Juan (Jan) Rodriguez facts for kids

Juan Rodriguez (also known as Jan Rodrigues in Dutch and João Rodrigues in Portuguese) was one of the very first people who wasn't a native of the land to live on Manhattan Island. Because of this, many consider him the first non-native person to settle in what is now New York City.

He was born in the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo (which is now the Dominican Republic). His father was a sailor from Portugal, and his mother was a woman from West Africa. This means he was likely the first person of European and African background to make Manhattan his home.

Early Life and Arrival in Manhattan

Juan Rodriguez was born in the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo, which is today known as the Dominican Republic. His mother was from Africa, and his father was a Portuguese sailor. At that time, many people born in the Dominican Republic had ties to Portugal, which was then connected to the Spanish Crown.

Rodriguez grew up in Santo Domingo, a place with many different cultures. He was very good at languages. A Dutch captain named Thijs Volckenz Mossel hired him. Rodriguez was to be a translator on a trading trip to Mannahattan, the island of the Lenape people.

He arrived in 1613. Rodriguez quickly learned the Algonquian language spoken by the Lenape. He also married into the local community. When Captain Mossel's ship went back to the Netherlands, Rodriguez decided to stay. He remained with his new Lenape family.

He even started his own trading business. Captain Mossel had given him some goods. These included eighty hatchets, some knives, a musket, and a sword. Rodriguez spent the winter living on his own. He was near a Dutch fur trading post in Lower Manhattan. This post was set up by Hendrick Christiaensen in 1613. These small settlements were private businesses. In 1621, the Dutch Republic officially claimed the area as New Netherland. They offered a special permit for trading there. In 1624, more settlers arrived. They started a small colony on Governors Island. Later that year, more people came from the Netherlands. They helped create the settlement of New Amsterdam.

A Trader's Story

In early 1613, a fur trader named Adriaen Block complained. He said that a rival, Captain Thijs Volckenz Mossel, was "spoiling the trade." Mossel was offering much more for beaver furs than Block was. Block wrote a report about Mossel when he returned to Holland. In his report, Block was very upset about one thing:

a crew member named Rodrigues had stayed on Manhattan. He was trading and living alone among the native people. When Captain Mossel sailed away from the river, Rodrigues, who was born in Santo Domingo and came with Mossel's ship, stayed on shore. They had given Rodrigues eighty hatchets, some knives, a musket, and a sword.

Block claimed that Mossel denied Rodriguez was working for him. Block said Rodriguez had decided on his own to become friends with the native people. He set up his own trading post and lived comfortably on Manhattan Island.

Mossel, on the other hand, said:

this Spaniard [Rodriguez] had run away from the ship. He went ashore against Mossel's wishes. Mossel said he had given Rodriguez the goods as payment for his work. So, he had nothing more to do with him.

Block ended his report by saying Rodriguez was the only crew member he knew who stayed behind. The native people seemed to like the goods and metal tools Rodriguez sold. They preferred them over their own items. They appeared to accept him as the island's first merchant.

By the autumn of 1613, three Dutch ships arrived. These were De Tijger (captain Block), the Fortuyn (captain Hendrick Christiaensen), and the Nachtegaal (captain Mossel). This time, Christiaensen wrote about Rodriguez. His ship's log said Rodriguez came aboard the Nachtegaal. Rodriguez said he was a free man. He offered to work for Christiaensen, trading furs. We don't have many more details about the rest of Juan Rodriguez's life.

In 2009, a painting was made by Creative Arts Workshops for Kids. It was supported by several groups, including the Harlem River Park Task Force. This painting shows what Jan Rodrigues might have looked like in 1613.

Juan Rodríguez Way

A sign for Juan Rodriguez Way in Inwood, Manhattan.

In October 2012, the New York City Council passed a law. It named a part of Broadway in Manhattan after Juan Rodríguez. This section runs from 159th Street to 218th Street. The neighborhoods of Washington Heights and Inwood in Upper Manhattan have many people of Dominican heritage. The first street sign was put up on May 15, 2013. There was a small celebration at 167th Street and Broadway.

Juan Rodriguez in Fiction

A writer named John Keene wrote a short, made-up story about Juan Rodríguez. It was called "Mannahatta." The story focused on Rodriguez's choice to leave the Dutch. It appeared in a literary magazine called TriQuarterly in 2014. A newer version of the story is in Keene's 2015 book, Counternarratives.

See also

In Spanish: Juan Rodrigues para niños