Before Delaware was settled by Europeans, the area was home to the
Eastern Algonquian tribes known as the Lenape or Delaware throughout the
Delaware valley, and the Nanticoke along the rivers leading into the
Chesapeake Bay.
The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in present day Delaware by
establishing a trading post in 1631. In 1638 a Dutchman named Peter
Minuit, at the head of a group of Swedes, Finns and Dutch, established a
Swedish trading post and colony at Fort Christina, now in Wilmington.
Thirteen years later the Dutch, reinvigorated by the leadership of Peter
Stuyvesant, established a new fort in 1651 at present day New Castle,
Delaware and in 1655 took over the entire Swedish colony, incorporating
it into the Dutch New Netherlands.
In 1664, the Dutch were themselves forcibly removed by a British
expedition under the direction of James, the Duke of York. The Duke
passed his somewhat dubious title on to William Penn in 1682. Penn badly
wanted an outlet to the sea for his Pennsylvania province and leased
what is now known as the "Lower Counties on the Delaware" from the Duke.
Penn established representative government and briefly combined his two
possessions under one General Assembly in 1682.
Like the other middle colonies, the Lower Counties on the Delaware
initially lacked much enthusiasm for a break with Great Britain. So it
was that New Castle lawyer, Thomas McKean denounced the Stamp Act in the
strongest terms, and Kent County native, John Dickinson, became the
"Penman of the Revolution." Anticipating the Declaration of
Independence, patriot leaders Thomas McKean and Caesar Rodney convinced
the Colonial Assembly to declare itself separated from British rule on
June 15, 1776, but the person best representing Delaware's majority,
George Read, could not bring himself to vote for a Declaration of
Independence. Only the dramatic overnight ride of Caesar Rodney gave the
delegation the votes needed to cast Delaware's vote for Independence.
Once the Declaration was adopted, however, Read signed the document.
The only real engagement on Delaware soil was fought on September 3,
1777, at Cooch's Bridge in New Castle County. It is believed to be the
first time that the Stars and Stripes was flown in battle.
Following the American Revolution, statesmen from Delaware were among
the leading proponents of a strong central United States government with
equal representation for each state. Once the Connecticut Compromise was
reached creating a U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, the
leaders in Delaware were able to easily secure ratification of the U.S.
Constitution on December 7, 1787, making Delaware the first state to do
so.
