In time, Governor Stuyvesant of New Netherlands began to consider New Sweden a commercial rival. To correct this situation, he arrived with a Dutch fleet and took over the Swedish forts. He changed New Sweden's name to New Amstel.
The English Take Over
Nine years later, in 1664, the English arrived on the scene. After a short skirmish the Dutch surrendered and the English seized the settlements of New Sweden/New Amstel.
Under English rule, Delaware was first governed as a part of the colony of New York after King Charles II of England, in 1664, endowed his brother, the Duke of York, with a vast tract of land in America. This endowment included New York, then known as New Amsterdam, as well as parts of Connecticut and New Jersey. The Duke of York then transferred present-day Delaware to William Penn, making it a part of Pennsylvania. After the English take-over of Delaware it was governed from the town of New Castle.
Pennsylvania Takes Over
After the 1682 transfer of Delaware to Pennsylvania it was referred to as the Lower Counties or the Territories. This situation remained for some twenty-two years. Then in 1704 the Lower Counties established their own independent legislature. Prior to the start of the American Revolution the area saw large numbers of indentured Scotch-Irish settle there.
Strife and the Slave Trade
The Lower Counties, Delaware, experienced considerable strife under the government of Pennsylvania. There were religious disagreements as well as differences in national origin. There was a labor shortage in Delaware, which led to extensive slave trade. State law, however, abolished this practice, in 1776. In that year, they adopted a constitution as the state of Delaware.
Colonial America Series continues with:
Previous: They Came to Delaware .
Recommended Reading:
Source:
Delaware Tour Book. American Automobile Association, Heathrow, Florida, 1993.
Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, Vol. 8. Funk & Wagnalls, Inc.
Maryland and Delaware. Nelson Doubleday, Inc, Garden City, New York, 1968.
