DOCSLIB.ORG

Meeting New Sweden

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Meeting New Sweden Meeting New Sweden A Norwegian exploring the Forest Finn heritage BY JAN MYHRVOLD The annual New Sweden History Wednesday Oct. 31 (ASHM) farther south in Philadel- Conference took place in Philadel- Because of “Hurricane Sandy,” phia, and at the museum I saw for phia on Nov. 3, 2012, with the theme Maud’s original flight was cancelled the first time trees that had blown “The Forest Finns of Europe, New and she was transferred to a flight down. Curator Carrie Hogan was our Sweden, and North America.” In on the 31st. After arrival, she spent contact, and she gave us a lot of in- connection with this, Dr. Maud Wedin a day in New York and could clearly formation. We bought a number of of Falun, Sweden, and I, Jan Myhr- see the damage done by “Sandy.” The books in the museum shop, and had vold from Gerdrum, Norway, were first thing she noticed was that the planty of time to visit the great invited to be lecturers. train from the airport to downtown exhibtions about the Swedish immi- As both Maud and I are especially did not run because there was no gration to the U.S. The ASHM has, interested in the Forest Finns, we electricity. as the name suggests, its focus on all also managed to set aside a few days epochs of the immigrating Swedes, after the conference, getting ac- not just New Sweden as I assumed quainted with New Sweden, and Thursday Nov. 1 at first. Later in the day we visited most important, visiting places with Maud took a bus to Philadelphia as the Liberty Bell and Independence connections to the Forest Finns. the trains still did not run from New Hall, where the U.S. Declaration of New Sweden is the name of the York. I arrived at Newark in the Independence was signed by John Swedish colony that was started in afternoon, and by then the trains ran Morton. For lunch we had a Phila- 1638 along the Delaware River in the to Philadelphia. I did not notice much delphia Cheese Steak sandwich, and future states of Pennsylvania, Dela- damage from the storm of three days then we did not eat anything more ware and New Jersey. The first For- earlier. that day. est Finns were deported there as they had farmed with the then prohibited Friday Nov. 2 Saturday Nov. 3 method of ”Slash and burn” agri- After breakfast we visited the Ame- This was another day with an early culture (svedjebränning) in Sweden. rican Swedish Historical Museum start. We went back to the museum The choice between a gruesome punishment and deportation to the “West Indies” was not difficult. The colonists of New Sweden sent mes- sages to the “old country” about the fertile soil, and soon more shiploads of people came. Still, after the Dutch had taken over New Sweden in 1655, and the English had taken over in 1664, the immigration continued for some years. It is estimated that about 600 individuals immigrated. Even after the government became Eng- lish, New Sweden was allowed to gov- ern itself for some time with Swedish clergymen and Swedish law. The Church of Sweden did not leave New Sweden until 1789. The American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1 and had breakfast there. Kim-Eric what exotic instance, when Finnish Williams introduced Maud, who surnames in an American church started with her lecture on “The Evo- record, written in Swedish, are lution of Forest Finn Culture in Fin- photographed by a Norwegian. land and Scandinavia in In the cemetery outside we found the 16th and 17th Centuries.” Next the family grave of Erik Pålsson was Ronald Hendrickson with his Mullica. On the border of the ceme- lecture on “On this shore a home tery we saw our first log cabin, “The established ... ’: An Introduction to Shorn Log Cabin.” It had been moved the Forest Finns in America.” My own to Swedesboro, and was supposedly lecture came next, its title was “Per- built at Racoon Creek by Morton spectives on Family Names and Mig- Mortonson, the paternal grandfather ration before 1821: Studies on the of John Morton. As we had already Forest Finn Ethnicity in Dalarna and heard about the “Morton Farmstead” the Swedish-Norwegian Border and the ”Morton Morton House,” that Area.” we planned to visit, we had the After lunch the archeology profes- humorous idea of naming this place sor Lu Ann De Cunzo lectured on “the Morton Morton Morton House.” “The ‘Cultures of Agriculture’ Our schedule was strict so there in 17th-Century New Sweden.” At Old Swede’s Church, Swedesboro, New was unfortunately not time to take Jersey. the end of the day we got a practical more photos of the church records. lecture by Frank Eld, who has roads. Due to this mishap we found Instead we were able to visit a house studied the Finnish timber techni- Racoon Creek, which was one of the that is said to be the oldest wooden ques in North America. His talk was settlers’ areas on the New Jersey side house in America, “The Nothnagle titled “Finnish Vernacular Log Struc- of the Delaware River. Log Cabin” in Gibbstown. New Jer- tures in New Sweden and North We had brunch at a small restau- sey. The