Editing Long Island (section)

===17th century===
[[File:Excerpt from Map-Novi Belgii Novæque Angliæ (Amsterdam, 1685).jpg|thumb|Excerpt from the 1685 ''Novi Belgii Novæque Angliæ'' map by [[Nicolaes Visscher II]] with "Lange Eylandt alias Matouwacs" in red]]
In 1609, the [[Kingdom of England|English]] navigator [[Henry Hudson]] explored the harbor and purportedly landed at present-day [[Coney Island]]. [[Dutch colonial empire|Dutch]] explorer [[Adriaen Block]] followed in 1615 and is credited as the first European to determine that both [[Manhattan]] and Long Island are islands.

The first recorded encounters between the [[Algonquian peoples]] of Long Island and Europeans occurred with the arrival of explorers in the early 17th century, first contacted by Henry Hudson and his crew. These interactions were initially characterized by curiosity and tentative exchanges, but conflicts later emerged between them. Despite this, mutually beneficial trade ensued, with the Algonquian trading fur for clothing, metal, guns, and alcohol.<ref name=":5" />

The Dutch, recognizing the value of New England's fur market, forged long-term alliances with the Algonquians in 1613, ushering in permanent settlements. By 1621, the [[Dutch West India Company]] established itself in the Northeast. The Dutch West India Company  established a foothold in the Northeast, initiating a lucrative trade in [[wampum]]—beads of significant cultural and economic importance to Native tribes across the Northeast. The wampum was primarily made by Long Island Native Americans. The Dutch would thus engage in a triangular trade: purchasing large quantities of wampum from Long Island, exchanging wampum for fur with inland tribes, and shipping the fur back to Europe.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ceci |first=Lynn |date=1982 |title=The Value of Wampum among the New York Iroquois: A Case Study in Artifact Analysis |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3629950 |journal=Journal of Anthropological Research |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=97–107 |doi=10.1086/jar.38.1.3629950 |jstor=3629950 |issn=0091-7710 |access-date=May 2, 2024 |archive-date=May 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502181441/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3629950 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> This triangular trade created peace amongst the Europeans and the Native Americans for decades.<ref name=":5" />

In 1636, [[Charles I of England]], a [[House of Stuart|Stuart]], rewarded Scottish [[courtier]], diplomat, and colonial governor [[William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling|William Alexander]]'s service to the Crown by creating him Lord Alexander of [[Tullibody]] and [[Viscount of Stirling]]. On April 22 of that year Charles told the [[Plymouth Colony]], which had laid claim to Long Island but had not settled it, to cede it to Alexander. When his agent James Farret arrived in [[New Amsterdam]] in 1637 to present his claim of English sovereignty, he was arrested and imprisoned in [[Holland]], but later escaped from prison.

The Pequot War, a struggle over between the Pequot tribe of Connecticut, who exerted control over eastern Long Island, and the English [[New England Colonies]], reshaped alliances and power dynamics in the region. The defeat of the Pequots left a void in eastern Long Island's political landscape, who were historically under the influence of the Connecticut Pequots for trade and protection. Indigenous leaders such as [[Uncas]] and [[Ninigret]], alongside the New England Colonies, vied to fill this vacuum, with the colonists eventually prevailing over their indigenous rivals. In 1639, [[Lion Gardiner]] secured the first purchase of eastern Long Island land, an islet off of present-day [[East Hampton, New York|East Hampton]].<ref name=":6" />

The period between 1636 and 1648 marked a time of land acquisition in Long Island by Dutch and English colonists. The Dutch occupied a small portion of western Long Island while the English settled on the eastern side, buying land from any sachems who were willing to sell to them. The perspectives on these land purchases likely varied significantly between Native Americans and Europeans. Europeans viewed land transactions as opportunities for exclusive ownership and permanent settlement, while the Algonquian peoples viewed the transaction as temporary and communal.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Strong |first=John |title=Wyandanch And The Dispossession Of Indian Land On Long Island, New York:Grand Sachem, Puppet, Or Culture Broker? |journal=Long Island History Journal}}</ref> Additionally, the Native Americans governance style of weak leadership and undefined hunting grounds, did not align with the European's need for strict boundaries. This confusion resulted in conflict and boundary disputes for many years after.

