Fort Casimir
Encyclopedia
Fort Casimir was a Dutch settlement
in 17th century colonial province of New Netherland
. It was located on a no-longer existing barrier island
at the end of Chestnut Street in what is now New Castle, Delaware
. The trading post
was named for Ernst Casimir of Nassau-Dietz, count of Nassau-Dietz and Stadtholder
of Friesland
, Groningen
and Drenthe
in the Netherlands
.
the Zuyd Rivier, or South River, and considered the lands along it banks and those of its bay
to be the southern flank of its province of New Netherland
. In 1638, the Delaware Valley
began to be settled by Swedes, Finns, Dutch, and Walloons
and became the colony of New Sweden
, though this was not officially recognized by the Dutch Empire
.
Shortly after his arrival to take up his position as up as Director-General of New Netherland
in 1648, Peter Stuyvesant
, attempted to re-assert control of the region and its lucrative trade. In his initial attempt at control, he effected the construction of Fort Beversreede
near the terminus of the Great Minquas Path
, at the mouth of the Schuylkill
. The location of earlier-built Fort Nassau
on the east bank (now New Jersey
) of the river, had proved disadvantageous since the richest fur-trapping area of the native Susquehannock
and Lenape
populations was inland to the west. In 1651, Stuyvesant had the fort dismantled and relocated to the western bank downstream from Fort Christina
, the first and one of the larger Swedish settlements. He named it Fort Casimir. Fort Beversreede was abandoned and the Dutch presence was consolidated.
On Trinity Sunday
in 1654, Johan Risingh, Commissary and Councilor to New Sweden
Governor Lt. Col. Johan Printz, officially assumed his duties and his attempts to expel the Dutch from the Delaware Valley
. Fort Casimir surrendered to the Swedes and was renamed Fort Trinity (in Swedish Fort Trefaldighet). On June 21, 1654, the native peoples met with the Swedes to reaffirm their alliance.
Stuyvesant led a Dutch force which retook the fort on September 11, 1655, renaming it New Amstel (in Dutch Nieuw Amstel). Fort Christina, located 6.5 mi (10.5 km) to the north fell on September 15, 1655. Fort Nya Elfsborg
, on the east bank, was abandoned and set afire by departing Swedish forces. New Sweden
came under the control of the Dutch. John Paul Jacquet was immediately appointed Governor, making New Amstel a regional capitol of the Dutch province,
subordinate to New Amsterdam
. It is generally assumed the Peach Tree War
attack at Pavonia
was a retaliation, as the indigenous population considered the treaty with the Swedes to include a defence alliance.
In 1664, Stuyvesant peacefully surrendered control of Fort Amsterdam
, and thereby, all of New Netherland
to the British. Proceeding south the British peacefully took Fort Altena. A symbolic resistance was offered at Fort Casimir, but the fort quickly succumbed. In 1673-1674 it came under Dutch control again, but reverted to the English after the signing of the Treaty of Westminster
.
The fort was abandoned around 1675 and the site was used for several different commercial purposes. Low laying areas around the old fort site were filled with ash. It is believed that presently a parking lot and several houses are located above the remains of the fort. A preliminary archeological survey of the area was conducted in 1986.
New Netherland settlements
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th 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...
in 17th century colonial province of New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
. It was located on a no-longer existing barrier island
Barrier island
Barrier islands, a coastal landform and a type of barrier system, are relatively narrow strips of sand that parallel the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen...
at the end of Chestnut Street in what is now New Castle, Delaware
New Castle, Delaware
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...
