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Fort Nassau was a ''
Fort Nassau was a ''factorij
Factory was the common name during the medieval and early modern eras for an entrepôt – which was essentially an early form of free-trade zone or transshipment point. At a factory, local inhabitants could interact with foreign merchants, ...
'' in New Netherland
New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...
between 1627–1651 located at the mouth of Big Timber Creek
Big Timber Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 stream in southwestern New Jersey. The creek was called Tetamekanchz Kyl by Lenape tribes prior to Eu ...
at its confluence with the Delaware River. It was the first known permanent European-built structure in what would become the state of New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. The creek name is a derived from the Dutch language
Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...
''Timmer Kill'' as recorded by David Pietersen de Vries
David Pieterszoon de Vries ( – 13 September 1655) was a Dutch navigator from Hoorn.Joris van der MeeKoopman in de West; De indianen en de Nieuw Nederlanders in het journaal van David Pietersz. De Vries, 2001 (Dutch)
Biography
In 1617, De ...
in his memoirs of his journey of 1630–1633. The Delaware Valley and its bay was called the "South River" (Dutch: ''Zuyd Rivier''); the "North River" of the colony was the Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
. The factorij
Factory was the common name during the medieval and early modern eras for an entrepôt – which was essentially an early form of free-trade zone or transshipment point. At a factory, local inhabitants could interact with foreign merchants, ...
was established for the fur trade, mostly in beaver pelts, with the indigenous populations of Susquehannock, who spoke an Iroquoian language
The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking.
As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian ...
, and the Lenape, whose language was of the Algonquian family. They also wanted to retain a physical claim to the territory.
While the fort is generally described as being at today's Gloucester City, New Jersey
Gloucester City is a city in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 11,456,Brooklawn or possibly on the south side of the creek's cove, at today's Westville
Initially the fort was occupied intermittently, and on occasion used by the local population in seasonal migrations. In 1635, colonists from
New River Notes Delaware Historical Timeline
Camden County, New Jersey Nassau Nassau 1623 establishments in the Dutch Empire Nassau 1651 disestablishments in the Thirteen Colonies
Virginia Colony
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertGilbert (Saunders Family), Sir Humphrey" (histor ...
occupied the fort. The governor of New Netherland
New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...
at the time, Wouter van Twiller
Wouter van Twiller (May 22, 1606 – buried August 29, 1654) was an employee of the Dutch West India Company and the fourth Director of New Netherland. He governed from 1632 until 1638, succeeding Peter Minuit, who was recalled by the Dutch ...
, sent a force and was successful in retaking the fort. This was the first of conflicts between the English and Dutch in the New World. While thereafter the fort was continuously manned, the location was ill-suited to trade, as the richest fur-trapping areas were on the west side of the Delaware River.
From 1638–1655 the Delaware Valley was part of New Sweden
New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden f ...
. It was established by Peter Minuit
Peter Minuit (between 1580 and 1585 – August 5, 1638) was a Wallonian merchant from Tournai, in present-day Belgium. He was the 3rd Director of the Dutch North American colony of New Netherland from 1626 until 1631, and 3rd Governor of New ...
, former Director 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 (''Nieuw-Nederland'' in Dutch) in North America. Only the last, Peter Stuyvesant, held the title of Director General. As t ...
who had purchased the island of Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. In 1651, Petrus Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Net ...
, 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 (''Nieuw-Nederland'' in Dutch) in North America. Only the last, Peter Stuyvesant, held the title of Director General. As t ...
, had his local representative Andries Hudde
Andries Hudde (1608–1663) was a landowner and colonial official of New Netherland.
Early life and New Amsterdam
Andries Hudde was born in Kampen, Overijssel in the Netherlands in 1608 to Hendrick Hudde (himself son of the local burgomaster ...
partially dismantle the fort, relocating its armaments and other equipment to a position on the other side of the river. He wanted to menace the Swedish and re-assert jurisdiction of the region; he renamed the structure as Fort Casimir
Fort Casimir or Fort Trinity was a Dutch fort in the seventeenth-century colony 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.
Background
The Dutch c ...
.
On Trinity Sunday
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: th ...
in 1654, Johan Risingh
Johan Classon Risingh (1617 in Risinge – 1672) was the last governor of the Swedish colony of New Sweden.
Biography
Risingh was born in 1617 in Risinge, Östergötland, Sweden. After gymnasium at Linköping, he attended the University of Upp ...
, Commissary and Councilor to New Sweden
New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden f ...
Governor Lt. Col. Johan Printz Johan
* Johan (given name)
* ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller
* Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group
** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group
* Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada
* Jo-Han, a manu ...
, officially assumed his duties. He tried to expel the Dutch from the Delaware Valley and sent forces against Fort Casimir; the garrison surrendered. He renamed it as Fort Trinity (in Swedish ''Fort Trefaldighet''). The Swedes now completely controlled their colony. On June 21, 1654, local bands of the Lenape met with the Swedes to reaffirm their ownership.
Peter Stuyvesant led a Dutch force which retook the fort on September 11, 1655. He renamed it as New Amstel
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 5,285.
History
New Castl ...
(in Dutch ''Nieuw Amstel''). Subsequently, Fort Christina also fell to the Dutch on September 15 and all New Sweden
New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden f ...
came under their control. The Dutch appointed John Paul Jacquet as governor, and made New Amstel the capital of the Dutch-controlled colony.Siege of Christina Fort, 1655 http://etc.usf.edu/Maps/pages/8100/8116/8116.htm
See also
*Kill (body of water)
A kill is a body of water, most commonly a creek, but also a tidal inlet, river, strait, or arm of the sea. The term is derived from the Middle Dutch ''kille'' (''kil'' in modern Dutch), meaning "riverbed" or "water channel".“kil” in The N ...
*Fort Beversreede
Fort Beversreede (after 1633–1651) 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 on its capital, New Amste ...
*Fort Wilhelmus
Fort Wilhelmus was a ''factorij'' in the 17th-century colonial province of New Netherland, located on what had been named Hooghe Eyland (High Island) (also called Verhulsten Island) on the Zuyd Rivier, now Burlington Island in the Delaware River ...
*Fortifications of New Netherland
New Netherland, or ''Nieuw-Nederland'' in Dutch, was the 17th century colony of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the northeastern coast of North America. The claimed territory included southern Cape Cod to parts of the Delmarva P ...
*New Netherland settlements
New Netherland (''Nieuw-Nederland'' in Dutch) was the 17th century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the northeastern coast of North America. The claimed territory was the land from the Delmarva Peninsula t ...
*Zwaanendael
or was a short-lived Dutch colonial settlement in Delaware. It was built in 1631. The name is archaic Dutch for "swan valley." The site of the settlement later became the town of Lewes, Delaware.
History
Two directors of the Amsterdam c ...
*Fort Nassau (North River)
Fort Nassau (a.k.a. Fort van Nassouwen) was the first Dutch settlement in North America, located beside the " North River" (the modern Hudson) within present-day Albany, New York, in the United States. The ''factorij'' was a small fortification ...
* Pidgen Delaware
References
{{Reflist, 2External links
New River Notes Delaware Historical Timeline
External links
Camden County, New Jersey Nassau Nassau 1623 establishments in the Dutch Empire Nassau 1651 disestablishments in the Thirteen Colonies