Lenape and the Swedes in NJ

A detailed Summary of Lenape and the Swedes in NJ

Once the Dutch and the Swedes began to settle in New Jersey, life as the Lenape Indians knew it would forever change. The article, "The Lenape and the Swede: Indian and White Relations in the Delaware River Region, 1638-55", by Frank J. Esposito illustrates how once the Swedes began to settle there was a steady deterioration of the Lenape culture.

When the Swedes first arrived the Lenape were already in a weak state due to warfare for more than a decade with a rival tribe the Minquas over fur trade with the Dutch. The fur trade was the Swedes main interest and by the time they arrived the Minquas had already dominated it. Since the Lenape were not very useful in the fur trade the Swedes viewed them as poor economic par

The final blow to the Lenape came in the form of Small Pox that the Swedes brought with them from Europe. The Swedes had a degree of immunity to the disease since they had long been in contact with it. Yet it was new to the Lenape and it depopulated entire villages at a time. The Lenape began to question their religion during the time of the epidemic. They saw that the Swedes were not being effected and concluded that it must be that they had superior gods. Some Lenape began to seek more information about Christianity believing it would provide them with immunity and also the Swedes superior weapon.

After about a decade and half of contact with the Swedes many Lenape were dead due to disease and warfare, and the ones who were left were very differen

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Approximate Word count = 510
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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