upper Depew Avenue), Hudson's English first mate would write in his log book "a high point of land was seen … Read More […]
[…] 401 Years Ago Today… 20100914 On September 14, 1609 the "Halve Moon" sailed into the Tappan Zee and Henry (sometimes called "Henrick") Hudson found his ship and crew being welcomed by canoes filled with members of the local Lenni Lenape tribe, bearing gifts of "Indian Corn and Pompions". Robert Juet (sometimes spelled "Jewett" as in the street high above down town near Upper Depew Avenue), Hudson's English first mate would write in his log book "a high point of land was seen … Read More […]