 The Seal of New Netherland  In 1653 the City of New Amsterdam erected a wall along the northern edge of town to protect the inhabitants from attack. This wall, five to six feet high, was contstructed of heavy planks laid horizontally and ran from the Hudson River to the East River on the line of present-day Wall Street. Frequently in need of repair, the wall had been abandoned by 1699 New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the seventeenth century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on northeastern coast of North America. The claimed territory were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to southern Cape Cod. Settled areas are now part of Mid-Atlantic states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. Its capital, New Amsterdam, was located at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan on the Upper New York Bay. Explored in 1609 by Henry Hudson, sailing on an expedition for the Dutch East India Company, the region was later surveyed and charted, and in 1614 given its name. The Dutch named the three main rivers of the province the Zuyd Rivier or South River, the Noort Rivier or North River, and the Versche Rivier or Fresh River, and intended to use them to gain access to the interior, the indigenous population, and, initially, the lucrative fur trade. International law required not only discovery and charting but also settlement to perfect a territorial claim. Large scale settlement was rejected in favor of formula that was working elsewhere. Initially, factorijen, or trading posts, with a military presence and a small support community were establish so that commerce could be conducted with Algonquian and Iroquoian population. During the first decade the New Netherland Company built the Fort Nassau in Mahican/Mohawk territory on North River. Among the places it is believed factorijen were set up are Schenectady, Schoharie, Esopus, Rodenbergh, Communipaw, Ninigret, Manhattan. The Dutch West India Company (WIC), was granted a charter by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on June 3, 1621 [1] forming a joint venture to exploit trade in New Netherland. The first settlers landed on Noten Island in 1624, and began the fortication and population of the colony. The names Fort Nassau and Fort Orange was used by the Dutch in the 17th century for several fortifications around the world in honor the House of Orange-Nassau. New Sweden was first settled in 1637 on territory claimed by Dutch Republic, which was unable to prevent the incursion and did not officially recognize the colony. It was brought under Dutch control in a military expedition led by Director-General of New Netherland Petrus Stuyvesant in 1655.[2] In that year the government enacted regulations requiring settlers throughout the province to construct stockades [3] to which they could withdraw if attacked, the most extensive at Wiltwyck. [edit] Dutch Forts - Fort Nassau (1614), on the North River (at Albany, New York), lost to floods
- Fort Orange (1624), Castle Island in the North River (at Albany, New York)
- Fort Amsterdam (1625), the The Manhattoes harbor at the mouth of the North River (at the site of Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House)
- Fort Wilhelmus (1625), on the South River (at Burlington Island), soon abandoned [4]
- Fort Nassau (1623), near the South River (at Gloucester City, New Jersey), relocated 1651, becoming Fort Casimir
- Fort Huis de Goed Hoop (1633), on the Park River near Fresh River (at Hartford)
- Fort Casimir (1651), on the South River (at New Castle, Delaware) briefly known as Fort Trefaldigheets (1652-1654), and later New Amstel
- Fort Beversreede (1651), on the Schuylkill River (at Southwest Philadelphia) near the South River
- Fort Altena (1655), the name given to Fort Christina (at Wilmington)
[edit] Swedish Forts - Fort Christina (1638) - at the Brandywine Creek and Christina River in Wilmington, Delaware, later renamed Fort Altena (1655)[5]
- Fort Mecoponacka (1641) - in Chester, PA near Finlandia or Upland in Delaware County, Pennsylvania[6]
- Fort Nya Elfsborg (1643) - between present day Salem Creek and Alloway Creek near Bridgeport, New Jersey[7]
- Fort Nya Gothenborg (1643) - on Tinicum Island near the site of The Printzhofin Essington, Delaware County, Pennsylvania [8]
- Fort Nya Vasa (1646) - at Kingsessing, on the eastern-side of Cobbs Creek in Philadelphia, PA[9]
- Fort Nya Korsholm (1647) - on the Schuylkill River near the South River in Philadelphia, PA [10]
[edit] Other Fortifications [edit] See also [edit] References - ^ http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/westind.asp: Charter of the West Inda Company
- ^ State of Delaware (A Brief History). State of Delaware. 2007-01-21.
- ^ Laws and Ordinances of New Netherland 1638-1674, compiled and translated by E.B.Callaghan, 1868
- ^ Bert van Steeg,Walen in de Wildernis :http://stuyvesant.library.uu.nl/kaarten/steegessay.htm Bij aankomst in de kolonie werden de kolonisten opgesplitst in vier groepen en werden er op een aantal plaatsen kleine vestigingen gesticht, vooral in de buurt van de al bestaande handelsposten. Een aantal families werden gevestigd aan de Delaware. Hier werd fort Wilhelmus gesticht. Twee families en zes mannen werden naar de Connecticut rivier gestuurd. Ook op Governors’ eiland werden een aantal kolonisten geplaatst om een fort te bouwen. Het grootste aantal kolonisten, onder wie Catalina Rapalje, werd echter net ten zuiden van het huidige Albany geplaatst. May liet hier een klein fort bouwen dat de naam Fort Orange kreeg. Hier verbleven ongeveer achttien families.[30]Brodhead, J.R., History of the state of New York (New York 1871), 150-191
- ^ The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware 1638-1664 Volume I (by Amandus Johnson Reprint Services Corp. 1911)
- ^ Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware 1630-1707 (edited by Albert Cook Myers. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1912) [1]
- ^ The Swedes and Finns in New Jersey (Federal Writers' Project of WPA. Bayonne, New Jersey: Jersey Printing Company, Inc. 1938)
- ^ History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania (by Henry Graham Ashmead. Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & Co.1884 [2]
- ^ Kingsessing: Swedish Settlement to Urban Blight (by Elizabeth D.Day, University Archives and Records Center. University of Pennsylvania. 10/10/2005) [3]
- ^ History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania (by Henry Graham Ashmead. Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & Co.1884 [4]
- ^ http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/Our_Country_Vol_1/newhaven_fc.html
- ^ Timeline: A selected Wall Street chronology PBS Online, 21 October 2004. Retrieved 11 January 2009
- ^ http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/kingston/colonization.htm
- ^ [5]
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