. The trading post
Factory (trading post)
Factory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions...
was named for Ernst Casimir of Nassau-Dietz, count of Nassau-Dietz and Stadtholder
Stadtholder
A Stadtholder A Stadtholder A Stadtholder (Dutch: stadhouder [], "steward" or "lieutenant", literally place holder, holding someones place, possibly a calque of German Statthalter, French lieutenant, or Middle Latin locum tenens...
of Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
, Groningen
Groningen (province)
Groningen [] is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen , in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea...
and Drenthe
Drenthe
Drenthe is a province of the Netherlands, located in the north-east of the country. The capital city is Assen. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and Germany to the east.-History:Drenthe, unlike many other parts of the Netherlands, has been a...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Background
The Dutch called the Delaware RiverDelaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
the Zuyd Rivier, or South River, and considered the lands along it banks and those of its bay
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
to be the southern flank of its province of New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
. In 1638, the Delaware Valley
Delaware Valley
The Delaware Valley is a term used to refer to the valley where the Delaware River flows, along with the surrounding communities. This includes the metropolitan area centered on the city of Philadelphia. Such educational institutions as Delaware Valley Regional High School in Alexandria Township...
began to be settled by Swedes, Finns, Dutch, and Walloons
Walloons
Walloons are a French-speaking people who live in Belgium, principally in Wallonia. Walloons are a distinctive community within Belgium, important historical and anthropological criteria bind Walloons to the French people. More generally, the term also refers to the inhabitants of the Walloon...
and became the colony of New Sweden
New Sweden
New Sweden was a Swedish colony along the Delaware River on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America from 1638 to 1655. Fort Christina, now in Wilmington, Delaware, was the first settlement. New Sweden included parts of the present-day American states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania....
, though this was not officially recognized by the Dutch Empire
Dutch Empire
The Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing...
.
Sovereignty
The fort changed hands several times.Shortly after his arrival to take up his position as up as Director-General of New Netherland
Director-General of New Netherland
This is a list of Directors, appointed by the Dutch West India Company, of the 17th century Dutch province of New Netherland in North America...
in 1648, Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant , served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York...
, attempted to re-assert control of the region and its lucrative trade. In his initial attempt at control, he effected the construction of Fort Beversreede
Fort Beversreede
Fort Beversreede was a Dutch-built palisaded factorij located near the confluence of the Schuylkill River and the Delaware River. It was an outpost of the colony of New Netherland, which was centered around its capital, New Amsterdam , on the North River .-Location:There is a dispute about the...
near the terminus of the Great Minquas Path
Great Minquas Path
Great Minquas Path was a 17th-century trade route that ran through southeastern Pennsylvania from the Susquehanna River, near Conestoga, to the Schuylkill River, opposite Philadelphia. The 80-mile east-west trail was the primary route for fur trading with the Minquas people...
, at the mouth of the Schuylkill
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...
. The location of earlier-built Fort Nassau
Fort Nassau (South River)
Fort Nassau was a factorij in the colonial province of New Netherland from 1623-1651.The name Fort Nassau was used by the Dutch in the 17th century for several fortifications, mostly trading stations, named for the House of Orange-Nassau....
on the east bank (now New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
) of the river, had proved disadvantageous since the richest fur-trapping area of the native Susquehannock
Susquehannock
The Susquehannock people were Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay...
and Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
populations was inland to the west. In 1651, Stuyvesant had the fort dismantled and relocated to the western bank downstream from Fort Christina
Fort Christina
Fort Christina was the first Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony...
, the first and one of the larger Swedish settlements. He named it Fort Casimir. Fort Beversreede was abandoned and the Dutch presence was consolidated.
On Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity...
in 1654, Johan Risingh, Commissary and Councilor to New Sweden
New Sweden
New Sweden was a Swedish colony along the Delaware River on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America from 1638 to 1655. Fort Christina, now in Wilmington, Delaware, was the first settlement. New Sweden included parts of the present-day American states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania....
Governor Lt. Col. Johan Printz, officially assumed his duties and his attempts to expel the Dutch from the Delaware Valley
Delaware Valley
The Delaware Valley is a term used to refer to the valley where the Delaware River flows, along with the surrounding communities. This includes the metropolitan area centered on the city of Philadelphia. Such educational institutions as Delaware Valley Regional High School in Alexandria Township...
