Bergen, New Netherland

Bergen was a part of the 17th century province of New Netherland, in the area in northeastern New Jersey along the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers that would become contemporary Hudson and Bergen Counties.

Though it only officially existed from 1661, with the founding of a village (at Bergen Square), until 1674, when it was finally relinquished to the British with the last Treaty of Westminster, Bergen was first settled in 1630 as the patroonship Pavonia, with plantations and ports along the banks of the Hudson River. There are various opinions as to the origin of the name given by the European settlers. Some say that it so called for any of number of towns in the Netherlands or the city in Norway [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njhudson/genhistory_hudson_bergen_2.html.] Others believe it comes from the word "bergen", which in the Germanic languages of northern Europe means hills, [ [http://www.jclandmarks.org/tour-bergensq.shtml Walking Tour of the Bergen Square ] ] and could describe a most distinct geological feature of the region, The Palisades. [http://www.bergencountyhistory.org/Pages/indians.html Indigenous Population ] ] Yet another interpretation is that it comes from the Dutch word "bergen", meaning "to save" or "to recover", prompted by the settlers return after they had fled attacks by the native population.

The original settlers sailed from the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and were mostly Dutch, Flemish, Walloon, Huguenot, German, and Scandinavian. They were later joined by other Europeans and West Africans (some of whom were slaves) [ [http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/nnd.html New Netherland Dutch ] ] , who arrived via the Caribbean and South America, and English language speakers from New England and Long Island. Though they hailed from different places, they are collectively known as the New Netherland Dutch, [http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/albany/nnd.html] and indeed the region retained its "Dutch" character for many years. [name=autogenerated10 [ [http://history.rays-place.com/nj/bergen-tship.htm History of Bergen Township, NJ ] ] [http://www.bergencountyhistory.org/Pages/indians.html Indigenous Population ] ]

=Halve Maen=

Superficially explored by Giovanni da Verrazzano, sailing on French expedition in 1524, the area was visited by Spanish and English seafarers during the next century. [ [http://www.dickshovel.com/wap.html Wappinger ] ] It was again visited in 1609 by the Dutch East India Company, who had commissioned the Englishman Henry Hudson to find a navigable passage to Asia. During this journey his ship, the Halve Maen (Half Moon), laid anchor at Sandy Hook, Harsimus Cove, and Weehawken Cove, [ [http://www.hudsonreporter.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15203651&BRD=1291&PAG=461&dept_id=551343&rfi=6 Hoboken's earliest days: Before becoming a city, 'Hobuck' went through several incarnations] , "Hudson Reporter", January 16, 2005. "On October 2 1609, Henry Hudson anchored his ship, the Half Moon, in what is now Weehawken Cove/] and Newark Bay, among other places. At the time of his exploration the shoreline was considerably different from today, consisting of huge tidal flats and the oyster beds they supported. Several other expedition to the coast of North America were made between 1610 and 1614; surveys and charts from them were incorporated in a map made by Adriaen Block which named New Netherland for the first time.

Lenape

At the time the existing population were bands of semi-nomadic people who spoke different dialects of the Algonquian language Lenape. The area that would become Bergen was the territory of sub-groups of Unami, or Turtle Clan, called the Hackensack Indians and the Tappan. While the Hackensack tended to camp on the tidal lands (Upper New York Bay and Meadowlands), the Tappan moved in the highlands (North Hudson to Palisades Interstate Park). Other closely-related peoples circulated in the region: the Acquackanonk, the Manhattan, the Raritan, the Haverstraw, the Rockaway, and the Wecquaesgeek. Some were later called Delaware Indians (after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr) [http://www.delawaretribeofindians.nsn.us/] . Setting up seasonal encampments they practiced slash and burn agriculture, companion planting (of the the three sisters), hunting, and fishing, and shellfishing. The trapping of rodents (particularly beaver) for pelts played a crucial role in their interaction with the Europeans, who procured the land from them through "purchases" that were misconstrued by both parties. A basic misconception was that while Europeans thought they were buying land in perpetuity, the Lenape believed they were leasing hunting/fishing rights. [http://www.delawaretribeofindians.nsn.us/] The Hackensack/Tappan had early and frequent contact with the settlers. Their sagamore, Oratam, negotiated many agreements and treaties with them.r [ [http://www.kb.nl/coop/geheugen/extra/tentoonstellingen/atlanticworld/tentoon5.html Geheugen van Nederland - Achtergrond ] ]

