Historic Philadelphia
An illustrated history of the city of Philadelphia, paired with the histories of companies, families and organizations that make the region great.
An illustrated history of the city of Philadelphia, paired with the histories of companies, families and organizations that make the region great.
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DUTCH<br />
AGAIN<br />
The Dutch just wouldn’t quit. In 1655 a fleet<br />
of five Dutch ships sailed up the Delaware, commanded<br />
by Peter Stuyvesant, the one-legged soldier<br />
who was governing New Netherlands from<br />
his Manhattan base. The 368 Swedish settlers<br />
were outnumbered, the Swedish government<br />
had lost interest, and so the names of all the forts<br />
and towns changed from Swedish to Dutch.<br />
AND<br />
FINALLY, ENGLISH<br />
In 1664 King Charles II of England gave his<br />
brother James, Duke of York, title to everything<br />
from New England to the Delaware Bay.<br />
Stuyvesant and his followers weren’t strong<br />
enough to resist the British fleet that arrived<br />
off Manhattan. So, New Amsterdam was converted<br />
to New York and the Delaware Valley<br />
became British.<br />
✧<br />
Christina became queen of Sweden at age six<br />
in 1632. Regents advised her to commission<br />
Swedish traders to settle the Delaware Valley.<br />
The young queen enjoyed riding, hunting,<br />
shooting and swearing, and reviewed her<br />
troops on horseback while twirling an<br />
imaginary mustache. She also learned six<br />
languages before she was eighteen.<br />
COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR.<br />
PROLOGUE<br />
9
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