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Early American Studies
Lenape Country: Delaware Valley Society Before William Penn
In 1631, when the Dutch tried to develop plantation agriculture in the Delaware Valley, the Lenape Indians destroyed the colony of Swanendael and killed its residents. The Natives and Dutch quickly negotiated peace, avoiding an extended war through diplomacy and trade. The Lenapes preserved their political sovereignty for the next fifty years as Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, and English colonists settled the Delaware Valley. The European outposts did not approach the size and strength of those in Virginia, New England, and New Netherland. Even after thousands of Quakers arrived in West New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the late 1670s and '80s, the region successfully avoided war for another seventy-five years.
Lenape Country is a sweeping narrative history of the multiethnic society of the Delaware Valley in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. After Swanendael, the Natives, Swedes, and Finns avoided war by focusing on trade and forging strategic alliances in such events as the Dutch conquest, the Mercurius affair, the Long Swede conspiracy, and English attempts to seize land. Drawing on a wide range of sources, author Jean R. Soderlund demonstrates that the hallmarks of Delaware Valley society—commitment to personal freedom, religious liberty, peaceful resolution of conflict, and opposition to hierarchical government—began in the Delaware Valley not with Quaker ideals or the leadership of William Penn but with the Lenape Indians, whose culture played a key role in shaping Delaware Valley society. The first comprehensive account of the Lenape Indians and their encounters with European settlers before Pennsylvania's founding, Lenape Country places Native culture at the center of this part of North America.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 14, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 13, 2017
I have been interested in colonial American history since moving to the Philadelphia area 30 years ago. The books and articles I read had a brief mention of the discovery of the area by Europeans in the early 1600's, but the main starting point was usually in 1681, the year William Penn received his charter to the area now known as Pennsylvania.
The general feeling was that various European nations were exploring and settling an untamed wilderness inhabited by "savages". The Delaware Valley area happened to first explored by the Swedes and Finns, followed by the Dutch and English. There was a feeling among the immigrants of toleration for differences among people, given the dubious backgrounds of many of the people who arrived there, although preference was given to Protestant Christians.
What Jean Soderlund opened my eyes to was the rich and vibrant society of Native peoples who had lived in that area for thousands of years prior to the European migration, and how they had negotiated relationships with the first Europeans very effectively. Eventually a stable and mutually satisfactory political, social, and economic society was created that served the interests of both groups. These Natives were not the "savages" painted by the reports send back to Europe.
The various tribes, such as the Lenape, formed a vibrant and relatively cohesive society built on farming, hunting, and trade. All of this accomplished by rules and guidelines evolved over a long time, and into which the first Swedes and Finns, particularly, adapted quite well so that a comfortable balance of forces was achieved.
As the European, particularly the Dutch and English influence, became more prominent due to the increasing numbers of immigrants who were encouraged to migrate after William Penn became the owner of the vast tract of land called Pennsylvania. He needed to fund the costs of his family, business, and religious interests (he was a devout Quaker) so he became what today we would call a land "developer" who hoped to sell the land he had been given by the King, and get a fee for collecting taxes due to the crown.
This influx of English settlers caused the careful balance of relationships that existed between the Native Americans and the Swedes and Finns to fall apart.
There were differences in philosophy of land ownership, outright theft of land, disputes of how land could be used, how trade would work, etc. -- with all of this being complicated by local communities being ravaged by disease brought by the migrants, political fighting between different European interest groups, and breakdowns in the relationships between different Native American tribes.
This firestorm of change led to the Native American society being marginalized and pushed out of power, left to drift off into the interior woodlands and disappear.
Stylistically, this is not a page turner. It has much repetition of facts and lots of notes for scholars to follow up on, but is worth reading due to the focus Soderlund gives to the Native America culture and society of the time, and how effectively the Native leaders negotiated and managed their relationships with the Europeans to keep local power and influence. Since these Native cultures did not use written records, up until now there has been little written from their point of view. Much of what the author describes had to be carefully researched in the European documents.
This book is a helpful balance to the Euro-centric traditional historical tradition.
The general feeling was that various European nations were exploring and settling an untamed wilderness inhabited by "savages". The Delaware Valley area happened to first explored by the Swedes and Finns, followed by the Dutch and English. There was a feeling among the immigrants of toleration for differences among people, given the dubious backgrounds of many of the people who arrived there, although preference was given to Protestant Christians.
What Jean Soderlund opened my eyes to was the rich and vibrant society of Native peoples who had lived in that area for thousands of years prior to the European migration, and how they had negotiated relationships with the first Europeans very effectively. Eventually a stable and mutually satisfactory political, social, and economic society was created that served the interests of both groups. These Natives were not the "savages" painted by the reports send back to Europe.
The various tribes, such as the Lenape, formed a vibrant and relatively cohesive society built on farming, hunting, and trade. All of this accomplished by rules and guidelines evolved over a long time, and into which the first Swedes and Finns, particularly, adapted quite well so that a comfortable balance of forces was achieved.
As the European, particularly the Dutch and English influence, became more prominent due to the increasing numbers of immigrants who were encouraged to migrate after William Penn became the owner of the vast tract of land called Pennsylvania. He needed to fund the costs of his family, business, and religious interests (he was a devout Quaker) so he became what today we would call a land "developer" who hoped to sell the land he had been given by the King, and get a fee for collecting taxes due to the crown.
This influx of English settlers caused the careful balance of relationships that existed between the Native Americans and the Swedes and Finns to fall apart.
There were differences in philosophy of land ownership, outright theft of land, disputes of how land could be used, how trade would work, etc. -- with all of this being complicated by local communities being ravaged by disease brought by the migrants, political fighting between different European interest groups, and breakdowns in the relationships between different Native American tribes.