=Pavonia=

In 1621, the Dutch West India Company (WIC) was founded to exploit trade in the Western Hemisphere, [ [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/westind.htm The Avalon Project : Charter of the Dutch West India Company : 1621 ] ] and by 1625 had established a colony at New Amsterdam (Lower Manhattan). In the hope of encouraging settlement the company, in 1629, started to offer vast land grants and the feudal title of patroon.Johan van Hartskamp, De Westindische Compangnie en haar Belangen in Niuew-Nederland, een overzicht (1621-1664)http://stuyvesant.library.uu.nl] In 1630, Michael Pauw, a burgermeester of Amsterdam and a director of the company, purchased two tracts from the native population at Hopoghan Hackingh (Hoboken) and at Ashasimus (Harsimus), though the patroonship likely included the entire peninsula between the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers, and possibly his holdings on Staten Eylandt (Staten Island). It was given the Latinized form of his surname (which means "peacock"), Pavonia. It is said it was sold to him by the Manhattans after they had retreated there after the sale of their home island to Peter Minuit some years before. Initially, a small hut and ferry landing were built at Arresick, called Powles Hoek (Paulus Hook), but Pauw failed to fulfill the other conditions set forth by the company (which included populating the area with at least fifty adults), and was later required to sell his interests back to it. In 1633, the WIC commissioned a house to be built for an appointed superindendent, Jan Everstsen Bout (aka Jan de Lacher [ [http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/C_Pages/Communipaw.htm Communipaw ] ] ), at Gemoenepaen (Communipaw). Another homestead was built at Ahasimus by his replacement, Hendrick Van Vorst, in 1634. Abraham Isaac Planck (aka Verplank) received a land patent for Paulus Hook on May 1 1638. [Genealogical History of Hudson and Bergen Counties, New Jersey; Cornelius Burham Harvey, ed., 1900,] In 1640, David Pietersen de Vries bought from the Tappan a tract of about 500 acres and established Vriessendael(Edgewater) [Ruttenber,E.M.,"Indian Tribes of Hudson's River", ISBN 0-910746-98-2 (Hope Farm Press, 3rd ed, 2001)] , about an hour's walk north of Pavonia . In 1643, Hoebuk (Hoboken), was leased by Aert Van Putten, where he built North America's first brewery. These homesteads grew into small, mostly agricultural, communities as the land around them was sold or leased and "bouweries" (home farms) and "plantages" (outlying fields) were developed. Trade between the indigenous and settling populations consisted mostly of wampum, European manufactured goods, and beaver pelts. Though the settlements were small, they were strategic trading posts with a good harbor and foot-hold on the west bank of what had been named the Noort Rivier (North River).

=Achter Col=

Placenaming in 17th century Europe was frequently influenced by location in reference to other places, shape, age, topography, or geographic features. Such was the case with Achter Col (Meadowlands/Newark Bay). "Achter", meaning behind, and "kol", meaning neck, can be translated as the "back (of the) peninsula", [Online Nederlands Woordenboek (Online Dutch Dictionary)] in this case Bergen Neck. The appeal of Achter Col would have been great:Close to Fort Amsterdam, the tidal flats were were similar to those of Lowlands, while the riparian lands surrounding them were abundant with beavers, whose pelts represented the potential for great profit. The term Achter Col was used by the New Netherlanders, and later the English, to describe the the entire region around Newark Bay and the waters that flow in and out of it until the 1680s. It eventually transformed to Arthur Kill, the channel that separates Staten Island from the mainland.

In 1642, Myndert Myndertsen, who bore the title Heer van Nederhorst, received a large land grant (including much of contemporary Bergen and Passaic Counties), where he wished to establish a colony called Achter Col (Bogota) [ [http://www.BogotaOnLine.org Welcome to Bogota, New Jersey - Online ] ] The site chosen was "five or six hundred paces" from the Hackensack village [Ruttenber,E.M.,"Indian Tribes of Hudson's River", ISBN 0-910746-98-2 (Hope Farm Press, 3rd ed, 2001)] on Tantaqua (Overpeck Creek). An abstentee landlord, he contracted the contruction of a "boerderij" (house with attached barn). The crew hired to build it soon engaged the Hackensack, who they had supplied with alcohol, in fatal confrontations known as the Whiskey War. That incident, and another on Staten Island involving the theft of pigs, led to rising tensions between the natives and settlers.

