ABOUT Delaware
Capital: Dover
State abbreviation/Postal code: Del./DE
Nickname: Diamond State / Small Wonder
Origin of name: Named after an early Virginia governor, Lord De La Warr.
Briefs on Delaware:
Though regarded as the second smallest state in the United States, spreading over just 6,452 square kilometers, yet it has much to offer its every visitor. Delaware is known for its peaceful ambience, lovely beaches, beautiful sightseeing, hospitality of its people, wonderful small cities and towns, museums and activities such as kayaking, boating, bicycle riding etc.
Delaware is a Mid-Atlantic state in the United States of America. It was one of the original 13 states and is known as the First State because it was the first sate to ratify the United States Constitution.
On the northern side of Delaware lies the state of Pennsylvania, on the east are the Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean and the west and south are bordered by Maryland. The capital of Delaware is Dover. Out of the total population of 783,600, Dover nestles around 32,135 people while Wilmington, the largest city of the region has an approximate population of 71,988 people. Wilmington is the anchor city for the Delaware Valley Metropolitan area.
Delaware has a vast history to its name. Prior to the European settlement in the region, the Eastern Algonquian tribes inhabited the area. These tribes that were also known as Unami Lenape or Delaware settled throughout the Delaware valley and the Nanticoke along the rivers that finally merged into the Chesapeake Bay.
The Unami Lenape in the Delaware were closely related to the Munsee Lenape tribes along the Hudson River. In the years that followed the tribesmen lost their lands on the Delaware River. This was followed by the destruction of the Minqua by the Iroquois of the Five Nations in 1670. As a result in the middle of 18th century the remnants of the Lenape left the region and moved over the Alleghany Mountains.
Around 1631 the Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in the region. They also established a trading post at Zwaanendael. However all the Dutch settlers were killed by the Native Americans.
In 1638 a Swedish trading post and colony was established here. In 1651 the Dutch under the leadership of Peter Stuyvesant established a new fort which is present day's New Castle. In 1655 the Dutch seized the entire Swedish colony and included it into Dutch New Netherlands.
In 1664 the British overpowered the Dutch regime. The ownership of the state came under James, the Duke of York. Penn led to the establishment of the representative government in the region.
The middle colonies and the lower counties of Delaware were under the British rule till people started realizing that it was important to have territory's individual existence as a separate entity and this depended greatly upon keeping step with its powerful neighbors especially Pennsylvania.
After the American Revolution that ended two centuries of rule of the Thirteen Colonies by the British Empire, statesmen from Delaware were among the leading proponents of a strong central United States government with equal representation for each state. As soon as the Connecticut Compromise was reached that created the US Senate and US House of Representatives, on 7th December 1787 the leaders in Delaware managed to secure the ratification of the US Constitution, making Delaware the foremost state to do so.
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