Video: The Middle Colonies

(Narrator) OUT OF THE 13 COLONIES

THAT LATER BECAME AMERICA'S FIRST STATES,

ONLY THE MIDDLE COLONIES,

THOSE THAT LAY IN BETWEEN NEW ENGLAND AND THE SOUTHERN COLONIES,

WERE NOT ORIGINALLY FOUNDED BY ENGLAND.

THESE WERE THE COLONIES OF...

THE STORIES OF HOW THE MIDDLE COLONIES CAME TO BE,

MAKE UP A FASCINATING CHAPTER

IN THE COLONIAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.

THE ORIGIN OF ALL THE MIDDLE COLONIES

CAN BE TRACED BACK TO A MAN NAMED HENRY HUDSON,

WHO IN 1609 SAILED UP THE GREAT RIVER THAT NOW BEARS HIS NAME.

LIKE MANY OTHER EARLY EXPLORERS,

HUDSON WAS SEARCHING FOR A NORTHWEST PASSAGE;

A NORTHERN TRADE ROUTE FROM EUROPE TO ASIA

THAT AVOIDED THE LONG JOURNEY AROUND THE TIP OF SOUTH AMERICA.

THE DUTCH EMPLOYED HENRY HUDSON AT THE TIME,

AND HIS VOYAGE GAVE HOLLAND A CLAIM TO THE REGION.

TWELVE YEARS AFTER HUDSON'S VOYAGE

A GROUP OF MERCHANTS FROM HOLLAND

CREATED THE DUTCH WEST INDIA COMPANY

TO DEVELOP FUR TRADING IN NORTH AMERICA.

IN 1624 THIRTY FAMILIES OF DUTCH SETTLERS

CAME TO AMERICA AND SOME OF THEM ESTABLISHED FORT ORANGE,

THE SITE OF TODAY'S CITY OF ALBANY, NEW YORK,

AND THE COLONY OF NEW NETHERLAND BEGAN.

NEW NETHERLAND GREW AS MORE COLONISTS ARRIVED FROM EUROPE

AND BY THE MID 1620s FOR ABOUT $24 IN TRADE GOODS

THE DUTCH PURCHASED MANHATTAN ISLAND.

NOW MANHATTAN IS THE WHERE THE CENTER OF THE LARGEST CITY

IN THE UNITED STATES STANDS.

BUT BEFORE IT BECAME THE CITY OF NEW YORK

IT WAS A DUTCH TOWN CALLED NEW AMSTERDAM.

IT WAS THE CAPITAL OF NEW NETHERLAND

AND THE MAIN PORT FOR SHIPPING GOODS

INTO AND OUT OF THE AMERICAS.

THE DUTCH WEST INDIA COMPANY WANTED TO INCREASE

THE PERMANENT POPULATION OF NEW NETHERLAND

AND SO THEY CAME UP WITH AN UNUSUAL PLAN FOR COLONIZATION

KNOWN AS THE PATROON SYSTEM.

UNDER THIS PLAN WEALTHY PEOPLE

WHO COULD AFFORD TO BRING IN 50 NEW COLONISTS FROM EUROPE

OVER A PERIOD OF FOUR YEARS

WERE GRANTED HUGE TRACTS OF LAND ALONG THE HUDSON RIVER.

HOWEVER, THE PATROONS HAD TO BE REPAID THEIR EXPENSES

SO COLONISTS WHO AGREED TO COME WERE EXPECTED TO WORK THE LANDS

ALMOST LIKE THE SERFS IN MEDIEVAL TIMES.

IN THE END, ONLY FIVE PATROONSHIPS WERE EVER GRANTED

BECAUSE VERY FEW PEOPLE WERE WILLING TO GIVE UP

THEIR PERSONAL FREEDOM TO LIVE IN HOLLAND'S AMERICAN COLONY.

BY THE 1630s, ENGLISH PURITANS

HAD BEGUN TO SETTLE IN PARTS NEW NETHERLAND

THAT ARE NOW THE EASTERN PART OF LONG ISLAND, N.Y.

AND WESTERN CONNECTICUT.