In 1640, English colonists attempted to settle Cow Bay in what is present-day [[Port Washington, New York|Port Washington]]. After an alert by Native leader [[Penhawitz]], the colonists were arrested by the Dutch but released after saying they were mistaken about the title.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YdMLAAAAYAAJ&dq=James+Farret&pg=PA15|title=Year Book of the Holland Society of New-York|first=Holland Society of New|last=York|date=August 6, 1922|publisher=The Secretary|via=Google Books|access-date=March 15, 2023|archive-date=April 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407020633/https://books.google.com/books?id=YdMLAAAAYAAJ&dq=James+Farret&pg=PA15|url-status=live}}</ref>

Through Farret, who received [[Shelter Island (town), New York|Shelter Island]] and [[Robins Island]], Alexander in turn sold most of the eastern island to the [[New Haven Colony|New Haven]] and [[Connecticut Colony|Connecticut]] colonies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/historylongisla01thomgoog|title=The history of Long Island, from its discovery to the present time : with many important and interesting matters, including notices of numerous individuals and families, also a particular account of the different churches and ministers|first=Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin)|last=Thompson|date=August 6, 1843|publisher=New York : Gould, Banks & Co.|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

As European settlers proliferated on Long Island, the ecosystem underwent significant transformation, and the dynamics between Native Americans and Europeans shifted. The Europeans cleared vast areas of traditional hunting grounds and introduced livestock that damaged Native crops.<ref name=":5" /> Europeans also began to encroach on Native land, and this growing proximity heightened tensions. This culminated in [[Kieft's War]], initiated by a devastating attack that killed 80 Native Americans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=History |first=J. C. |title=Library Guides: William Kieft (1638-1646): William Kieft (1638-1646) |url=https://njcu.libguides.com/c.php?g=1048973&p=7612635 |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=njcu.libguides.com |language=en}}</ref>

Despite shifting claims to title and absentee land sales, European settlers continued to purchase land directly from indigenous people. In 1655, they split the acquired land amongst themselves and continued to search the island for more land for settlement. On June 10, 1664, other parts of indigenous land were bought, including present-day [[Brookhaven, New York|Brookhaven]], [[Bellport, New York|Bellport]], and [[South Haven, New York|South Haven]], in exchange for four coats and 6 pounds 10 shillings &ndash; a value that, accounting for monetary inflation through 2017, is currently worth approximately $840.<ref name="longislandgenealogy.com">{{Cite web |title=Long Island Indians and The Early Settlers |url=http://longislandgenealogy.com/indians.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329042210/http://www.longislandgenealogy.com/indians.html |archive-date=March 29, 2013 |access-date=November 7, 2019 |website=longislandgenealogy.com}}</ref>

During [[King Philip's War]] in 1675, the [[List of colonial governors of New York|governor of New York]], [[Edmund Andros]], ordered that all canoes east of [[Hell Gate]] be confiscated. This was done to prevent local indigenous people from helping their Native allies on the mainland, who were attacking New England settlers there.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z6yE6mWZUcYC|title=The Long Island Sound: A History of Its People, Places, and Environment|last=Weigold|first=Marilyn E.|date=August 2004|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=9780814794005|access-date=November 7, 2019|archive-date=August 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805061257/https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=z6yE6mWZUcYC|url-status=live}}</ref> Notable sachems, such as Tackapousha of the Massapequa, saw their influence wane post-King Philip's War in 1675. In the face of escalating tensions between French and English settlers, these Indigenous figures endeavored to mediate and protect their communities. However efforts to maintain land rights were undermined by disease, deceit, infringements of land patents, and cultural misunderstandings.<ref name=":5" />

