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 constructed 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 was abandoned by 1699."
Explored in 1609 by Henry Hudson while sailing on an expedition for the Dutch East India Company, the region was later surveyed, charted and given its name in 1614. The Dutch named the three main rivers of the province the Zuyd Rivieror"South River", the Noort Rivieror"North River", and the Versche Rivieror"Fresh River", and intended to use them to gain access to the interior, to the Native Americans and to the lucrative fur trade.
New Sweden was first settled in 1637 on territory claimed by the 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 NetherlandPeter 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 being at Wiltwyck.[4]
^Bert van Steeg,Walen in de Wildernis"Walen in de Wildernis". Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2008-12-02.:
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), pp.150-191.
^The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware 1638-1664 Volume I (Amandus Johnson Reprint Services Corp. 1911)
^Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware 1630-1707 (ed. Albert Cook Myers. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1912) [1]Archived 2012-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
^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, Elizabeth D. Day, University Archives and Records Center. University of Pennsylvania, 10 October 2005) [3]
^History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Henry Graham Ashmead. Philadelphia: L. H. Everts & Co. 1884 [4]Archived 2008-12-03 at the Wayback Machine
