Delaware: the very beginning
¨=Fort Nassau ¨
=Fort Christina ¨ =Fort Casimir ¨
=Swaanendael
In 1609, Henry Hudson piloted the ship Half Moon into
the Delaware Bay, in search of a passage through the New World to the East
Indies. He was the first European to
explore and document the bay. Although
he was English, he was working for the Dutch at the time. The Dutch originally had no interest in
settling the area –they were much more interested in trading. However, competition with the other European
nations convinced Holland that they needed a foothold in the New World. To that end they formed the Dutch West India
Company. They settled Manhattan Island
and named it New Amsterdam, which became the seat of government for what would
become known as New Netherland –all the land from Cape Henlopen to Cape Cod, extending
without limit to the west.
The first structure that the Dutch
built on the Delaware River was Fort Nassau, in the present city of Gloucester,
New Jersey, in 1626. It was a strategic
blunder to put it on the east side of the river since the best pelts were on
the west side. Also, the Minquas would
have to cross the river to trade furs with the Dutch. Fort Nassau served primarily as a storehouse and trading post,
but was only inhabited regularly in the winter, when the best pelts could be
found. In 1631, the Dutch built a
permanent settlement (Swaanendael) in the present town of Lewes, which turned
out to be “not-so-permanent”. After six
months, the settlement was destroyed by Indians and all of the people were
massacred. It took seven years before
another settlement was attempted, and that was by the Swedes with Fort
Christina in 1638. This fort was built
on the west side of the river, and quickly usurped trade with the Minquas. In retaliation for the Swedish encroachment
on their land, and realizing the need for a better position on the Delaware
River, the Dutch erected Fort Casimir in 1651 in present-day New Castle. With the construction of Fort Casimir, Fort
Nassau was dismantled. Relations
disintegrated between the Swedes and the Dutch, erupting into open
hostility. The new fort went back and
forth a few times between the two parties.
Eventually, it ended up in the hands of the English, who changed the
name to New Castle. After 1664, most of
the Dutch strongholds on the Delaware River had been transferred to the
English.
-Researched by: Jenn