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1600's |
Origin of the State name -
Named after the Delaware River whose name was given
by Captain Samuel Argall from that of Sir Thomas
West (Lord de la Warr) who was Virginia Company's
first governor. The Native Indians of Delaware
included the Lenapi , Iroquois, Cherokee and
Narwahro
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|
1609 |
Henry Hudson, an Englishman,
under commission the Dutch East India Company and
seeking a Northwest passage to China and Japan,
discovered Delaware Bay
|
|
1610 |
Captain Samuel Argall, an
English sea captain, names the bay and river after
Lord De La Warr, the governor of Virginia
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|
1631 |
Dutch colonists settle at
Zwaanendael ( modern Lewes ) |
|
1632 |
Settlement at Zwaanendael is
destroyed by Native Americans |
|
1638 |
Swedish settlement led by
Peter Minuet starting the the New Sweden Colony
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|
1639 |
The first African on the
Delaware, Black Anthony, is brought from the
Caribbean |
|
1655 |
The Dutch defeat the Swedes on
the Delaware, ending the New Sweden Colony. Delaware
becomes a part of New Netherland
|
|
1663 |
1663 - 1664: Anglo-Dutch Wars
in disputes over rights to slaves, ivory, and gold
and domination of the area
|
|
1664 |
Sir Robert Carr drives the
Dutch off the Delaware and Delaware becomes an
English colony |
|
1681 |
William Penn was granted land
from England, that included Delaware, and
established the colony of Pennsylvania
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1756 |
1756 - 1763 - The Seven Years
War (French and Indian War) due to disputes over
land is won by Great Britain. France gives England
all French territory east of the Mississippi River,
except New Orleans. The Spanish give up east and
west Florida to the English in return for Cuba
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1763 |
1763 - 1767 Legal battles were
settled by a survey, which resulted in the
Mason-Dixon line, surveyed by Charles Mason and
Jeremiah Dixon
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1775 |
1775 - 1783: The American
Revolution creates the United States of America. The
Revolution was due to the British burden of taxes
and total power to legislate any laws governing the
American colonies
|
|
1776 |
July 4, 1776 - United States
Declaration of Independence |
|
1778 |
July 10, 1778 - France
declares war against Britain and makes an alliance
with the American revolutionary forces
|
|
1783 |
September 3, 1783 - The Treaty
of Paris is signed by the victorious United States
and the defeated Great Britain
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|
1787 |
Statehood - The Date that
Delaware was admitted to the Union - December 7,
1787. Constitution - Delaware was the 1st State to
be admitted to the Union. State Motto - " Liberty
and Independence "
|
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1812 |
1812 - 1815 - The War of 1812
between U.S. and Great Britain, ended in a stalemate
but confirmed America's Independence
|
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1861 |
1861 - 1865: The American
Civil War. In 1859 John Brown raided Harpers Ferry
and set in motion events that led directly to the
outbreak of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, a known
opponent of slavery, was elected president and in
1861 the South Secedes. The initial Secession of
South Carolina was followed by the secession of
Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana,
Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North
Carolina. These eleven states eventually formed the
Confederate States of America. The bombardment of
Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the
American Civil War.
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|
1865 |
The surrender of Robert E. Lee
on April 9 1865 signalled the end of the Confederacy |
|
1865 |
1865 December 6 - The
Abolishment of Slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution is ratified, thus officially
abolishing slavery
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1898 |
1898-1901 The Spanish American
War. On December 10, 1898 the Treaty of Paris the US
annexes Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines.
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