THE PURITANS GOT ALONG WITH THEIR DUTCH NEIGHBORS

BUT REMAINED ENGLISH SUBJECTS.

AT THAT TIME, INCLUDING THESE ENGLISH SETTLERS,

THERE WERE 8000 INHABITANTS IN NEW NETHERLAND;

MOST WERE DUTCH BUT THERE WERE GERMANS,

SWEDES, AND AMERICAN INDIANS LIVING THERE AS WELL:

IN FACT IT WAS SUCH A DIVERSE PLACE

THAT ABOUT 20 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES WERE SPOKEN THERE.

OVER TIME HOLLAND INCREASINGLY COMPETED

WITH ENGLAND'S SHIPPING BUSINESS BETWEEN EUROPE AND AMERICA.

BY THE YEAR 1664,

KING CHARLES THE SECOND HAD GROWN TIRED

OF DUTCH INTERFERENCE WITH HIS COUNTRY'S TRADE

AND DECIDED TO TAKE MILITARY ACTION AGAINST NEW NETHERLAND.

THE KING SENT A FLEET OF WARSHIPS TO NEW NETHERLAND

WITH ORDERS TO SEIZE THE COLONY FOR ENGLAND.

BUT WHEN THE SHIPS ARRIVED,

THE DUTCH GOVERNOR, PETER STUYVESANT,

WAS UNABLE TO CONVINCE HIS PEOPLE TO PUT UP A FIGHT

AND SO THE COLONY WAS SURRENDERED TO ENGLAND

WITHOUT BLOODSHED.

ONCE HE HAD TAKEN NEW NETHERLAND

THE KING DECIDED TO MAKE A PRESENT OF IT

TO HIS BROTHER JAMES, THE DUKE OF YORK,

AND IT WAS HE WHO RENAMED THE COLONY NEW YORK.

AS THE OWNER OR PROPRIETOR OF THE NEW COLONY

THE DUKE COULD DO AS HE PLEASED.

AND SO HE LET THE DUTCH SETTLERS

KEEP THEIR PROPERTY AND ALLOWED FREEDOM OF RELIGION.

BUT HE SEVERELY LIMITED THE COLONIST'S ABILITY

TO GOVERN THEMSELVES.

WHEN KING CHARLES DIED 20 YEARS LATER

HIS BROTHER THE DUKE OF YORK

BECAME ENGLAND'S KING JAMES THE SECOND.

AFTER THAT NEW YORK AUTOMATICALLY BECAME A ROYAL COLONY

AND IN THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED

NEW YORK CITY GREW TO BE THE SECOND LARGEST CITY

IN THE ENGLISH COLONIES.

IF HE COULD HAVE KING JAMES THE SECOND

WOULD HAVE PREFERRED TO RULE HIS KINGDOM

FROM HERE IN LONDON BY HIMSELF AS AN ABSOLUTE MONARCH

WITHOUT ANY LIMITS ON HIS POWER

AND WITHOUT THE HELP OF PARLIAMENT.

JAMES KEPT A LARGE PRIVATE ARMY TO PROTECT HIMSELF.

AND PARLIAMENT, WHICH REPRESENTED BOTH THE LORDS

AND COMMON PEOPLE, FEARED THE KING'S TROOPS

MIGHT BE USED TO FORCE THEM FROM GOVERNMENT.

TO PREVENT THIS FROM EVER HAPPENING

A BLOODLESS REBELLION OCCURRED

IN THE YEARS 1688 AND 1689.

AS A RESULT OF WHAT CAME TO BE CALLED THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION

UNPOPULAR KING JAMES WAS FORCED TO GIVE UP HIS THRONE.

BUT AN EVEN MORE IMPORTANT OUTCOME

WAS THAT AN ENGLISH BILL OF RIGHTS WAS ADOPTED.

THIS SET OF LAWS GAVE PARLIAMENT MORE POWER THAN THE MONARCH.

AND, BECAUSE IT REPRESENTED SUCH A VICTORY FOR DEMOCRACY,

THE ENGLISH BILL OF RIGHTS SERVED AS A MAJOR INSPIRATION

TO THE FRAMERS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

SHORTLY AFTER NEW NETHERLAND BECAME NEW YORK IN 1664

THE DUKE OF YORK DECIDED TO GIVE ALL THE LAND BETWEEN

THE HUDSON AND DELAWARE RIVERS TO TWO LOYAL FRIENDS.

IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT BOTH OF THEM

WERE ALREADY AMONG THE EIGHT PROPRIETORS OF THE COLONY CALLED CAROLINA

THAT HAD RECENTLY BEEN FOUNDED TO THE SOUTH.

THE COLONY CREATED BY SPLITTING-UP NEW YORK

WAS NAMED NEW JERSEY IN HONOR OF THE ENGLISH ISLAND OF JERSEY;

A PLACE WHERE ONE OF ITS PROPRIETORS,

GEORGE CARTERET, HAD SERVED AS A HIGH GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL.

UNLIKE THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES THAT WERE CREATED FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS,

THE PROPRIETORS OF NEW JERSEY INTENDED TO MAKE MONEY

IN THE BUSINESS OF REAL ESTATE,

THROUGH THE SELLING AND RENTING OF PROPERTY.

AND IN ORDER TO ATTRACT SETTLERS TO THEIR LAND

THE PROPRIETORS DECIDED TO ALLOW A GREAT DEAL

OF RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL FREEDOM TO EXIST IN THE COLONY.

TEN YEARS AFTER NEW JERSEY WAS FOUNDED,

ONE OF ITS PROPRIETORS, LORD JOHN BERKELEY,

DECIDED TO SELL HALF OF THE COLONY TO A GROUP OF QUAKERS

THAT INCLUDED WILLIAM PENN,

THE FUTURE PROPRIETOR OF THE COLONY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

IN 1676, NEW JERSEY WAS DIVIDED INTO TWO SEPARATE COLONIES:

QUAKERS CONTROLLED WEST JERSEY

AND EAST JERSEY WAS UNDER THE CONTROL OF GEORGE CARTERET.

AT THIS TIME, MANY QUAKERS WERE EAGER

TO LEAVE ENGLAND AND SETTLE IN NEW JERSEY

BECAUSE OF RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION.

FOUR YEARS AFTER NEW JERSEY WAS DIVIDED PROPRIETOR CARTERET,

DIED AND HIS COLONY OF EAST JERSEY WAS SOLD OFF.

EVENTUALLY IT ENDED UP

IN THE HANDS OF 24 DIFFERENT QUAKER PROPRIETORS

WHO TRIED TO RULE AT ONE TIME.

THIS CREATED TREMENDOUS DISCONTENT AMONG THE COLONISTS.

TO CREATE POLITICAL STABILITY IN THE TWO JERSEYS,

THE PROPRIETORS GAVE UP THEIR CLAIMS OF OWNERSHIP

AND IN 1702 THE KING REUNITED THE COLONIES

INTO THE SINGLE ROYAL COLONY OF NEW JERSEY.

UP UNTIL THE OUTBREAK OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR,

NEW JERSEY CONTINUED TO HAVE TWO CAPITAL CITIES.

ONE WAS PERTH AMBOY THE OLD CAPITAL OF EAST JERSEY,

AND THE OTHER WAS BURLINGTON, THE OLD CAPITAL OF WEST JERSEY.

THE LANDS TO THE WEST OF NEW JERSEY

GAVE BIRTH TO THE QUAKER COLONY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

IT WAS THE TWELFTH OF ENGLAND'S 13 AMERICAN COLONIES

AND WAS THE LAST ONE TO BE FOUNDED

IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

FOR THE MOST PART,

THE STORY OF HOW THE PENNSYLVANIA COLONY CAME TO BE,

REVOLVES AROUND THE LIFE OF ITS FOUNDER WILLIAM PENN.

WILLIAM PENN WAS BORN IN THE YEAR 1644

INTO A VERY WEALTHY ENGLISH FAMILY.

PENN WAS RAISED IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

BUT BECAME A QUAKER AT THE AGE OF SIXTEEN.

AND IT WAS THE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF THE QUAKERS

THAT LED HIM TO THE COLONIES OF AMERICA.