Kieft's War

Willem Kieft was appointed Director of New Netherland by the Dutch West India Company in 1639, with one of his orders to increase profits from pelts for the fur trade at Acther Kol (Newark Bay/Meadowlands) and its port at Pavonia. Kieft attempted to levy a tax on the Tappan but was ignored. (The payment of tribute was common among the tribes, and the British had forced upon it the Pequots.) In February of 1643, the Mahicans attacked some Wappinger encampments in order to collect overdue payment. At first they fled to New Amsterdam, but after 14 days, fearing their for their safety they scatterd themselves among the Hackensack and Tappan at Pavonia and to Corlears Hook. Kieft ordered they be attacked on February 25 1643. The initial strike was a slaughter: 129 Dutch soldiers killed approximately 120 people (including women and children): eighty at Pavonia and thirty at Corlear's Hook (Lower East Side). Overcoming their other rivalries in face of a common enemy, the indigenous populations united and retaliated in October of the same year, attacking the plantations at Pavonia, with survivors fleeing to the fort at the tip of Manhattan. The brewery at Hoebuk survived, its roof not being made of thatch De Vries, with interest in and better contact with the local population, was able to negotiate temporarily holding off attacks at his farm and the Achter Kol Colony, from which settlers were evacuated. In August 1643, Oratam (representing his people and other groups), agreed to a truce with the the New Netherlanders. Unfortunately the peace did not hold and for the next two years the whole of the province was at war. It was not until August 30, 1645 that a treaty to cease hostilities was finally concluded. [Ruttenber,E.M.,"Indian Tribes of Hudson's River", ISBN 0-910746-98-2 (Hope Farm Press, 3rd ed, 2001)]

Peter Stuyvesant

Pieter Stuyvesant was selected to replace Kieft, as Director-General of New Netherland, arrived on May 11, 1647. Further colonialization of the colony slowly proceeded. In 1646 a land patent at Konstapel's Hoeck (Constable Hook) was granted to New Amsterdam's chief constable, Jacob Jacobsen Roy, who declined to settle it [Joan F. Doherty, "Hudson County The Left Bank", ISBN 0-89781-172-0 (Windsor Publications, Inc., 1986)] , and 1647, Maryn Andriansen (who had led the attack at Corlear's Hook) received land patent (of 169 acres) at Awiehaken (Weehawken). It was incidents farther afield that led to the area being more serious settled. In 1654, the Netherlanders lost the colony in northern Brazil known as New Holland to the Portugues. [http://www.colonialvoyage.com/brazil.html The Dutch in Brazil] Many of its residents emigrated to New Netherland. It was in that year, a series of land patents were made at Communipaw and Harsimus extending to Achter Col, as well farthur south along the bay at Minackque and Pamrapo (Bayonne) [ [http://www.bayonnenj.org/historical/timeline.htm Timeline for the Founding and History of the City of Bayonne] , Bayonne Historical Society. Accessed August 4, 2008.] .

In 1655, though, the settlers again came in fatal conflict with the native population in The Peach Tree War. According to popular belief, it started when a young Indian girl was shot by a Dutchman as she attempted to pluck fruit from a peach tree in an orchard on Manhattan. Her murder elicited calls for revenge from the native population, who did a house-to-search of New Amsterdam. [http://www.kb.nl/coop/geheugen/extra/tentoonstellingen/atlanticworld/tentoon6.html Geheugen van Nederland - Achtergrond ] Not finding the perpetrator, they prepared to leave, but were attacked.] At the time, Stuyvesant and his troops were on an expedition to the Zuydt Rivier (Delaware Bay), five hundred Indians attacked Pavonia, killing 100 settlers. One hundred fifty hostages were taken and held at Paulus Hook. When later ransomed they returned to New Amsterdam, and once again the settlements on the west shore of the Noort Rivier were de-populated. [ [http://www.njcu.edu/Programs/jchistory/Pages/P_Pages/Peach_Tree_War_1655.htm Peach Tree War ] ]

Responding to lobbying by those who wished to return to their land west of the North River and to re-establish their claim there, [ [http://www.jerseycityonline.com/history_of_jersey_city.htm JERSEY CITY HISTORY OF FORMS OF GOVERNMENT FROM EARLY DUTCH DAYS TO THE PRESENT TIME] ] [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=owpYaTSYmDMC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=%22by+the+great+rock+above+wiehacken%22&source=web&ots=N3sWTbWs6r&sig=OWea40y4zZcNeK6XlvGItRN7nlY#PPA62,M1 History of the County of Hudson, New Jersey, from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time] , p. 62] Stuyvesant, on January 10, 1658 "re-purchased" most of the land that would become
Bergen Township. The conveyance (as translated from the Dutch) read:

"Therinques, Wappapen, Saghkow, Kagkennip, Bomokan, Memewockan, Sames, Wewenatokee, to the Director General and Council of New Netherland for land on the Westside of the North River from the great Clip above Wiehacken to above the Island Sikakes, thence to the Kill van Col, so along to Constable's Hoeck, thence again to the Clip above Wiceacken (Bergen)."