After the Dutch began to colonize Manhattan, many indigenous people moved to [[Pennsylvania]] and [[Delaware]]. Many of those who stayed behind died from [[smallpox]], which spread to North America via European colonists and resulted in large scale deaths due to lack of antibodies and natural resistance which Eurasian peoples had gained with their exposure to the disease.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Edwin|first1=Burrows|last2=Wallace|first2=Mike|date=1999|title=Lenape|url=http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~chan/Lenape.pdf|access-date=April 8, 2020|archive-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101095554/https://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~chan/Lenape.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Native American land [[deed]]s recorded by the Dutch from 1636 state that the Indians referred to Long Island as ''{{lang|umu|Sewanhaka}}''. ''{{lang|umu|Sewanhacky}}'' and ''{{lang|umu|Sewanhacking}}'' were other spellings in the transliteration of the [[Lenape]].<ref name="Sewanha..." /> ''{{lang|umu|Sewan}}'' was one of the terms for [[wampum]], commemorative stringed shell beads, for a while also used as currency by colonists in trades with the Lenape, and is also translated as "loose" or "scattered", which may refer either to the wampum or to Long Island.<ref name="Sewanha...">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/indianplacenames00tookiala/indianplacenames00tookiala_djvu.txt |title=The Indian Place-Names On Long Island and Islands Adjacent With Their Probable Significations |first=William Wallace |last=Tooker |year=1911 |pages=35, 212, 232–233}}</ref> The name "'t Lange Eylandt alias Matouwacs" appears in Dutch maps from the 1650s,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dyasites.com/maps/nysbook/Chapter2b.htm |title=The Dutch Period, with maps and explanatory text |access-date=October 15, 2012 |archive-date=January 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131173712/http://www.dyasites.com/maps/nysbook/Chapter2b.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.richmondhillhistory.org/OldLImaps4.html |title=Close-up of 1650s map |access-date=October 15, 2012 |archive-date=January 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106091619/http://www.richmondhillhistory.org/OldLImaps4.html |url-status=live }}</ref> with ''{{'}}t Lange Eylandt'' translating it to "Long Island" from [[Old Dutch]]. The English referred to Long Island as "Nassau Island",<ref name="Bunker 1895" /> after the [[House of Nassau]] of the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] Prince [[William III of England|William of Nassau, Prince of Orange]] (who later also ruled as [[William III of England|King William III]] of [[England]]). It is unclear when the name "Nassau Island" was discontinued. Another indigenous name from colonial time, [[Paumanok Path|Paumanok]], comes from the Native American name for Long Island and means "the island that pays tribute."<ref name="Paumanok origin">{{cite web|title=Early Indian Life on Long Island|url=http://www.richmondhillhistory.org/indians.html|work=Richmond Hill Historical Society website|publisher=Richmond Hill Historical Society|access-date=March 22, 2013|archive-date=May 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515034504/http://www.richmondhillhistory.org/indians.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The very first European settlements on Long Island were by settlers from England and its colonies in present-day [[New England]]. Lion Gardiner settled nearby Gardiners Island. The first settlement on the geographic Long Island itself was on October 21, 1640, when [[Southold, New York|Southold]] was established by the [[John Youngs (minister)|Rev. John Youngs]] and settlers from [[New Haven]], Connecticut. Peter Hallock, one of the settlers, drew the long straw and was granted the honor to step ashore first. He is considered the first New World settler on Long Island. [[Southampton, New York|Southampton]] was settled in the same year. [[Hempstead, New York|Hempstead]] followed in 1644, [[East Hampton, New York|East Hampton]] in 1648, [[Huntington, New York|Huntington]] in 1653, [[Brookhaven, New York|Brookhaven]] in 1655, and [[Smithtown, New York|Smithtown]] in 1665.

While the eastern region of Long Island was first settled by the English, the western portion of Long Island was settled by the Dutch; until 1664, the jurisdiction of Long Island was split between the Dutch and English, roughly at the present border between [[Nassau County, New York|Nassau County]] and [[Suffolk County, New York|Suffolk County]]. The Dutch founded six towns in present-day [[Brooklyn]] beginning in 1645. These included: [[Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn|Brooklyn]], [[Gravesend, Brooklyn|Gravesend]], [[Flatlands, Brooklyn|Flatlands]], [[Flatbush, Brooklyn|Flatbush]], [[New Utrecht, Brooklyn|New Utrecht]], and [[Bushwick, Brooklyn|Bushwick]]. The Dutch had granted an English settlement in [[Hempstead, New York]] (now in Nassau County) in 1644, but after a boundary dispute, they drove out English settlers from the Oyster Bay area. However, in 1664, the English returned to take over the Dutch colony of [[New Netherland]], including Long Island.

The 1664 land patent granted to the [[James II of England|Duke of York]] included all islands in Long Island Sound. The Duke of York held a grudge against Connecticut, as New Haven had hidden [[List of regicides of Charles I|three of the judges]] ([[John Dixwell]], [[Edward Whalley]] and [[William Goffe]]<ref>{{cite ODNB |last=Nenner |first=Howard |year=2004 |title=Regicides (act. 1649) |id=70599}}</ref>) who sentenced the Duke's father, [[List of regicides of Charles I|King Charles I]], to death in 1649. Settlers throughout Suffolk County pressed to stay part of Connecticut, but Governor Sir [[Edmund Andros]] threatened to eliminate the settlers' rights to land if they did not yield, which they did by 1676.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/historicalandde00baylgoog |first=Richard Mather | last=Bayles |title=Sketches of Suffolk County, Historical and Descriptive, with a Historical Outline of Long Island |publisher=The Author |year=1874}}</ref>

All of Long Island along with islands between Long Island and Connecticut became part of the [[Province of New York]] within the [[York Shire (Province of New York)|Shire of York]]. Present-day Suffolk County was designated as the ''East Riding'' (of Yorkshire), present-day Brooklyn was part of the ''West Riding'', and present-day Queens and Nassau were part of the larger ''North Riding''. In 1683, Yorkshire was dissolved and the three original counties on Long Island were established: Kings, Queens, and Suffolk.