THE QUAKERS OR SOCIETY OF FRIENDS

WAS A RELIGION FOUNDED IN ENGLAND

IN THE MID-SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

AND IT WAS AT THIS MEETINGHOUSE JUST OUTSIDE OF LONDON

THAT WILLIAM PENN WORSHIPPED AND IS BURIED.

QUAKER MEETINGHOUSES WERE SIMILAR

TO THOSE OF THE PURITANS IN THAT THEY WERE QUITE PLAIN

AND HAD NO ALTARS, STAINED GLASS,

OR RELIGIOUS IMAGES.

BUT THE QUAKERS THEMSELVES WERE CONSIDERABLY DIFFERENT

FROM THE PURITANS BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T FOLLOW

A DEFINITE SET OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

AND THEY DIDN'T HAVE MINISTERS.

AND EVEN TODAY, QUAKERS DO NOT BELIEVE

IN USING FORCE OR GOING TO WAR.

BECAUSE THEY ARE PACIFISTS

THEY REFUSE TO PERFORM IN MILITARY COMBAT.

BACK IN PENN'S TIME THEY ALSO REFUSED TO BOW

AND TAKE THEIR HATS OFF TO HIGHER-UPS,

AS WAS THE ENGLISH CUSTOM OF THE DAY

AND THEY WOULD NOT PAY TAXES THAT WENT TO SUPPORT THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

SO IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

OFTEN GOT THEM LOCKED UP IN JAIL.

IN THE 1670s QUAKERS BEGAN IMMIGRATING TO AMERICA

TO FIND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

SOME ESTABLISHED MEETINGHOUSES,

ESPECIALLY IN THE JERSEY COLONIES AND IN RHODE ISLAND.

BUT WILLIAM PENN WANTED TO START A NEW COLONY OF HIS OWN

WHERE PEOPLE OF ALL FAITHS COULD COME

AND FREELY PRACTICE THEIR RELIGIONS.

IT WAS BECAUSE WILLIAM PENN'S FATHER

HAD ONCE LOANED KING CHARLES THE SECOND A LARGE SUM OF MONEY

THAT THE COLONY OF PENNSYLVANIA CAME TO BE BORN.

FOR, TO REPAY THE DEBT,

WILLIAM PENN RECEIVED A GRANT FROM THE KING IN 1681

FOR A HUGE AREA OF LAND

THAT THE KING HAD ALREADY GIVEN TO HIS BROTHER THE DUKE OF YORK.

IT LAY BETWEEN THE COLONIES OF MARYLAND,

WEST JERSEY, AND NEW YORK

AND WAS AS LARGE AS ENGLAND ITSELF.

BECAUSE THE NEW COLONY'S LAND WAS COVERED WITH DENSE FORESTS

PENN NAMED IT PENNSYLVANIA,

A WORD WHICH MEANS PENN'S WOODS.

WILLIAM PENN THOUGHT OF PENNSYLVANIA

AS WHAT HE CALLED A "HOLY EXPERIMENT."

A PLACE WHERE QUAKER IDEALS

OF TOLERANCE AND EQUALITY COULD BE PUT INTO PRACTICE.

PENN HAD A MAGNIFICENT VISION FOR HIS COLONY,

WHICH HE SPELLED OUT IN "THE FRAME OF THE GOVERNMENT

OF THE PROVINCE OF PENNSYLVANIA IN AMERICA."

WHEN HE COMPLETED THIS DOCUMENT IN 1682,

PENN HAD LAID OUT A PLAN FOR GOVERNMENT

IN WHICH TWO GROUPS, THAT WERE ELECTED BY MALE LANDOWNERS,

WOULD WORK TO WRITE THE COLONY'S LAWS.

WILLIAM PENN ALSO MADE SURE THAT IN PENNSYLVANIA,

AMERICAN INDIANS WERE TREATED WITH FAIRNESS

AND WERE NOT CHEATED OUT OF THEIR LAND.

1682 WAS AN EXTREMELY BUSY YEAR FOR WILLIAM PENN,

FOR THAT AUTUMN, AFTER COMPOSING PENNSYLVANIA'S FRAME OF GOVERNMENT,

HE ARRIVED IN AMERICA TO SUPERVISE THE LAYING OUT

OF THE COLONY'S NEW CAPITAL CITY WHICH HE NAMED PHILADELPHIA,

MEANING THE "CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE."

