Juan (Jan) Rodriguez

Juan Rodriguez (Dutch: Jan Rodrigues, Portuguese: João Rodrigues) was the first documented non-Native American to live on Manhattan Island. As such, he is considered the first non-native resident of what would eventually become New York City, predating the Dutch settlers. As he was born in Santo Domingo (now in the Dominican Republic) to a Portuguese sailor and an African woman, he is also considered the first immigrant, the first person of African heritage, the first person of European heritage, the first merchant, the first Latino, and the first Dominican to settle in Manhattan.

Biography

He was born in the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic) to an African woman and a Portuguese sailor, in an era in which a tenth of the Dominican population was born in Portugal, at that time in dynastic union with the Spanish Crown (see Iberian Union).

Raised in a culturally diverse environment in the Spanish settlement of Santo Domingo, Rodrigues was known for his linguistic talents and was hired by the Dutch captain Thijs Volckenz Mossel of the Jonge Tobias to serve as the translator on a trading voyage to the Native American island of Mannahatta. Arriving in 1613, Rodrigues soon came to learn the Algonquian language of the Lenape people and married into the local community. When Mossel's ship returned to the Netherlands, Rodrigues stayed behind with his native American family and set up his own trading post with goods given to him by Mossel, consisting of eighty hatchets, some knives, a musket and a sword.

Rodrigues

Rodrigues (French: île Rodrigues) is a 108 square km autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about 560 kilometres (350 mi) east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands which include Mauritius and Réunion. It is of volcanic origin surrounded by coral reef, and just off its coast lie some tiny uninhabited islands. The island used to be the tenth District of Mauritius, it gained autonomous status on 10 December 2002, and it is governed by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly. The capital of the island is Port Mathurin.

Its inhabitants are Mauritian citizens. As of 2014, the island's population was about 41,669, according to Statistics Mauritius. Most of the inhabitants are of mixed African and French descent. Its economy is based mainly on fishing, farming, handicraft and a developing tourism sector.

The island (together with Agaléga and Saint Brandon) forms part of the larger territory of the Republic of Mauritius with the President as head of state and the Chief Commissioner as head of government.

Rodrigues (disambiguation)

Rodrigues is an island in the Indian Ocean, administratively part of Mauritius.

Rodrigues may also refer to:

See also

Rodrigues (surname)

Rodrigues is a common surname in the Portuguese language. It was originally a Patronymic, meaning Son of Rodrigo or Son of Rui. The "es" signifies "son of". The name Rodrigo (or the short form Rui) is the Portuguese form of Roderick, meaning "famous power" or "famous ruler", from the Germanic elements "hrod" (fame) and "ric" (power), from the Proto-Germanic *Hrōþirīk(i)az. It was the name of Roderic, the last Visigothic King before the Moorish Islamic conquest, and the subject of many legends. The surname Rodrigues could have originated in the 9th century when patronymic names originated. Its Spanish equivalent is Rodríguez.

It may refer to:

General