Vries, David Pietersen de

Vries, David Pietersen de dä´vēt pē´tərsən də vrēs [key], b. c.1593, Dutch merchant captain and colonizer. An experienced mariner, Vries, in partnership with directors of the Dutch West India Company, founded (1631) a settlement (Swanendael) on Delaware Bay, later destroyed by warring Native Americans. After trading trips to America (1634–36), he established patroonships on Staten Island (1639) and at Tappan (1640). When both colonies were ravaged by the Native Americans, he returned to Holland and wrote hisKorte Historiael(1655), a valuable source for the history of New Netherland. Portions of his book are translated inNarratives of New Netherland(ed. by J. F. Jameson, 1909).

See C. M. Parr,The Voyages of David de Vries(1969).

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