A PLACE THAT RAPIDLY GREW TO BECOME THE LARGEST

AND MOST IMPORTANT CITY IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES.

DURING THE SMALL AMOUNT OF TIME HE SPENT IN AMERICA

PENN LIVED HERE AT PENNSBURY MANOR,

SITUATED JUST UPSTREAM FROM PHILADELPHIA

ON THE BANKS OF THE DELAWARE RIVER

LOOKING OUT AT THE COLONY OF WEST JERSEY.

THIS FINE ESTATE SHOWS JUST HOW WELL THE PROPRIETOR

OF AN AMERICAN COLONY LIVED IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

NATURALLY THE HEART OF THE ESTATE WAS PENN'S HOME.

IT WAS A COMFORTABLE PLACE

WITH FINE FURNITURE

AND SPACIOUS BEDROOMS

IN WHICH COULD BE FOUND SPECIAL STANDS TO HOLD THE WIGS

THAT WERE SO FASHIONABLE WITH BOTH MEN AND WOMEN BACK THEN.

IN PENN'S LARGE DINING ROOM HUNG A PORTRAIT OF THE MAN

WHO HAD MADE HIM PROPRIETOR OF PENNSYLVANIA:

KING CHARLES THE SECOND.

AND IN AN ADJACENT BUILDING

PENN EVEN HAD A GOOD-SIZED BREWERY FOR MAKING BEER.

IN 1684, AFTER BARELY A YEAR AT PENNSBURY MANOR,

WILLIAM PENN HAD TO RETURN TO ENGLAND IN ORDER TO SOLVE

A BORDER DISPUTE WITH THE NEIGHBORING COLONY OF MARYLAND.

AND FIFTEEN YEARS WERE TO PASS

BEFORE HE WAS ABLE TO RETURN TO PENNSYLVANIA.

THAT WAS BECAUSE THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION OCCURRED

DURING PENN'S STAY IN ENGLAND,

DURING WHICH HE SAW HIS FRIEND KING JAMES THE SECOND

FORCED FROM THE THRONE

AND PARLIAMENT GAINS SUPREME POWER IN THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT.

BECAUSE HE WAS A GREAT SUPPORTER OF THE DEPOSED KING

HE WAS ARRESTED TWICE FOR TREASON

BUT WAS NEVER CONVICTED.

NONETHELESS, DURING THAT TIME WILLIAM PENN

WAS NOT ALLOWED TO RETURN TO PENNSYLVANIA.

PENN GOT INTO TROUBLE AGAIN WHEN WAR BROKE OUT WITH FRANCE,

AND NEW YORK ASKED PENNSYLVANIA FOR HELP

PROTECTING ITS BORDER WITH FRENCH CANADA.

AT FIRST THE PEACE LOVING QUAKERS OF PENNSYLVANIA

REFUSED TO FIGHT TO HELP THEIR FELLOW ENGLISH COLONISTS

AND AS A RESULT PENN LOST HIS PROPRIETORSHIP.

HOWEVER, AFTER PENNSYLVANIA AGREED

TO SUPPLY THE NEEDED TROOPS

PENN REGAINED CONTROL AND RETURNED TO THE COLONY.

TO ENCOURAGE EUROPEANS TO SETTLE THERE

WILLIAM PENN ADVERTISED THE ADVANTAGES

OF LIVING IN PENNSYLVANIA IN MANY PARTS OF EUROPE.

THE GREAT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM HE OFFERED,

IMMEDIATELY ATTRACTED PEOPLE FROM A VARIETY

OF PROTESTANT RELIGIOUS SECTS.

THESE HARD-WORKING IMMIGRANTS

HELPED TO TURN PENNSYLVANIA INTO A VERY PROSPEROUS COLONY.

IN FACT, PENNSYLVANIA BECAME THE "BREADBASKET " OF AMERICA

AND LARGE QUANTITIES OF THE WHEAT RAISED THERE

WERE EXPORTED TO EUROPE.

