Lenni Lenape and William Penn

William Penn, the Quaker who settled what is now Pennsylvania, was one of the few Europeans with a desire to deal fairly with the Native American tribes. At least initially. It was 336 years ago last month - according to tradition - that he signed a treaty with the Lenni Lenape tribe.

The treaty was said to have been signed under an elm tree at Shackamaxon, a Lenni Lenape town located near present-day Kensington, PA. It is believed that Shackamaxon was both a major settlement and a ceremonial area.

Because Quakers were prohibited from making oaths by their religious beliefs, this was the only treaty not ratified in that way. The French philosopher Voltaire claimed it was also the only treaty to never be infringed upon. History can debate his accuracy on that claim, as there is no written record of what was agreed upon.

William's Penn's grandson donated a wampum belt depicting two men joining hands that reportedly was given to William Penn at the treaty. It can be seen at the Philadelphia History Museum.

In this series:
The Lenni Lenape People
Lenni Lenape and Their Wars

Pegg Thomas writes "History with a Touch of Humor."

Lenni Lenape and Their Wars

Like so many Native American tribes, the Lenni Lenape were severely and negatively impacted by the arrival of the Europeans, but in the beginning, not in the way many people expect.

Living along the waterways of the east coast, the Lenni Lenape's villages were in a prime location for trading with the Dutch settlers who arrived in the early 1600s. Trade with the Dutch was highly valued by other tribes like the Susquehannock to the west and the Mohawk and Mahican to the north, tribes who had been at war with the Lenni Lenape for generations. Tribes who wanted free access to the new Europeans trade.

From 1630 to 1635, the Susquehannock forced the Lenni Lenape to the east of the Delaware River into southern New Jersey and Delaware, which gave the Susquehannock full control of the trade route with the Dutch settlers. During that same period, there was a smallpox outbreak, a disease the Europeans introduced to the new shores. Between these two events, the 5-year war and smallpox, half the population of the Lenni Lenape were wiped out. They became a conquered people, subjected to the Susquehannocks and forced to fight in their wars.

In the 1660s, the Iroquois attacked the Susquehannock and their Lenni Lenape subordinates as yet another smallpox outbreak ravaged the east coast. By 1675, the Iroquois had beaten the Susquehannock and taken control of the Lenni Lenape.

By the time William Penn arrived in 1682, he "inherited the remnants of the wasted Lenni Lenape tribe."

But hang on … they make a comeback! More posts on this people group in the coming months.

In this series:

The Lenni Lenape People

Pegg Thomas writes "History with a Touch of Humor."

The Lenni Lenape People

My current work in progress, a historical romance set during the Revolutionary War, has a Lenni Lenape hero. That's pretty cool! Except I knew nothing - literally - about the Lenni Lenape people. So this past month I've been devouring everything I can find on this Native America tribe that had almost disappeared.

Better known today as the Delaware Indians, the Lenni Lenape is considered one of the oldest tribes on the east coast. Even other Algonquian tribes referred to them as the Grandfather Tribe, Grandmother Tribe, or the Ancient Ones. 

The tribe was so large and so widespread before the arrival of the Europeans - its territory included parts of present-day New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware - that it spoke three major dialects.

They were the tribe who signed treaties with William Penn and the Quakers in Pennsylvania. They were the tribe who fought alongside the Patriots and helped defeat the British. They were also the tribe best known for capturing white children and taking them captive. Indeed, there is much to learn about this ancient tribe. I'll be writing a series of posts on them in the coming months.

Pegg Thomas writes "History with a Touch of Humor."