Willem Kieft

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Willem Kieft

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Willem Kieft , 1597-1647, Dutch director-general of New Netherland . Arriving in New Amsterdam in 1638 to succeed Wouter Van Twiller , Kieft immediately assumed absolute control. His arbitrary rule and tactless handling of the Native Americans resulted in almost continuous Native American warfare during his administration. He was replaced by Peter Stuyvesant (1647) and was lost at sea on his way to Holland.

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Kieft, Willem

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | | © The Oxford Companion to American Literature 1995, originally published by Oxford University Press 1995. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Kieft, Willem (1597–1647), governor of New Netherland (1638–47), noted for his autocratic policies and for causing a long, bloody Indian war. Irving satirizes him as William the Testy in his History of New York.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Kieft, Willem." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 24 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Kieft, Willem." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (December 24, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-KieftWillem.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Kieft, Willem." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Retrieved December 24, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-KieftWillem.html

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Kieft, Willem

The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military | 2001 | © The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Kieft, Willem (1597–1647) born in Amsterdam, director of New Netherland (1638–47), an American colony of the Dutch West India Company. His dictatorial policies, particularly in relation to the local Indian tribes, led to the Dutch-Indian War (1640–45) and a brutal massacre of Weckquaskee Indians (1643). He ruled by decree and effectively thwarted colonists' attempts to establish a more representative government. Because of numerous complaints, the West India Company recalled him in 1647. He was lost at sea when the ship returning him sank en route.

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"Kieft, Willem." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 24 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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"Kieft, Willem." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved December 24, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-KieftWillem.html

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Facts and information from other sites

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

Trade--and then trouble.
Magazine article from: Cobblestone; 10/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...grew to rely on them. Then Director-General Willem Kieft decided to tax the tribes. Kieft reasoned that the treaties between the two groups...van Tienhoven, the provincial secretary and Kieft's assistant, murdered several Raritan Indians...
A Dutch who's who.
Magazine article from: Cobblestone; 10/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...PROFITABLE PIRATE [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Willem Blauvelt (active 1640s-1660s...India Company appointed merchant Willem Kieft (1597-1647) director-general...murdered, apparently by an Indian, Kieft ignored the warnings of his own advisors...
Old Melbourne on the Hudson.(The Island at the Centre of the World)(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Quadrant; 9/1/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...was instigated by the head of the colony, Willem Kieft, as reprisal for the murder of a white. Kieft is portrayed here as a dunderheaded bureaucrat...convenient. The taxes and upheaval brought by "Kieft's War" sparked off the movement for more...
New Amsterdam: new world company town: how the place that became New York City was born.(AMERICAN HISTORY PLAY)(Play)
Magazine article from: Junior Scholastic; 9/19/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...tensions with the Indians are growing. Willem Kieft [KEEFT], the new director of New...poor people in their sleep! I told Kieft that the Indians would band together...Tensions are already high when Kieft announces a tax on fur to pay for...
Ground Zero's past of blood and hope
Newspaper article from: International Herald Tribune; 6/29/2004; ; 700+ words ; ...Pietersen De Vries, urged Governor Willem Kieft to be patient, as the tiny colony...DeVries tried to calm Governor Kieft: ''You go to break the Indians...Indian tribes united against Governor Kieft and the colonists. Damen was nicknamed...
Supplying slaves.
Magazine article from: Cobblestone; 10/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...punishment for their misdeeds. In 1643, Director-General Willem Kieft granted a petition from 11 of the company slaves. On...freedom in recognition of 18 to 19 years of service. Kieft also gave them titles to some of the land around their...
The Netherlands. (Sources for North American Indian History)
Magazine article from: The American Indian Quarterly; 3/22/1993; ; 700+ words ; ...Indian garden plots by cattle. The demand of Governor Willem Kieft that the Indians pay tribute resulted in war in 1640...Algemeen Rijksarchief [National Archives] in The Hague (Willem Alexanderhof 1). They contain several hundred volumes...
Brain ticklers.
Magazine article from: Cobblestone; 10/1/2007; 535 words ; ...their own fur trading company, the Swedish built Fort Christina in present-day Delaware. [] TRUE [] FALSE 6. Willem Kieft's decision to tax the Native Americans eventually led to all-out war. [] TRUE [] FALSE 7. The Dutch did not...
Slavery in New York: A Timeline of Events
Newspaper article from: New York Amsterdam News; 10/12/2005; 700+ words ; ...them to work for wages or farm their own land, in exchange for an annual tax and work obligations. Director-General Willem Kieft issued land grants that initiated a black community that survived for decades in the area around what is now Greenwich...
Seal honors peacemaker
Newspaper article from: The Record (Bergen County, NJ); 11/24/2008; 413 words ; ...tract in present-day Teaneck and Bogota to Kiersted. His first foray into diplomacy came after the Dutch official Willem Kieft allowed the massacre of about 100 Wappinger Indians near Pavonia, now Jersey City, in February 1643. The Hackensack...

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