This firestorm of change led to the Native American society being marginalized and pushed out of power, left to drift off into the interior woodlands and disappear.
Stylistically, this is not a page turner. It has much repetition of facts and lots of notes for scholars to follow up on, but is worth reading due to the focus Soderlund gives to the Native America culture and society of the time, and how effectively the Native leaders negotiated and managed their relationships with the Europeans to keep local power and influence. Since these Native cultures did not use written records, up until now there has been little written from their point of view. Much of what the author describes had to be carefully researched in the European documents.
This book is a helpful balance to the Euro-centric traditional historical tradition.
July 7, 2021
A fascinating account of the people who lived along the eastern coast before Europeans began to arrive. Not all native Americans shared the same culture or values, and the Lenni-Lenape were unique among the tribes in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
William Penn can take credit for smoothing the way to settling the territory, but he was negotiating with people who held the values of sharing and peaceful coexistence. Lenape leaders adapted to the new comers as long as they were truthful and trustworthy.
William Penn can take credit for smoothing the way to settling the territory, but he was negotiating with people who held the values of sharing and peaceful coexistence. Lenape leaders adapted to the new comers as long as they were truthful and trustworthy.
March 14, 2017
What for childhood me counts as local history. The vital role the Lenape, as well as Swedish and Finnish settlers, played in creating the circumstances we are used to hearing as only arising with the coming of William Penn and the founding of the colony of Pennsylvania. Its nice to see the Lenape finally getting their due historically.
January 1, 2021
Dr. Jean Soderland has offered a fresh view of the interaction between the Lenape Indians who occupied the lands of New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania in the centuries prior to the arrival of Europeans into that area. Culturally they valued peace over war, respected individual freedoms, and worked to resolve conflict peacefully. They also were wise and active traders and had a family system far more open than the traditional European family which led them to be open to interethnic sexual relations that were not necessarily permanent. They also did not practice private property but always arranged for open access to all lands even when there were buildings on the land. The book relates the history of the arrival of first the Swedes, then Dutch, then English, and finally in large numbers English and Irish Quakers.
The Lenape developed a firm and deep alliance with the Swedes that staved off attempts by the more imperialist Dutch and British to force their will on the people. Though diseases brought by the Europeans continually depleted the Lenape numbers, they were still the dominant force in the area until the 1700s. Prior to the Quakers, Europeans arrived in a relatively small number. But the Quaker's numbers created crowded conditions, and even though they shared similar values, the pressure eventually led to most Lenapes moving west. Also, fraud and deceit by William Penn's sons resulted in a huge rip off of land that nearly led to war.
The book attributes the more open-minded nature of this part of the country as much or more to the Lenape influence than the influence of William Penn and the Quakers. Lenape opposed slavery and feared they would be enslaved and so took steps to make treaties preventing that. Eventually, they moved in small groups to the middle of PA, Ohio, Wisconsin, Ottawa, and Oklahoma.
While filled with facts often names and events were shared without sufficient content. More informative maps and explanations would have made it an easier read.
The Lenape developed a firm and deep alliance with the Swedes that staved off attempts by the more imperialist Dutch and British to force their will on the people. Though diseases brought by the Europeans continually depleted the Lenape numbers, they were still the dominant force in the area until the 1700s. Prior to the Quakers, Europeans arrived in a relatively small number. But the Quaker's numbers created crowded conditions, and even though they shared similar values, the pressure eventually led to most Lenapes moving west. Also, fraud and deceit by William Penn's sons resulted in a huge rip off of land that nearly led to war.
The book attributes the more open-minded nature of this part of the country as much or more to the Lenape influence than the influence of William Penn and the Quakers. Lenape opposed slavery and feared they would be enslaved and so took steps to make treaties preventing that. Eventually, they moved in small groups to the middle of PA, Ohio, Wisconsin, Ottawa, and Oklahoma.
While filled with facts often names and events were shared without sufficient content. More informative maps and explanations would have made it an easier read.
October 16, 2022
Indigenous history is always more nuanced than the land acknowledgments we make. I enjoyed reading about how much agency the Lanape people retained over their land, long after the colonists were said to have overpowered and taken the mid-Atlantic. The Lenape maintained control throughout the 17th century, restricting the colonists' agricultural tracts, negotiating land access to outsiders, and playing various colonist factions—Swedes, Finns, Dutch, and British—against each other. I hope this account is read as empowering and complicates the story of the all-powerful Dutch colonists arriving and handily removing land from the natives.
July 26, 2023
I read this in order to better understand why our local high school mascot should not be the Warriors (with Native American imagery), and why the caricature Native man statue in the entryway should be removed. If the school really does want to honor the Lenape, after reading this book, I would argue that the mascot should be changed to the Diplomatic Anti-Sexist Matrilineal Farmers (for the girls) and the Diplomatic Anti-Sexist Matrilineal Hunters (for the boys). Perhaps also with the word Communist thrown in (for their land ownership style). The high school mascot should not be the Warriors because the local Lenape were against war.
February 7, 2022
Slowly filling in the gaps in my education. Really a fascinating read about the Delaware valley area from the early 1600's to when William Penn first showed up. Soderlund discusses how William Penn's "great experiment" wasn't an experiment by the time he showed up, it was an integral part of society. It's also an interesting look at 'what might have been', if European settlers had managed to get along and respect the native inhabitants of the Americas. Only four stars because it was rather dry, kinda like assigned reading in college.
June 7, 2023
A good overview of the history of the Delaware Valley that provides insights into the working relationships between the Swedes/Finns and the Lenape people.
January 6, 2024
So interesting! To learn about the wisdom of the Lenape
September 15, 2024
It's about Delaware Valley Society through early colonization, not really the Lenape themselves. Informative, but not really what I was looking for.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews