In 1631, the first settlement was attempted in Delaware by Dutch traders led by Captain David Pietersen de Vries. By 1632 the party had been killed by the local natives.
In 1638, Peter Minuet, now in the service of the Swedish, led a group of Swedish settlers to the Delaware River area under a grant from the New Sweden Company. The Dutch gained control of the land in 1655 from the Swedish. In 1664 the English obtained Delaware after defeating the Dutch. In 1682 Delaware was awarded to William Penn but his control didn't last and Delaware became independent in 1701.