Peach Tree War
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The Peach Tree War (1655-1660) took place in the Dutch Colony of New Netherland and was, according to popular belief, started when a young Indian girl was shot by a Dutchman as she attempted to get a peach off a peach tree. This sparked a violent reaction from the local Indian people, starting off the war.
It has been argued that the recapture of New Sweden by the Dutch at the direction of Peter Stuyvesant was instead the real cause of the war. The Indians were allies of the Swedes, who were their trading partner. The Indians wanted to take revenge on the Dutch for their lost trading partner who they thought of as being the weaker and needing Indian protection. Patroon Adriaen van der Donck is believed to have been killed at the outset this war, so ironically Stuvesant's actions directly led to his nemisis, van der Donck's death, although Stuvesant did not connect his actions with the Swedes with the Indian attacks.
[edit] Reference
- Russell Shorto (2004). The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America. Random House. ISBN 1-4000-7867-9.
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