Wanderlust World Wanderlust World The colonial history of New Jersey centers on the Lenape (Delaware) people and their evolving relationships with Dutch and English settlers.
The Lenape were the dominant group, living in autonomous bands along the Delaware and Hudson Rivers. They practiced agriculture (corn, beans, squash), hunting, fishing, and gathering in a seasonal round. Their society was matrilineal, with clan-based governance and a reputation as skilled diplomats and traders.
The Dutch West India Company established New Netherland. Relations with the Lenape were largely commercial—furs (beaver, otter) for European goods (metal tools, cloth, wampum). The 1626 "purchase" of Manhattan is the most famous transaction, but similar agreements covered New Jersey lands. Conflicts occurred (e.g., Kieft's War 1643–45, Peach War 1655), but trade generally prevailed.
The English seizure brought aggressive land acquisition. The Lenape were pressured into a series of treaties (1664–1758) ceding most of New Jersey. The "Walking Purchase" (1737) in Pennsylvania exemplified the fraudulent tactics used. The Lenape Wars (1670s) and later conflicts (French and Indian War) displaced survivors westward into Pennsylvania, Ohio, and eventually Oklahoma (where two federally recognized Lenape tribes reside today).
Despite dispossession, Lenape served as guides, interpreters, and allies. They taught settlers local ecology, farming techniques, and survival skills. Some Lenape remained in New Jersey, integrating into the colonial economy as laborers, artisans, and soldiers.
Today, the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation (Bridgeton) and Ramapough Lenape Nation (Mahwah/Suffern area) maintain cultural presence in the region.