owners, Harry and Doris America.” rant in Swedesboro, which turned out Rink, who live next door, were very The about 140 participants of the to be the culinary highpoint of the happy to show us around. The house conference were very interested, and trip. Alfred Nicolosi had offered to was built 1638-1645, according to the were an inspiring group to talk to. take us around to several points of information sign, but research shows interest. The first was the Trinty that it probably dates to no earlier Sunday Nov.4 Church, also called Old Swedes’ than 1670. Swedesboro, which was built in 1703. Today we picked up our rental car. Nicolosi had chosen a very ambi- Here they kept a copy of the old tious program for us, and we soon Even though it had a GPS, it did not church register, starting in 1713, take many minutes before we were continued our trip towards Delaware where I found on page three several and the Winterthur Museum. This lost. After a few days we understood Finnish surnames. It was a some- the American system of signs and museum is the repository for the collections of Henry Francis du Pont, and has more than 90,000 artifacts that were used in the U.S. between 1630 and 1860. Our guided tour lasted 90 minutes, but we only saw a small part of the collections. We must return another time. We were un- fortunately not allowed to take photos. Monday Nov. 5 We had been invited to see the reconstructed ship Kalmar Nyckel. We arrived in good time so we could first visit the Holy Trinity (Old Swedes’) Church in Wilmington, Delaware, which is situated just a stone’s throw from the Kalmar Nyckel shipyard. Nearby is the Hend- rickson House, which has been 2 moved here from Crum Creek, some to the shore. kilometers farther north. After a good lunch at “Joe’s Crab At the church we also met again Shack” we went on to “Finland,” an with Earl Seppala, whom we had met area where many Forest Finns sett- at the conference two days back. led in the 1650s. Today there is a big Seppala is one of the big enthusiasts, monument, made by Väinö Altonen, a retired Engineer and retired U.S. in the memory of those immigrants. Army Colonel, who is a member of Without help we would never have 11 volunteer societies and on the found this place as there are no signs boards of eight of them. He is very that point to it. active with the Kalmar Nyckel A little farther north, by Darby Foundation. Creek, is the “Lower Swedish Cabin,” Now we moved to the shipyard, which we visited after the Finn Mo- where the ship Kalmar Nyckel was nument. We had hoped to finally see built and launched in 1997. Sam a log cabin that was built after the Heed, who is Director of Education Forest Finn model, but it was built and Senior Historian of the Founda- along the same lines as the other tion, met us and took us on a privi- ones we had seen in the U.S. The logs leged tour of the ship. were not squarely cut, as in other The original Kalmar Nyckel was buildings, and the corners were not one of the ships that kept the con- sawed off, but there was a gap be- nection between the Motherland and The Kalmar Nyckel replica. tween the horisontal logs where clay New Sweden. The new Kalmar Centre's VP and Education Director. or cement had been used to seal the Nyckel is known as the Tall Ship of There are replicas of items from the walls. Delaware and is used by the state of old days you may handle. The Cen- Delaware for outreach and edu- tre is only about 100 sq. feet, but is Tuesday Nov. 6 cational purposes. She usually is out well worth a visit. Today was the U.S. Presidential sailing during the summer. Just behind the shipyard we found Election, so we had no special pro- Also in the shipyard is the New “Fort Christina.” Today there is gram, but used the day to travel aro- Sweden Centre, which welcomes nothing to see from the fort, but a und southerna New Jersey to find visitors and school groups to explore wide avenue leads to a big monument more old buildings and explore new the lives of the Swedish and Finnish where it is supposed to have stood.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Culture Contact and Acculturation in New Sweden 1638-1655
    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1983 Culture Contact and Acculturation in New Sweden 1638-1655 Glenn J. Jessee College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Jessee, Glenn J., "Culture Contact and Acculturation in New Sweden 1638-1655" (1983). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539624398. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-stfg-0423 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CULTURE CONTACT AND ACCULTURATION IN NEW SWEDEN 1638 - 1655 A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Glenn J. Jessee 1983 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Approved, May 1983 _______________ AtiidUL James Axtell James WhdJttenburg Japres Merrell FOR MY PARENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................... v INTRODUCTION .................................................. 2 CHAPTER I. THE MEETING OF CULTURES .........................
