Delaware Colony facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lower Counties on the Delaware
1664–1776
Flag
Delaware in 1757
Status	Colony of England (1664–1707) Colony of Great Britain (1707–1776)
Capital	New Castle
Common languages	English, Dutch, Munsee, Unami
Government	Semiautonomous proprietary colony
Proprietor
• 1664-1682	Territory contested
• 1682-1718	William Penn (first)
• 1775-1776	John Penn (last)
Legislature	General Assembly
History
• Established	1664
• Independence	1776
Currency	Delaware pound
Preceded by Succeeded by New Netherland State of Delaware
Today part of	United States

The Delaware Colony was a special area in North America. It was also known as the "Lower Counties on the Delaware". This region was like a semi-independent part of the Province of Pennsylvania. It was also a British colony, even though the King didn't officially create it. Delaware included three counties located on the west side of the Delaware River Bay.

In the early 1600s, Lenape and possibly Assateague Native American tribes lived here. The first Europeans to settle were the Swedes. They started the New Sweden colony in 1638 at Fort Christina, which is now Wilmington, Delaware. The Dutch took control of New Sweden in 1655. They added it to their larger colony called New Netherland.

Then, Great Britain took over from the Dutch in 1664. In 1682, William Penn, a Quaker leader who owned the Province of Pennsylvania, leased these three lower counties from James, the Duke of York. James later became King James II.

The three lower counties were governed as part of Pennsylvania from 1682 to 1701. In 1701, the people in the lower counties asked for their own law-making group, and they got it. Both colonies shared the same governor until 1776. Many English settlers in Delaware were Quakers. In the early 1700s, New Castle and Philadelphia became major ports. Many Protestant immigrants from Northern Ireland came through these ports. Delaware did not have an official religion at this time.

The American Revolutionary War started in April 1775. On June 15, 1776, Delaware's assembly voted to break away from Great Britain. This created the independent State of Delaware. On July 4, 1776, Delaware joined 12 other British colonies to form the United States of America.

Early European Settlements in Delaware

The land that became Delaware changed hands many times. This happened from the first Dutch settlement in 1631 until Pennsylvania took control in 1682. Because of this, Delaware became a diverse place. People came from many different countries and had various religions.

The first European to explore the Delaware Valley was Henry Hudson in 1609. He was on a Dutch ship called the Halve Maen. Hudson was looking for a Northwest Passage to Asia. He sailed into what is now the Delaware Bay and named it the South River. Later, Samuel Argall renamed it the river Delaware in 1610. He named it after Thomas West, Lord De La Warr, who was a governor of Virginia.

Later expeditions by Cornelius May (1613) and Cornelius Hendrickson (1614) mapped the Delaware coastline. This mapping was for the New Netherland colony. The first Dutch settlement was further up the Delaware River. It was at Fort Nassau, near what is now Gloucester City, New Jersey.

Neither the Dutch nor the English were eager to settle this land at first. In 1629, agents from the Dutch West India Company arrived. They were Gillis Hossitt and Jacob Jansz. They wanted to buy land from the Native Americans for a colony. The Dutch always bought land, but Native Americans and Europeans had different ideas about land ownership. Native Americans often saw payments as gifts and expected to share the land. Hossitt and Jansz secured a treaty for a piece of land. It was about 29 miles long and just under 2 miles deep. This area was similar to the coast of modern Sussex and Kent counties in Delaware.

In 1631, the Dutch sent 28 men to build a fort. This was the Zwaanendael Colony, inside Cape Henlopen on Lewes Creek. This first colony aimed to use the many whales in the bay to produce whale oil. But a misunderstanding with the Native Americans led to the killing of these colonists within a year. Patroon David Pietersz. de Vries arrived soon after with 50 more settlers. He made a treaty with the Native Americans. However, de Vries and his partners decided the area was too dangerous. They took the new settlers to New Amsterdam (now New York) instead.

