A Historical Overview of Pennsylvania
© 2004 Rickie Lazzerini

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Historians are unsure if the early voyages of the English, Spanish or French ever led them to the Pennsylvania area, but it is known that Captain John Smith ventured up the Susquehanna River and visited the Susquehannock Indians in 1608. In 1609, Henry Hudson, an Englishman in the Dutch service, sailed into the Delaware Bay and claimed the area for Holland. Trading posts were later established in the area by the Dutch in 1647. Although the Dutch had visited the area earlier and set up these trade posts, it was the Swedes who were the first to firmly settle the area. In 1638, the Swedes established the colony of New Sweden which would endure for nearly twenty years. With competing interests in the area, the Dutch and Swedes eventually came into conflict over the territory, and in 1655 the governor of New Netherlands seized New Sweden and made it a part of the Dutch Colony. The territory was once again seized in 1644, this time by the English in the name of the Duke of York. Page 2 By Rickie Lazzerini Historian BA History University of California, Santa Barbara © Rickie Lazzerini, All Rights Reserved This page may be freely linked to but may not be reproduced in any form without prior written consent by the author.
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