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Delaware Colony History
"Delaware was so called, in 1703, from Delaware Bay, on which it lies, and
which received its name from Lord De la War, who died onboard a vessel,
while descending the bay.
The first settlement effected within the bounds of Delaware
was by a number of Swedes and Finns, who arrived from Sweden in 1638, in
charge was Peter Minuits, the first Governor of New York, who, after leaving
the Dutch, undertook to lead a colony to America, according to a plan
originally devised by the celebrated Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden.
On his arrival, Miinuits, with his colony, settled on Christiana Creek,
near Wilmington, and there built a fort. The territory extending from Cape
Henlopen to the Falls of Trenton received the name of
New Sweden.
The Dutch, at New Netherlands, however, laid claim to the territory, and
mutual contests subsisted for a long time between them and the Swedes.
Dutch Governor Kieft, by way of keeping them in check, rebuilt
Fort Nassau, about five miles south from
Camden, on the eastern bank of the Delaware, which was first erected in
1623, but, being neglected, had fallen to decay. The Swedish governor, John
Printz, on the other hand, by way of retaining his position and gaining the
ascendancy over the Dutch, established himself at Tinicum, a few miles below
Philadelphia, where he not only erected an elegant mansion for himself, but
built a fort for the defense of the colony. Another fort was erected at
Lewistown.
In 1651, Dutch Governor Stuyvesant built Fort Casimir, on the present site of
Newcastle, five miles from Christiana. To this Printz protested; and his
successor, Governor Rising, under guise of making a friendly visit to the
commandant, rose upon the garrison, and, with the aid of thirty men, took
possession of the fort.
Indignant at such an act of treachery, Governor Stuyvesant reported the
outrage to the home government, which ordered him forthwith to bring the
usurpers to submission. Accordingly, in 1655, he sailed from New York with
six hundred troops, and, in a brief space of time, reduced the forts at
Newcastle and Christiana, and, subsequently, all others belonging to the
Swedes. Upon this, a portion of the latter, taking the oath of allegiance to
Holland, remained on their estates; a few removed to Maryland and Virginia;
the rest, among whom was Governor Rising, were sent to Europe.
From this time until 1664 the territory remained in possession of the
Dutch; but on the conquest of New Netherlands by the English, an expedition
was sent against it, under Sir Hobert Carr, to whom it surrendered, and was
united to New York. In 1682, however, the Duke of York sold the town of
Newcastle, and the country twelve miles around it, to William Penn, and,
some time after, the territory between Newcastle and Cape Henlopen. These
tracts, then known by the name of "Territories," constitute the present
State of Delaware. Until 1703, they were governed as a part of Pennsylvania;
but, at that time, they had liberty from the proprietor to form a separate
and distinct assembly; the Governor of Pennsylvania, however, still
exercising jurisdiction over them, until the era of the Revolution.
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