noun
- a landowner in colonial New York who was granted large estates and feudal privileges by the Dutch
Usage: historical
Examples
- The patroon owned vast tracts of land along the Hudson River.
- Dutch patroons brought settlers to work their estates in New Netherland.
- The patroon system created a feudal-like structure in colonial New York.
- Many tenant farmers worked under the patroon’s authority.
- The Van Rensselaer family was one of the most powerful patroon dynasties.
- After the British takeover, some patroon privileges were abolished.