PRESENTATION OUTLINE
FOUNDERS
-The Delaware Colony was founded in 1638 by Peter Minuit and New Sweden Company.
-Peter Minuit was the first significant leader to govern Delaware in 1638.
-In 1664 James, the Duke of York took over the state of Delaware in the name of Britain.
REASONS FOUNDED
-The two main reasons for the founding of Delaware were the trade and agricultural opportunity
that the state presented.
-The soil was fertile which was the main reason for agriculture.
-It also had thriving forests for manufacturing and lumber.
WHO SETTLED IN DELAWARE
-The Dutch first settled in Delaware in 1631.
-Seven years later, the Swedes set up a colony and trading post at Fort Christina in the northern part of Delaware.
-By 1655, the Dutch had forcibly removed the Swedes from the area.
-In 1664, however, the British removed the Dutch from the east coast.
CLIMATE AND GEOGRAPHY
-The Middle colonies (including Delaware) spanned the Mid-Atlantic region of America and were temperate in climate with warm summers and cold winters.
-Geography ranged from coastal plains along the coastline, piedmont (rolling hills) in the middle, and mountains farther inland.
-These colonies (including Delaware) were known as the “breadbasket” because of the large amounts of barley, wheat, oats, and rye that were grown here.
ECONOMY
-Largely agricultural, farms in this region grew numerous kinds of crops, most notably grains and oats.
-Logging, shipbuilding, textiles production, and papermaking were also important.
-Craftsmen such as blacksmiths, silversmiths, cobblers, wheelwrights, wigmakers, milliners, and others contributed to the economies of certain cities.
RELIGION
-Religion in the Middle Colonies (counting Delaware) was varied as no single religion seemed to dominate the entire region.
-Religious tolerance attracted immigrants from a wide-range of foreign countries who practiced many different religions.
-Quakers, Catholics, Jews, Lutherans and Presbyterians were among those religious groups that had significant numbers in the middle colonies.
POLITICS
-At first, the two colonies (Pennsylvania and Delaware) were joined and shared the same legislative assembly.
-After 1701, Delaware was given the right to its own assembly.
-It was not until 1776 that Delaware was declared separate from Pennsylvania.