    [Show full text]
  • The English Take Control DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION
    CHAPTER 3 • SECTION 4 New Netherland As you read in Chapter 2, in the early 1600s the Dutch built the colony of New Netherland along the Hudson River in what is now New York State. The colony’s largest town, New Amsterdam, was founded on Manhattan Island in 1625. New Amsterdam was built to defend the Dutch More About . West India Company’s fur trading settlements along the Hudson River. Peter Stuyvesant, the colony’s governor, expanded New Netherland by Religious Refugees taking over the nearby colony of New Sweden in 1655. The Swedes had settled the land along the Delaware River in 1638. in Pennsylvania The Dutch West India Company set up the patroon system to attract more In England, thousands of Quakers went settlers. A patroon was a person who brought 50 settlers to New Netherland. to jail for their beliefs, especially after As a reward, a patroon received a large land grant. He also received hunting, Charles II gained the throne in 1660. fishing, and fur trading privileges. The patroon system brought great wealth Some made their way to Maryland and to the colony’s elite. Massachusetts in the 1650s, but after The social system also included many slaves. Although their lives were William Penn founded a Quaker colony in harsh, they enjoyed some rights of movement and property ownership. 1681, many more arrived. A Tolerant Society In the 17th century the Netherlands had one of the Besides Quakers, several other small religious most tolerant societies in Europe. Dutch settlers brought this religious toleration to their colony.
    [Show full text]
  • PDF Scan to USB Stick
    REVIEWS Alf Åberg. FOLKET I NYA SVERIGE. VÅR KOLONI VID DELAWAREFLODEN 1638-1655. Stockholm: Natur och Kultur, 1987. 198 pp., illustrated. Voluminous and detailed as the scholarly literature about the seventeenth-century Swedish settlements on the Delaware River has been down through the centuries, Alf Åberg makes no claim of contributing anything essentially new to the subject of this modest volume. Rather his purpose has been to retell the story of this footnote to Swedish history for the modern layman who reads Swedish on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the founding of New Sweden, Nova Sveda [Nya Sverige], 1638). As usual, Alf Åberg has succeeded remarkably well in fulfilling his purpose—so well, in fact, that a translation into American English of Folket i Nya Sverige can be recommended with enthusiasm. By soberly and sensibly confining himself to the facts as we presently are able to discern them, Alf Åberg draws repeated attention to two leitmotifs, so to speak, that resound throughout his chronological retelling of the story itself: the international coopera• tive—and competitive—effort that the enterprise essentially was and the penchant toward failure, rather than success, that typified it. To expand briefly on these themes, Swedish and Dutch capital was required to finance the initial voyage of the ships Kalmar Nyckel and Gripen in their pursuit of such viable commodities as tobacco and furs; and since the Dutch then had far greater expertise at seafaring than did the Swedes, the leadership and most of the sailors for these vessels were recruited in Amsterdam rather than the fledgling seaport of Göteborg.
    [Show full text]
  • Kalmar Nyckel: Using a 17Th Century Dutch Pinnace to Teach Physics and More DTI 2016-2017 Ancient Inventions
    Kalmar Nyckel: Using a 17th century Dutch Pinnace to Teach Physics and More DTI 2016-2017 Ancient Inventions Terri Eros Challenges H.B. duPont Middle School, while located in a very suburban setting, serves a very diverse population. There are approximately 900 students in grades 6-8, with students almost evenly split between urban and suburban backgrounds. The academic readiness also varies greatly with relation to reading and math skills. It is not unusual to have a range of students reading all the way from a pre-primer level to those comfortable with high school text. In some cases the disparity is due to limited English proficiency. The math skills are similarly distributed with some students needing calculators for 2-digit addition while others are comfortable solving algebraic equations. To better meet student needs, our school piloted having honors classes in Science and Social Studies last year. Groupings were based on reading level for Social Studies and Math level for Science. The outcome was less than ideal for Science. At the middle school level, language skills are more important so that is now the basis of grouping for the 2016-2017 school year. In addition, our school is aiming for full inclusion. Students include those that have severe physical and/or emotional needs that interfere with their ability to interact linguistically, through either speech or writing. Despite these limitations, there is still an interest and an expectation to succeed in the Science classroom. The challenge is to incorporate the rigor of the Next Generation Science Standards, with its emphasis on student driven learning, while finding multiple access points for the students based on readiness.