JUST BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE,

PHILADELPHIA HAD SURPASSED THE OLDER CITIES OF BOSTON,

NEW YORK, AND CHARLESTON

TO BECOME THE LARGEST CITY IN THE AMERICAN COLONIES.

IN 1770 PHILADELPHIA HAD A POPULATION OF 28,000 PEOPLE

COMPARED TO THE 25,000 LIVING IN NEW YORK CITY.

PHILADELPHIA'S PORT ON THE DELAWARE RIVER

WAS ALWAYS FILLED WITH SHIPS THAT SAILED

THE "TRIANGULAR" TRADE ROUTES BETWEEN EUROPE,

AFRICA, AND THE WEST INDIES.

AT THAT TIME THE MOST IMPORTANT BUILDING IN THE CITY

WAS THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE HOUSE

WHERE THE COLONY'S LEGISLATURE MET.

TODAY THE OLD STATE HOUSE IS CONSIDERED TO BE THE MOST

HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT BUILDING IN THE UNITED STATES

AND IS KNOWN AS INDEPENDENCE HALL.

BECAUSE BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

IT WAS THE CENTER OF THE POLITICAL ACTIVITY

THAT SHAPED THE UNITED STATES.

IT WAS THE HOME OF THE FIRST AND SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESSES;

THE ORIGINAL ATTEMPTS AT FORMING A UNIFIED AMERICAN GOVERNMENT,

IT WAS THE PLACE WHERE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WAS SIGNED,

IT SERVED AS ONE OF THE FIRST CAPITOL BUILDINGS

OF THE UNITED STATES AFTER THE WAR.

AND IT WAS WHERE THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

TOOK PLACE THAT PRODUCED THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION.

THE OLD STATEHOUSE BELL, NOW KNOWN AS THE LIBERTY BELL

RANG OUT TO PROCLAIM AMERICA'S

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FROM GREAT BRITAIN IN 1776.

IT CRACKED MANY YEARS LATER

AND HAS BEEN A CHERISHED NATIONAL SYMBOL EVER SINCE.

DURING THE LATE COLONIAL PERIOD,

PHILADELPHIA WAS ALSO HOME TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,

A MAN WHO PLAYED MANY IMPORTANT ROLES IN AMERICAN HISTORY

AS A GREAT STATESMAN, INVENTOR, AND SCIENTIST.

FRANKLIN, A QUAKER, WAS ONE OF THE MAIN CIVIC LEADERS IN PHILADELPHIA.

IN FACT HE SERVED AS ITS DEPUTY POSTMASTER,

HELPED FOUND ITS PUBLIC LIBRARY, ITS FIRST MILITIA,

A HOSPITAL, AN INSURANCE COMPANY,

AND THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY,

HOUSED IN THE BUILDING SEEN HERE,

A GROUP THAT WORKED TO PROMOTE

THE STUDY OF SCIENCE IN THE UNITED STATES.

FOR MANY YEARS THE LAND THAT BECAME THE COLONY OF DELAWARE

WAS ACTUALLY PART OF PENNSYLVANIA.

HOWEVER, DELAWARE HAD BEGUN TO BE COLONIZED BY EUROPEANS

HALF A CENTURY BEFORE PENNSYLVANIA CAME INTO EXISTENCE

AND ITS STORY IS VERY INTERESTING.

THE LAND SOUTH OF THE DELAWARE BAY

AND EAST OF MARYLAND UPON WHICH THE COLONY WAS ESTABLISHED

WAS NAMED FOR A MAN NAMED BARON DE LA WARR:

AN EARLY GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA

AND WHO SENT A SHIP INTO THE BAY IN 1610.

HOWEVER, A YEAR EARLIER THE BAY HAD BEEN EXPLORED

BY HENRY HUDSON WORKING FOR HOLLAND

AS HE SEARCHED FOR A NORTHWEST PASSAGE TO ASIA.

SO IT WAS HOLLAND NOT ENGLAND

THAT FIRST LAID CLAIM TO DELAWARE.

IN 1631, THE DUTCH ESTABLISHED A FUR-TRADING OUTPOST

ON THIS RIVERBANK NOT FAR FROM THE DELAWARE BAY.