Bergen Square

This purchase paved the way for the founding of the village at Bergen (Bergen Square). Concerted efforts were made to ensure the success of the new settlement, situated atop the hill west of Communipaw, which was made "distinct and separate" village. [http://www.jerseycityonline.com/history/early_history.htm Jersey City Online - Early History of Jersey City New Jersey ] ] [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=pe4TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA214&lpg=PA214&dq=%22hans+hansen+bergen%22+&source=web&ots=2nJpLClcnw&sig=OjEmKqiX8gpgWLAsv2BAMVrwu3Q&hl=en#PPA420,M1 History of the City of New York in the Seventeenth Century, Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer, Vol. I, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1909] ] It was laid out following a design by Jacques Cortelyou, Surveyor General of New Amsterdam: 800 feet on each side, to be surrounded by wooden palisade. [ [http://www.njcu.edu/Programs/jchistory/Pages/B_Pages/Bergen_Township.htm Bergen Township ] ] In September 1661, a court of justice was granted to Bergen, establishing the oldest autonomous municipality in New Jersey.Laws and Ordinances of New Netherland 1638-1674, compiled and translated by E.B.Callaghan, 1868] (The square is also home to the longest continuously used school site in the state). Within its jurisdiction fell the communities at Pavonia, Communipaw, Hoebuck, and Achter Col. [http://www.nj.gov/state/darm/links/pdf/pasevensettledtowns.pdf] In December of the same year, a charter for ferry between Bergen (at Communipaw) and Manhattan was granted. In February 1663, an ordinance regarding a common well was effected. The settlers were sluggish building a palisade to protect the village and in November 1663 an ordinance was passed to see it completed. so that farmers and fishermen could retreat if threatened by attack.

Second Anglo-Dutch War

Though not attacked, Bergen was threatened. On August 27, 1664, four English frigates entered the Upper New York Bay, demanding surrender of the fort at New Amsterdam, and by extension, all of New Netherland. After some days, Stuyvesant acquiesced, unable to rouse the population to a military defense. The indifferent response from the West India Company to previous requests for protection against “the deplorable and tragic massacres” by the natives had gone unheeded. Hence a lack of weapons, gunpowder, reinforcements and ships made New Amsterdam defenseless. Stuyvesant made the best of a bad situation and successfully negotiated good terms from his “too powerful enemies." In the Articles of Transfer, Stuyvesant and his council secured the principle of tolerance in Article VIII, which assured New Netherlanders that they “shall keep and enjoy the liberty of their consciences" in religion under English rule. [http://www.newnetherland.org/Articles of Capitulation of the Redcuction of new Netherland] The capture of the city was one out of a series of attacks on Dutch colonies that resulted in the Second Anglo-Dutch War between England and the Dutch Republic.