. Fort Casimir surrendered to the Swedes and was renamed Fort Trinity (in Swedish Fort Trefaldighet). On June 21, 1654, the native peoples met with the Swedes to reaffirm their alliance.
Stuyvesant led a Dutch force which retook the fort on September 11, 1655, renaming it New Amstel (in Dutch Nieuw Amstel). Fort Christina, located 6.5 mi (10.5 km) to the north fell on September 15, 1655. Fort Nya Elfsborg
Fort Nya Elfsborg
Fort Nya Elfsborg was a fortification and settlement established as a part of New Sweden. Built in 1643 and named after the Älvsborg Fortress off Gothenburg, Fort Nya Elfsborg was located on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River, between present day Salem and Alloway Creek.-History:Fort Nya...
, on the east bank, was abandoned and set afire by departing Swedish forces. New Sweden
New Sweden
New Sweden was a Swedish colony along the Delaware River on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America from 1638 to 1655. Fort Christina, now in Wilmington, Delaware, was the first settlement. New Sweden included parts of the present-day American states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania....
came under the control of the Dutch. John Paul Jacquet was immediately appointed Governor, making New Amstel a regional capitol of the Dutch province,
subordinate to New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
. It is generally assumed the Peach Tree War
Peach Tree War
The Peach Tree War, also known as the "Peach War," is the name given to a large scale attack on the New Netherland colony of Pavonia, across from New Amsterdam, and surrounding settlements along the North River by the Susquehannock Nation and allied Native Americans on September 15,...
attack at Pavonia
Pavonia, New Netherland
Pavonia was the first European settlement on the west bank of the North River that was part of the 17th century province of New Netherland in what would become today's Hudson County, New Jersey.-Hudson and the Hackensack:...
was a retaliation, as the indigenous population considered the treaty with the Swedes to include a defence alliance.
In 1664, Stuyvesant peacefully surrendered control of Fort Amsterdam
Fort Amsterdam
For the historic fort on the island of Saint Martin, see Fort Amsterdam Fort Amsterdam was a fort on the southern tip of Manhattan that was the administrative headquarters for the Dutch and then British rule of New York from...
, and thereby, all of New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
to the British. Proceeding south the British peacefully took Fort Altena. A symbolic resistance was offered at Fort Casimir, but the fort quickly succumbed. In 1673-1674 it came under Dutch control again, but reverted to the English after the signing of the Treaty of Westminster
Treaty of Westminster (1674)
The Treaty of Westminster of 1674 was the peace treaty that ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Signed by the Netherlands and England, it provided for the return of the colony of New Netherland to England and renewed the Treaty of Breda of 1667...
.
The fort was abandoned around 1675 and the site was used for several different commercial purposes. Low laying areas around the old fort site were filled with ash. It is believed that presently a parking lot and several houses are located above the remains of the fort. A preliminary archeological survey of the area was conducted in 1986.
See also
- Fortifications of New NetherlandFortifications of New NetherlandNew 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...
- New Netherland settlementsNew Netherland settlementsNew Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th 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...
- Zwaanendael ColonyZwaanendael ColonyZwaanendael or Swaanendael was a short lived Dutch colonial settlement in Delaware. It was built in 1631. The name is archaic Dutch spelling for "swan valley" or dale...
External links
Other sources
- Johnson, AmandusAmandus JohnsonAmandus Johnson was an American historian, author and founding curator of the American Swedish Historical Museum...
The Swedes in America 1638-1900: Vol. I, The Swedes on the Delaware 1638-1664. (1914) - Johnson, AmandusAmandus JohnsonAmandus Johnson was an American historian, author and founding curator of the American Swedish Historical Museum...
Johan Classon Rising: The last governor of New Sweden (1915) - Johnson, AmandusAmandus JohnsonAmandus Johnson was an American historian, author and founding curator of the American Swedish Historical Museum...
The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware 1638-1664, Volume II (1927) - Weslager, C. A. The Swedes and Dutch at New Castle (1987)