NO TRACE OF THE ORIGINAL DUTCH OUTPOST REMAINS TODAY

BECAUSE IT WAS BURNED-DOWN BY NATIVE AMERICANS

SHORTLY AFTER IT WAS BUILT.

BUT IN NEARBY LEWES, DELAWARE

A FINE COPY OF A DUTCH BUILDING OF THAT TIME

COMMEMORATES THIS PERIOD OF DELAWARE'S HISTORY.

THE FIRST PERMANENT EUROPEAN SETTLERS OF DELAWARE

ARRIVED SEVEN YEARS AFTER THOSE FROM HOLLAND.

THESE PEOPLE CAME IN TWO SHIPS FROM SWEDEN.

THE ONE SEEN HERE IS COPY OF THE KALMAR NYCKEL

THAT WAS PROVIDED TO THE SETTLERS

BY THE SWEDISH ROYAL NAVY.

THE SWEDES SAILED FARTHER UP THE BAY

AND INTO THE DELAWARE RIVER.

THEY ESTABLISHED FORT CHRISTINA

HERE ALONG THE RIVERBANK

IN WHAT IS TODAY THE CITY OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE

WHERE THE COLONY THEY CALLED NEW SWEDEN BEGAN.

AT FIRST THE SWEDES WORKED AS FUR TRADERS

BUT AS TIME PASSED SOME SETTLED NORTHWARD UP THE DELAWARE RIVER

WHERE THEY ESTABLISHED FARMS AND TOWNS.

THE FIRST COLONISTS IN NEW SWEDEN

BUILT SMALL CABINS OUT OF INTERLOCKING LOGS

THAT WERE SIMILAR TO THEIR HOMES BACK IN EUROPE.

LATER ON THIS STYLE OF BUILDING

WAS ADOPTED IN FRONTIER SETTLEMENTS ALL ACROSS AMERICA.

SEVERAL YEARS AFTER NEW SWEDEN WAS FOUNDED

THE DUTCH BUILT A FORT NEAR HERE AT NEW CASTLE, DELAWARE

IN AN ATTEMPT TO GET THE LAND,

THAT THEY BELIEVED BELONGED TO NEW NETHERLAND,

BACK FROM THE SWEDISH SETTLERS.

AND AFTER FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING THEY SUCCEEDED.

THEN, AFTER THE ENGLISH SEIZED NEW NETHERLAND,

DELAWARE AUTOMATICALLY BECAME PART OF THE COLONY OF NEW YORK.

HOWEVER, WHEN KING CHARLES THE SECOND

GRANTED PENNSYLVANIA TO WILLIAM PENN

THE GRANT INCLUDED THE DELAWARE REGION.

THAT WAS BECAUSE PENN HAD REQUESTED THAT HIS COLONY

HAVE AN OPEN ROUTE TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

AS A RESULT THE DELAWARE REGION WAS TURNED INTO

THE THREE SOUTHERN OR "LOWER" COUNTIES

OF THE COLONY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

BUT WILLIAM PENN, OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE LARGE

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ENGLISH QUAKERS OF PENNSYLVANIA,

AND THE SWEDISH LUTHERANS, AND DUTCH CALVINISTS OF DELAWARE,

ALLOWED DELAWARE'S RESIDENTS TO BE GOVERNED ONLY BY LAWS

AGREED UPON BY THEMSELVES OR THEIR REPRESENTATIVES.

WHEN ENGLAND WENT TO WAR WITH FRANCE IN 1689

PENNSYLVANIA'S QUAKERS REFUSED TO HELP PROTECT

ITS DELAWARE COUNTIES FROM FRENCH ATTACKS

JUST AS THEY HAD REFUSED TO HELP NEW YORK.

THIS UPSET THE PEOPLE OF THE DELAWARE REGION

AND IN 1704 THEY BROKE AWAY FROM PENNSYLVANIA.

THE COURTHOUSE BUILDING AT NEW CASTLE SEEN HERE

SERVED AS THE COLONY'S STATEHOUSE

FOR MANY DECADES BEFORE THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.

FLYING ON IT TODAY ARE THE FLAGS OF THE FOUR NATIONS

THAT HAVE RULED IN DELAWARE.