    [Show full text]
  • Kalmar Nyckel – a Guide to the Ship and Her History
    Kalmar Nyckel – A Guide to the Ship and Her History Kalmar Nyckel – A Guide to the Ship and Her History 2 Guide to the Re‐creation of the Tall Ship KALMAR NYCKEL “Become Something Great” America’s original promise and enduring challenge. Excerpt from a letter by Peter Minuit to Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna As navigation makes kingdoms and countries thrive and in the West­Indies [North America] many places gradually come to be occupied by the English, Dutch, and French, I think the Swedish Crown ought not to stand back and refrain from having her name spread widely, also in foreign countries; and to that end I the undersigned, wish to offer my services to the Swedish The Kalmar Nyckel Foundation Crown to set out modestly on what might, by God’s Written & Compiled By grace, become something great within a short Samuel Heed, Esq. time [emphasis added]. With Captain Lauren Morgens & Alistair Gillanders, Esq. Firstly, I have suggested to Mr. Pieter Spiering [Spiring, Swedish Ambassador to the Hague] to make a journey to the Virginias, New Netherland and other places, in which regions certain places are well known to me, with a very good climate, which could be named Nova Sweediae [New Sweden]…. Your Excellency’s faithful servant, Cover photograph: The present day Kalmar Nyckel cruising on the Pieter Minuit Patuxent river on the Chesapeake during a visit to Solomon’s Island, MD in 2008. Photographer – Alistair Gillanders. Amsterdam, 15 June 1636 Copyright ©2009 Kalmar Nyckel Foundation. All rights reserved. Ship and History Guide – Version 1.01 Kalmar Nyckel – A Guide to the Ship and Her History 3 Table of Contents 7.1.3 The Main Deck and Its Features: ..............................................
    [Show full text]
  • The 1693 Census of the Swedes on the Delaware
    THE 1693 CENSUS OF THE SWEDES ON THE DELAWARE Family Histories of the Swedish Lutheran Church Members Residing in Pennsylvania, Delaware, West New Jersey & Cecil County, Md. 1638-1693 PETER STEBBINS CRAIG, J.D. Fellow, American Society of Genealogists Cartography by Sheila Waters Foreword by C. A. Weslager Studies in Swedish American Genealogy 3 SAG Publications Winter Park, Florida 1993 Copyright 0 1993 by Peter Stebbins Craig, 3406 Macomb Steet, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016 Published by SAG Publications, P.O. Box 2186, Winter Park, Florida 32790 Produced with the support of the Swedish Colonial Society, Philadelphia, Pa., and the Delaware Swedish Colonial Society, Wilmington, Del. Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 92-82858 ISBN Number: 0-9616105-1-4 CONTENTS Foreword by Dr. C. A. Weslager vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1: The 1693 Census 15 Chapter 2: The Wicaco Congregation 25 Chapter 3: The Wicaco Congregation - Continued 45 Chapter 4: The Wicaco Congregation - Concluded 65 Chapter 5: The Crane Hook Congregation 89 Chapter 6: The Crane Hook Congregation - Continued 109 Chapter 7: The Crane Hook Congregation - Concluded 135 Appendix: Letters to Sweden, 1693 159 Abbreviations for Commonly Used References 165 Bibliography 167 Index of Place Names 175 Index of Personal Names 18 1 MAPS 1693 Service Area of the Swedish Log Church at Wicaco 1693 Service Area of the Swedish Log Church at Crane Hook Foreword Peter Craig did not make his living, or support his four children, during a career of teaching, preparing classroom lectures, or burning the midnight oil to grade examination papers.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dutch & Swedes on the Delaware
    THE DUTCH & SWEDES ON THE DELAWARE 1609-64 BY CHRISTOPHER WARD THE DUTCH & SWEDES on the DELAWARE 1609-64 By CHRISTOPHER WARD UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS PHILADELPHIA MCMNXX COPYRIGHT 1930, BY CHRISTOPHER WARD LONDON HUMPHREY MILFORD : OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA JOHAN PRINTZ, Governor of New Sweden,1643-53 PAINTING BY N. C. WYETH TO THE MEMORY OF MY GRANDFATHERS, CHRISTOPHER L. WARD, ESQ PRESIDENT OF THE BRADFORD COUNTY (PA.) HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND LEWIS P. BUSH, M.D., PRESIDENT OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF DELAWARE, THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED PREFACE The stories of the early settlements of the English in New England, of the Dutch in New York and of the English in Maryland and Virginia have been told again and again. But, between these more northern and more southern lands, there lies a great territory stretching along both shores of Delaware River and Bay, whose earliest history has been neglected. In the common estimation of the general reader, the beginnings of civilization in this middle region are credited to William Penn and his English Quakers. Yet, for nearly fifty years before Penn came, there had been white men settled along the River's shores. When he came, he found farms, towns, forts, churches, schools, courts of law already in being in his newly acquired possessions. Small credit has been given to those who laid these foundations, the Swedes and the Dutch, whom the English superseded. The names of Winthrop, Stuyvesant, Calvert and Berkeley are familiar to many. Who knows the name of Johan Printz, the Swedish governor, who for ten years pioneered in this wilderness? Yet, in picturesqueness of personality, in force of character, in administrative ability and in actual accomplishment, within the limits of the resources granted him, Printz is the fit companion of these other so widely acclaimed men.