Elizabethtown Assembly

New Netherland was quickly divvied up, the lands west of the newly-named city of New York (except Staten Island) becoming part of proprietary colony of East Jersey. By-passing Bergen, the English chose as its capital a site close to Arthur Kill, naming it Elizabethtown, after the wife of its proprietor, Sir George Carteret. On October 28, 1664, the Elizabethtown Tract, taking in lands southwest of Achter Col was purchased from three Raritan. [http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/nj/statewide/history/new_je2.txt Indian Deed for the Elizabethtown Tract] Soon after the Concession and Agreement was issued providing religious freedom and recognition of private property in the colony. [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/nj02.htm The Avalon Project : The Concession and Agreement of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of New Caesarea, or New Jersey ] ] For those living at Bergen and surrounding areas life was not much changed under English rule, though they were required to pledge loyalty to the new government. ["The New York Times"; October 7, 1910. The history of Bergen Village] English speaking settlers, mostly from New England and Long Island came to the province, concentrating on the Elizabethtown Tract and lands that would become Greater Newark [ [http://www.millburn.lib.nj.us/ebook/V.htm content ] ] . The wide waterways that separated them geographically mirrored the cultural divide and allowed the New Netherlanders to retain their language, religion, traditions, and local political power. [http://history.rays-place.com/nj/bergen-tship.htm History of Bergen Township, NJ ] ] During negotiations for The Treaty of Breda, English commissioners offers to return New Netherland in exchange for sugar factories on the coast of Suriname were refused. Upon its signing on July 31 1667, English possession and rule were formalized. In 1668, they granted a charter for the "Towne and Coproration of Bergen". [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njhudson/genhistory_hudson_bergen_2.html Hudson Co. NJ - History - Formation of Bergen and Hudson Counties ] ] The English also recorded many land purchases and transfers to both Dutch and English-speaking settlers, including those at Minkaque and Ramapo (Bayonne). [http://www.getnj.com/hudberg/hudberg5.shtml JerseyCityHistory.com - Genealogical History Of Hudson And Bergen Counties New Jersey - EARLY SETTLERS OF HUDSON COUNTY - Part A ] ] . During this period they also confirmed previous patents and deeds. [http://files.usgwarchives.org/nj/statewide/history/colrec/vol21/v21-01.txt] In 1665, for a land owned by Nicolas Verlet at Hobuk (Hoboken) and in 1669, for large tract of (2260 acres) at Achinigeu-hach (or "Ackingsah-sack") (Hackensack River/Overpeck Creek) given earlier to Sarah Kiersted in gratitude for her work as emmisary and interpreter by Oratam. [Women’s Center News~a Publication of~Women’s Rights Information Centerat the Women’s Center Building108 West Palisade Avenue, Englewood, NJ 07631Tel. [phone] Faxwww.womensrights.org]

The treaty proved to be ineffective, fighting continued (as the Third Anglo-Dutch War), and in August 1673 the Dutch "recaptured" New Netherland. [http://stuyvesant.library.uu.nl/kaarten/zeeuwseexpeditie2.htm Hoofdstuk 1 ] ] In November of that year an assembly was held at Elzabethtown enacting "Laws and Ordinances" for towns Achter Col. On December 18 1673 "Freedoms and Exemptions" were granted to towns in Achter Col

Province of New Jersey

News that New Amsterdam had been "re-taken" did not arrive in Holland until January 1674, at which point negotiations for The Treaty of Westminster were well advanced. Its ratification by the States-General of the Netherlands on March 5 1674 ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War, and control of New Netherland, including Bergen, was conclusively relinquished to the English.

On March 7 1683, East Jersey was divided into four counties: Essex, Middlesex, Monmouth and Bergen, which kept the name given by the New Netherlanders. Bergen ran from Bergen Point (Bayonne) between the North and Hackensack Rivers to the new and ambiguous New York-New Jersey state line (see [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Bergen_County_Seal.pngseal of Bergen County] ), its administrative seat at the Towne of Bergen. Ten years later, in October 1693, the counties were re-aligned and Bergen grew to include more territories west of the Hackensack, though not the Lenape/Netherlander trading post that would grow into the city of the same name.

In 1702, East Jersey and West Jersey were united as a royal, rather than proprietary colony. New Jersey and New York shared one governor, the first being Lord Cornbury. It was not until 1738, when New Jersey petitioned the crown for a distinct administration from New York, that it was granted its own governor. [Streissguth, Thomas (2002). New Jersey. San Diego: Lucent Books, Inc. ISBN 1-56006-872-8. pg 30-36]

In 1710, Bergen County, by royal decree of Queen Anne of Great Britain was enlarged to include what had been a part of Essex County. The village of Hackensack (in the newly formed New Barbados Township) was seen as being more easily reached by the majority of the Bergen's inhabitants, and hence was chosen as the county seat. [> [http://www.jerseycityonline.com/history_of_jersey_city.htm JERSEY CITY HISTORY OF FORMS OF GOVERNMENT FROM EARLY DUTCH DAYS TO THE PRESENT TIME] ]

The Town of Bergen was given a Royal Charter on January 4, 1714.

Hudson-Bergen Line

, 104 newly formed townships were created throughout the state.

As originally constituted, Bergen Township [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bergen_Township%2C_Bergen_County%2C_New_Jersey_%28Historical_1683%29&oldid=203154935,] began at Bergen Point and included the area between Hudson's River to the east and the Hackensack River to the west, north to the present-day Hudson-Bergen line. Why this particular point was chosen is not clear, as there is no clear geological or topographical feature indicating a natural separation. It may have been the place where the Lenape sub groups-the Hackensack and the Tappan-saw the extent of their territories. It may have also been the border between the patroonships of Pavonia and Vriessendael, and corresponds to Stuyvesant's re-purchase. As described in the charter for "Towne of Bergen" in 1668, the northern border of the town was determined by landmarks that no longer exist.