THE...

AFTER THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE,

DELAWARE BECAME THE FIRST STATE IN THE NEW COUNTRY

OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO RATIFY ITS CONSTITUTION

AND THE CAPITOL WAS MOVED FROM NEW CASTLE TO DOVER;

A CITY THAT CONTINUES TO BE THE SEAT OF DELAWARE'S GOVERNMENT TODAY.

THE COLONIZATION OF NORTH AMERICA

BY EUROPEAN NATIONS BROUGHT ABOUT HUGE CHANGES

NOT ONLY IN THE FOUR MIDDLE COLONIES

BUT IN THE OTHER NINE ENGLISH COLONIES AS WELL.

FOR EXAMPLE, IN NEW ENGLAND ALONE THE NUMBER OF

AMERICAN INDIANS DROPPED FROM 100,000 IN 1600

TO ABOUT 10,000 ONLY SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER.

IN FACT SOME TRIBES WERE COMPLETELY WIPED OUT.

AND OF THE APPROXIMATELY ONE MILLION AMERICAN INDIANS

LIVING EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

AT THE TIME JAMESTOWN WAS SETTLED IN 1607,

ONLY 150,000 REMAINED A CENTURY AND A HALF LATER.

THE DECLINE IN THE NATIVE POPULATION

WAS IN PART DUE TO WARFARE BUT IT WAS MOSTLY

THE RESULT OF EPIDEMICS OF EUROPEAN DISEASES,

SUCH AS SMALLPOX AND MEASLES.

AS THE NATIVE POPULATION DECLINED,

THE IMMIGRANT POPULATION OF THE ENGLISH COLONIES ROSE

FROM 143,000 WHITES AND 7000 BLACKS IN 1680

TO 2,157,000 WHITES

AND 569,000 MOSTLY ENSLAVED BLACKS A CENTURY LATER.

AND SO THE GREATEST CONSEQUENCE OF COLONIZATION

WAS A MASSIVE TRANSPLANTING OF PEOPLE

FROM THE CONTINENTS OF EUROPE AND AFRICA

ACROSS THOUSANDS OF MILES OF OCEAN.

THE TRANSPLANTED PEOPLE CHANGED THE LANDSCAPE OF THE NEW CONTINENT.

THEY CUT DOWN DENSE FORESTS ACROSS

THOUSANDS OF SQUARE MILES OF COUNTRYSIDE

AND REPLACED THEM WITH CULTIVATED FIELDS.

THE SMALL, MOSTLY TEMPORARY, VILLAGES OF NATIVE AMERICANS

WERE OFTEN REPLACED BY LARGE COLONIAL CITIES AND TOWNS,

WITH PERMANENT BUILDINGS OF BRICK AND STONE;

BUILT IN THE ARCHITECTURAL STYLES OF EUROPE.

EUROPEAN TECHNOLOGY CAME WITH THE IMMIGRANTS TOO,

AND IT WAS USED TO TAME THE LAND AND CREATE A NEW COUNTRY.

TECHNOLOGY WAS A BY-PRODUCT OF EUROPE'S LONG FASCINATION WITH SCIENCE

AND HAD PRODUCED VERY SOPHISTICATED TOOLS AND MACHINES,

CHEMICALS, NAVIGATIONAL INSTRUMENTS,

DEVICES FOR KEEPING TIME,

GUNS, AND SO FORTH:

ITEMS THAT WERE VIRTUALLY UNKNOWN

TO THE NATIVE CULTURES OF AMERICA

BEFORE THE COLONISTS ARRIVED.

FOR THE COLONISTS, THE BIGGEST CHANGES CAME

NOT JUST FROM LIVING IN A MOSTLY UNTAMED LAND,

BUT FROM BEING THROWN INTO THE AMERICAN CULTURAL "MELTING POT"

THAT WAS MADE UP OF PEOPLE FROM MANY

DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD.

AND IT WAS FROM THE COMBINATION OF SO MANY DIFFERING

IDEAS AND CUSTOMS THAT THE DIVERSE AND AMAZING CULTURE

OF THE UNITED STATES WAS TO EMERGE.

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