    [Show full text]
  • Delaware Tercentenary Program
    Vela ware Official Program., of the Celebration June 27, I9J8 ·Wilmington, 'Delaware Price 25 Cents FORT CHRISTINA H.M. CHRISTINA, Queen of Sweden (r6J'l-l 654) during H.M. GusTAvus A oo LPH U s , King of Sweden (161 '· whose reign New Sweden was founded. I 632) through whose support New Sweden becan1e a possibility. l DEcEMBER 1637, the Swedish Expedi­ tion, under Peter Minuit, sailed from Sweden in the ship, "Kalmar Nyckel" and the yacht,"Fogel Grip," and finally reached the "Rocks" in March r6J8. Here Minui t made a treaty with the Indians and, with a salute of two cannons, claimed for Sweden all that land from the Christina River down to Bombay Hook. Wt�forl(g� ?t�dfantt� �fnur }llttttbetaCONTRACTET gnga(n�cat�ct S�bre �mpagnict �tbf J(onuugart;rctj ewcrfg�c. 6rdlc iam·om �it�dm &\jffdin�. £)�uu 4/ft6tt 9?tl)trfdnb(rc �prdfct �fau p.S6�Mnfl.al 2ft' ~ £ BEGINNINGS of the establishment of New }:RICO SCHRODERO. L S~eden rnay be traced back to the efforts of one William Usselinx, a native of Antwerp, who interested King Gustavus Adolphus in the enter­ prise. At the right is reproduced the cover of the contract and prospectus which was used to interest The Cover investors in the venture. Here is reproduced the famous painting by Stanley M. Arthurs, Esq., ofthe landing ofthe .firstSwedish expedi­ tion at the "Roclcs." The painting is owned by Joseph S. Wilson, Esq. GusTAF V ' K.lng • of S weden , d u r .1 n g . w h ose reign, In I9J8 , t h e ter- centenary of · the found·lng of N ew Sweden IS celebrated.
    [Show full text]
  • Chronology of Colonial Swedes on the Delaware 1638-1713 by Dr
    Chronology of Colonial Swedes on the Delaware 1638-1713 by Dr. Peter Stebbins Craig Fellow, American Society of Genealogists Fellow, Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania Historian, Swedish Colonial Society originally published in Swedish Colonial News, Volume 2, Number 5 (Fall 2001) Although it is commonly known that the Swedes were the first white settlers to successfully colonize the Delaware Valley in 1638, many historians overlook the continuing presence of the Delaware Swedes throughout the colonial period. Some highlights covering the first 75 years (1638-1713) are shown below: New Sweden Era, 1638-1655 1638 - After a 4-month voyage from Gothenburg, Kalmar Nyckel arrives in the Delaware in March. Captain Peter Minuit purchases land on west bank from the Schuylkill River to Bombay Hook, builds Fort Christina at present Wilmington and leaves 24 men, under the command of Lt. Måns Kling, to man the fort and trade with Indians. Kalmar Nyckel returns safely to Sweden, but Minuit dies on return trip in a hurricane in the Caribbean. 1639 - Fogel Grip, which accompanied Kalmal Nyckel, brings a 25th man from St. Kitts, a slave from Angola known as Anthony Swartz. 1640 - Kalmar Nyckel, on its second voyage, brings the first families to New Sweden, including those of Sven Gunnarsson and Lars Svensson. Other new settlers include Peter Rambo, Anders Bonde, Måns Andersson, Johan Schaggen, Anders Dalbo and Dr. Timen Stiddem. Lt. Peter Hollander Ridder, who succeeds Kling as new commanding officer, purchases more land from Indians between Schuylkill and the Falls of the Delaware. 1641 - Kalmar Nyckel, joined by the Charitas, brings 64 men to New Sweden, including the families of Måns Lom, Olof Stille, Christopher Rettel, Hans Månsson, Olof Thorsson and Eskil Larsson.