In March 1638, the Swedish colony of New Sweden was founded. This was the first permanent European settlement in Delaware. The ship Kalmar Nyckel anchored at a rocky spot on the Minquas Kill. Today, this place is called Swedes' Landing in Wilmington, Delaware. The New Sweden Company was organized by Clas Larsson Fleming. Samuel Blommaert, a Flemish director who was unhappy with the Dutch West India Company, helped prepare the trip. The expedition was led by Peter Minuit, who had been the first governor of New Netherland. He had been fired by the Dutch company. Minuit knew the Dutch had few settlements in the Delaware River valley. New Sweden was diverse, with Finns, Dutch, Walloons (Belgians), and Germans, as well as Swedes.

The first Swedish outpost was named Fort Christina (now Wilmington). It was named after Queen Christina of Sweden. The Swedes brought the idea of log cabin construction to the New World. This simple house style later spread across America. Swedish colonial Governor Johan Björnsson Printz led New Sweden from 1643 to 1653. He was followed by Johan Classon Risingh, the last Swedish governor.

The Dutch never accepted the Swedish colony as real. The Dutch West India Company competed with New Sweden. In 1651, Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant moved Fort Nassau. He rebuilt it downriver from Fort Christina as Fort Casimir. This meant the Dutch surrounded the Swedish colony. The Swedes gave up Fort Beversreede, an attempt to settle near modern Philadelphia.

Three years later, New Sweden attacked and took Fort Casimir. They renamed it Fort Trinity. The conflict ended in September 1655. With a war happening in Europe, Stuyvesant gathered an army and navy. He captured the Swedish forts, taking back control of the colony. The Dutch renamed Fort Casimir/Trinity as New Amstel (later New Castle). It became their main center for fur trading and colony administration. The European population in the area grew quickly.

English Takeover of Delaware

In 1664, English Colonel Richard Nicolls captured New Amsterdam. Then, Robert Carr was sent to the Delaware River settlements. He took over New Amstel, treating its settlers harshly. Carr changed the post's name from Dutch to English, and it became New Castle. Carr and his troops continued down the shore, damaging settlements. This included a community near present-day Lewes, Delaware. This ended Dutch rule in the colony and their claims in North America. The English took over New Netherland, renaming it New York. Delaware was then claimed by New York under a representative of the Duke of York from 1664 to 1682. However, neither the Duke nor his colonists fully controlled it. The owners of Maryland tried to take advantage of this situation.

Delaware's Connection to Maryland and Pennsylvania

Between 1669 and 1672, Delaware was considered a county of the Province of Maryland. When the Duke of York gave land to William Penn, there was a conflict. Lord Baltimore of Maryland and William Penn both had claims. This led to a long dispute between the Calvert and Penn families. By 1768, the Mason-Dixon line was drawn. This line settled the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Most of Delaware was given to Pennsylvania. Eventually, Delaware became independent from Pennsylvania and kept its land from Maryland.

Delaware's Three Counties Under Penn

The area now known as Delaware was owned by William Penn. He was the Quaker owner of Pennsylvania. In old documents from the early Revolutionary period, this area was often called "The Three Lower Counties on the Delaware River" or simply by the names of its three counties.

After King Charles II granted William Penn the province of Pennsylvania in 1681, Penn also asked for and received the lands of Delaware from the Duke of York. Penn found it hard to govern Delaware. Its economy and land were more like the colonies around the Chesapeake Bay than Pennsylvania. The low-lying areas were used for growing tobacco. These farms depended on forced labor. Penn tried to combine the governments of Pennsylvania and Delaware. But representatives from each area disagreed strongly. In 1701, Penn agreed to let them have two separate assemblies. Delawareans would meet in New Castle, and Pennsylvanians in Philadelphia. Delaware, like Philadelphia, continued to be a place where many cultures mixed. It was home to Swedes, Finns, Dutch, and French people, along with the English.