Manhattoe facts for kids

The Manhattoes was the area at the very southern tip of the island which grew into New Amsterdam, and later the New York City borough of Manhattan, where New York City began around 1624.

The term Manhattoe or Manhattoes refers to a specific place. It was also, by mistake, used to describe a group of people. The place was the very southern tip of Manhattan island. This was during the time when the Dutch started settling in North America. This area later became known as New Amsterdam.

The people mistakenly called "Manhattoe" were actually a group from the Wappinger tribe. They were known as the Weckquaesgeek. Their homeland was further north, in what is now Westchester County. They used the upper three-quarters of Manhattan island as a hunting ground.

In the early days of European settlement, it was common to link a group of people with a place. This often led to the place's name replacing the actual name of the people. Explorers, mapmakers, and officials often made this mistake.

Because of this early mix-up, there's still confusion. Was "Manhattoe/Manhattoes" a group of people or a place? We know for sure it was a place. The Dutch called the southern tip of Manhattan Island by this name. They likely got the name from the Native Americans who used the spot. The island was not permanently lived on when the Dutch arrived in 1609. Also, Peter Minuit bought the island in 1639 from the Canarse Indians.

Historical records show that two tribes used Manhattan island for hunting. The Canarse (or Canarsie) from today's Brooklyn used the southern quarter. The Weckquaesgeek used the rest of the island. Both tribes only had temporary camps for their hunting parties.

Manhattoes: A Place in History

The "earliest depiction of Manhattan" (around 1630) shows Fort Amsterdam on what it calls the "Manhatans." This was at the very southern tip of today's Manhattan island.

Manhattoes was the name of an early Dutch settlement. It was part of New Netherlands in the 1600s. This settlement was located at the very southern tip of what we now call Manhattan Island. Both the Dutch and the English knew it by this native term.

Fort Amsterdam was built there in 1627. But the original name, Manhattoes, stayed popular for a while. Eventually, when the settlement became an official town, the fort's name took over. So, "Manhattoes" became New Amsterdam in 1653.

Some Dutch people also used the names Manhattans and Manhatans for this place. This is how Manhattan island got its current name. It also led to the confusion with a group of people. These people, the Wecquaesgeek, did not live in that part of the island. And they did not call themselves "Manhattans."

Manhattoe: A Mistaken Name for People

This 1685 map, a revised version of a 1656 map, incorrectly shows "Wickquaskeck" in Westchester County above Manhattan island and "Manhattans" on the island itself.

The name Manhattoe, also Manhattan, was wrongly given to a group of Native American people. These people lived near the lower Hudson River. They were the Weckquaesgeek, a group within the Wappinger tribe. They lived in the southwestern part of what is now Westchester County.

In the early days of Dutch settlement, the Weckquaesgeek used the upper three-quarters of Manhattan Island for hunting.

The Weckquaesgeek people became mixed up with the place called Manhattoes. This happened even though they did not live in that specific part of the island. Over time, the term "Manhattoes" changed to "Manhattan" and "Manhattans." These names then referred to the people who hunted on most of the island. They also became the name of the island itself.