    [Show full text]
  • Middle Colonies Blacklines.Qxd
    1 Name ____________________ The Middle Colonies from Making the 13 Colonies series PRE-TEST Directions: Answer each of the following statements either true or false: 1. People from Holland were the first Europeans to colonize the lands of New York. True False 2. The colony of Delaware was once part of the colony of Pennsylvania. True False 3. The colony of New Jersey was for many years privately owned. True False 4. Only people of the Quaker religion were allowed to settle in the colony of Pennsylvania. True False 5. Delaware was at one time part of a colony called New Sweden. True False 6. For many years New Jersey was divided into three separate colonies. True False 7. Before the Revolutionary War, Philadelphia was the biggest city in the American colonies. True False 8. Tobacco was the main export of the colony of Pennsylvania. True False 9. Wealthy Englishmen called Patroons controlled the government of New Jersey. True False 10. The Middle Colonies got their name because they were in between New England and Canada. True False ©2003 Ancient Lights Educational Media Published and Distributed by United Learning All rights to print materials cleared for classroom duplication and distribution. 2 Name ____________________ The Middle Colonies from Making the 13 Colonies series POST-TEST Directions: Answer the following using complete sentences, try to include main points to back your answer. 1. Briefly describe the founding of the colony of New York. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________
    [Show full text]
  • Thinking Geographically: Wilmington’S Riverfront Over Time
    Delaware Recommended Curriculum This unit has been created as an exemplary model for teachers in (re)design of course curricula. An exemplary model unit has undergone a rigorous peer review and jurying process to ensure alignment to selected Delaware Content Standards. Unit Title: Thinking Geographically: Wilmington’s Riverfront over Time Designed by: Kristin Becker, Red Clay Consolidated School District Sam Heed, Kalmar Nyckel Foundation Support provided by Kalmar Nyckel Foundation, Riverfront Development Corporation of Delaware, Swedish Council of America, and Finlandia Foundation National Special thanks to Maggie Legates, Delaware Geographic Alliance Images provided by BrightFields, Inc., Delaware Public Archives, and the RDC Content Area: Social Studies Grade Level: 5 ________________________________________________________________________ Summary of Unit Cultural differences produce patterns of diversity in language, religion, economic activity, social custom, and political organization across the Earth's surface. Places reflect the culture of the inhabitants as well as the ways that culture has changed over time. Places also reflect the connections and flow of information, goods, and ideas with other places. Students who will live in an increasingly interconnected world need an understanding of the processes that produce distinctive places and how those places change over time. Students need to learn to apply the ideas of site and situation to explain the nature of particular places. Site choices at different time periods help explain the distribution of places in Delaware. The earliest European settlements such as Lewes, New Castle, Dover, Odessa, and Seaford were at the head of navigable rivers and streams that flowed into the Delaware River or Chesapeake Bay. Soils were fertile (site) and locations gave easy transport access to markets (situation).
    [Show full text]
  • Diversity in Colonial Times
    03-Parrillo-45518:03-Parrillo-45518.qxd 4/21/2008 3:05 PM Page 39 3 Diversity in Colonial Times “The Scold” (1885) is an engraving by an unknown artist that depicts a New England colonial street scene with a woman wearing a scold’s bridle. Those who blasphemed, lied, or gossiped excessively had to wear this iron mask with a flat spike to curb their tongues. 39 03-Parrillo-45518:03-Parrillo-45518.qxd 4/21/2008 3:05 PM Page 40 40—— Diversity in America hat most people remember about early U.S. history is that the 13 WEnglish colonies fought for their independence from the “Mother Country” of England. Because the English held cultural and political preem- inence in the colonial and early national periods, this myth of cultural homo- geneity arose. The actions and/or writings of contemporary English American leaders, historians, and literary figures enhanced the myth, and their domi- nance and influence cast a long shadow across subsequent generations. The Larger Context Colonial America existed on the periphery of the “civilized world.” Although England was dominant in its cultural, economic, and political influence, Europe also exerted a profound impact. For example, the Age of Enlightenment— an 18th-century philosophical movement that embraced rationalism, empha- sized learning, and encouraged a spirit of skepticism and practicality in social and political thought—guided the Founding Fathers in their thinking and eventual formulation of a new nation. Before the new republic became a reality, however, what occurred in colonial thoughts, words, and actions reflected, for the most part, the dominance of European culture, both abstract (values, ideas) and material (fashions, manufactured goods).
    [Show full text]