LESSON
6
KEY
WORDS
KEY
PLACES
E
ARLY
E
UROPEAN
S
ETTLEMENTS IN
P
ENNSYLVANIA
F
OCUS
Q
UESTIONS
:
1. Which European countries explored and settled in the Pennsylvania region?
2. Why was there somuch conflict over land in this region?
3. What kinds of cultural influences were left in the region?
conflict
representatives
retaliated
wrangle
Spain
Caribbean Sea
France
Canada
St Lawrence River
Great Lakes
Mississippi River
Sweden
Holland
England
Hudson River
Delaware River
Jamestown, VA
Plymouth, MA
European Settlers Arrival
In the late 1500s and early 1600s, explorers fromseveral European countries were
mapping and exploring eastern parts of the North American continent.
Spain
was
claiming and settling the
Caribbean Sea
region and Florida.
France
explored and established settlements
in northern
Canada
along the
St. Lawrence
River,
the
Great Lakes
, and the
Mississippi
River
. Themiddle part of North America
was being explored and settled by
Sweden
,
Holland
, and
England.
In particular, these countries were
exploring and starting settlements
near the
Hudson River
(New York)
and the
Delaware River
. They also
weremapping the region now known
as New Jersey, Delaware, and
Pennsylvania. By the early 1600s, the
English had already started colonies in
Jamestown, Virginia
(1607) and
Plymouth,
Massachusetts
(1620). All of these
European countries were in quest of
riches from the “NewWorld,” mainly
gold and fur.
The European governments attempted
to buy land from the Native American tribes.
This totally baffled the Native Americans, who
had no concept of buying land, land value, or
land ownership. They thought the land was for
everyone’s use. Because several of these
European countries had competing interests, the
scene was set for
conflict
. You have the Native
Americans who did not view the land as being theirs.
Then, you have
representatives
of
European countries attempting to buy
the land that the Native Americans were
originally willing to share. In addition,
you have conflict among the white
settlements over which European
country would “own the land.”
Swedish andDutch settlers came to the Philadelphia region in the 1630s. A few
years later, the Swedish settlement onTinicum Island, 20miles frompresent–day
Philadelphia, became the first recorded permanent settlement on Pennsylvania soil.
Early European Settlements in Pennsylvania
27