Hackensack Township [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hackensack_Township%2C_Bergen_County%2C_New_Jersey_%28Historical%29&oldid=164236716] included those lands east of the river of the same name, north of the contemporary Hudson-Bergen line. The present-day City of Hackensack, was part of New Barbadoes Township [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Barbadoes_Township%2C_Bergen_County%2C_New_Jersey_%28historical%29&oldid=192329454] , which ran northward from Newark Bay, including New Barbadoes Neck between the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers and portions of contemporary Passaic County.

In September 1840, Hudson County was created by separation from Bergen County and annexation of New Barbadoes Neck. The place chosen for the county line atop the Palisades was the original northern border for Bergen Township. On April 10, 1843, by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature, Bergen Township was split in two, leading to the incorporation of Township of North Bergen. Bergenline Avenue, running from the Jersey City border to Fairview through the North Hudson communities, likely takes it name from this division.

Legacy

The original grid laid out for Bergen in 1661 can still be seen at Bergen Square, in the immediate vicinity of which are churches and cemeteries founded by the first settlers and their ancestors. A statue of Peter Stuyvesant, commerating the 250th anniversary of its founding, sits on the grounds of the longest continuously used school site in New Jersey, which had also been established by them. The square, with a geometry typical of small towns in the Lowlands, was the first in North America that would become known as a "Philadelphia" square. [ [http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/S_Pages/Stuyvesant_Peter.htm Peter Stuyvesant ] ]

There are many buildings throughout the region built in the Bergen Dutch [www.bergencountyhistory.org] and Dutch Colonial styles, including numerous farm houses and Dutch Reformed Churches. The stiil-intact Sip Manor, originally built at the village of Bergen, was moved in the 1920's to Westfield, NJ. [http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Pages/S_Pages/Sip_Manor_House.htm] The oldest standing building in Hudson (c 1742) was built by one of the region's first families, the Van Vorsts, on land that had been part of Pavonia (now Jersey City Heights).The Steuben House (1752) is a noted example of Bergen Dutch sandstone architecture, located at New Bridge Landing, a historic site dedicated to the preservation of colonial architecture & history. While they did intermarry with new immigrants, the New Netherlanders retained much of their language, religion, and tradition. [http://history.rays-place.com/nj/bergen-cty.htm#new-barbadoes] When writing in the early 1800s, Washington Irving often referred (comically) to the west bank of the Hudson, particularly Communipaw, as being the stronghold of Dutch culture. [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Knickerbocker%27s_History_of_New_York/Book_II/Chapter_II] Jersey Dutch was a variant of the Dutch language spoken in and around Bergen and Passaic counties until the early 20th century. [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_American_Language/Appendix_12]

The region abounds in placenames often taken from Dutch surnames or geographical references, with Paulus Hook a combination of both. Lenape phrases, transformed through Dutch and English are still in use, such as Hoboken, Hackensack, Paramus [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE1DC1E3EF936A25757C0A9679C8B63&sec=&pagewanted=print If You're Thinking of Living In/Paramus; In Shopping Mecca, Houses Sell Well Too] , "The New York Times", April 15, 2001.] , Secaucus, and Wykoff. Kill Van Kull retains its purely Dutch name.

The name Bergen is widely used, not only for the county itself but also in Bergen Point, Bergen Hill, Bergen Arches, Bergenline Avenue, Bergenfield, among many others. The patroonship of Pavonia lends its name to an avenue and PATH station in Jersey City, while the mascot of St. Peter's College is a peacock.

The concept of religious freedom (as well as the recognition of private property) is often considered to be the most enduring legacies of New Netherland. Both the Articles of Transfer (outlining the terms of surrender to the English), [http://www.newnetherland.org/Articles of Capitulation of the Reduction of New Netherland] and the Concession and Agreement.provided for the right to worship as one wished, and were incorporated into subsequent city, state, and national constitutions in the USA.

Like The Netherlands, Northeastern New Jersey is considered to be "diverse" and "tolerant", a place where many people from different ethnic, economic, and religious backgrounds interact on a daily basis while still maintaining their distinct identities. The concept of "home rule" allows citizens and residents to have direct influence on their immediate neighborhoods, and at the same time participate in a society which supersedes civic boundaries.

References