By

Maura

        Have you ever wanted to know more about the colony of Delaware?  If you have, this page will tell you all about the colony of Delaware.  You will learn what it was like to live in the colony of Delaware and many other things about Delaware.

        In 1609 Henry Hudson, an, explorer, landed in Delaware Bay.  Henry Hudson was looking for a faster way to get from Europe to Asia to buy spices.  He thought that he would find a river through America.  A year later Samuel Argall , a sailor, got caught in a storm and landed in Delaware Bay.  He named Delaware, De La War.

        Henry Hudson sailed back to the Netherlands and told the Dutch all about Delaware.   After hearing about Delaware thirty Dutchmen came to Delaware and named it Zwaanendaet which means “Valley of the swans.”  They hung a Dutch symbol in Delaware.  The Indians of Delaware, the Lenope , did not know what it meant so their brave took the symbol down.  The Dutch thought this was disrespectful so they killed the brave that took it down.  The brave’s family was so angry that they killed all thirty men and burned down their houses.

        In 1637, Peter Minuit from Sweden came to Delaware.  Sweden named it  New Sweden.  The Swedes selected Minuit as their governor of New Sweden.

        The Dutch wanted their land back.  They decided to fight the Swedes for Delaware.  Each country had a fort. The Dutch had Fort Casimir and the Swedes had Fort Christiana.  The Swedes captured Fort Casimir and renamed it Fort Trefaldiget.  They kept on fighting from 1655 to 1665.

        The British decided to join into the war. King Charles wanted Delaware so the British joined the battle.  The King’s brother, James , sailed to Delaware to claim the land.  His thirty soldiers defeated the Dutch.  Now England owned Delaware.

        At home in Delaware children would like to play games when all their work was finished.  They liked to play games like Leapfrog and Blind Man’s Bluff.  Women enjoyed having sewing bees. At the sewing bees the women liked to talk, sew, and quilt.  For fun men liked to bowl with wooden balls and wooden pins.

        In the 1700’s colonists usually lived in small farmhouses. The farm had chickens, pigs, and cows.  To get from place to place , the people in Delaware used boats because of the many rivers.

        In 1776 each colony sent a couple of men to Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania to discuss the issues at the Continental Congress.  They were going to decide if they should fight the English.  One man was sick and did not go to Philadelphia.  When this man heard that the score was tied up he rode his horse all the way to Philadelphia.  He said “yes” and the colonies fought England and won!

        I sure learned a lot.   Maybe you will want to go to Delaware and learn more about when it was a colony and what it is like now.  I know I do.    

 To the People and Projects
Comments? Email Mrs. Gurwicz
Last Updated: 03/09/06