History of Pennsylvania Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History of Pennsylvania - Essay Example Prior to the entry of the Europeans into the new territories, the state was home to indigenous Indian tribes of Algonquian and Iroquoian linguistic origins like the Delawares, Shawnees, Susquehannocks, Eries and other unidentified tribes.2 During 1638-1655, it was the The Swedes who made settlements in Wilmington, Delaware area. The Dutch followed when they seized from the Swedes important trading posts in 1655. In 1664, the English assumed authority over the area gaining much control of the Delaware region in the name of the Duke of York.3 In the ensuing sections of the paper, the relevant periods in Pennsylvanian history would be discussed. The discourse will also focus on the founding of the State and how it shaped the future Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania, as mentioned earlier was the site of a major event in US history, the Declaration of Independence. In the months before the declaration, the state struggled with opponents to autonomy because gaining autonomy would mean the disruption of political and economic life as the Pennsylvanians knew and a death knell to the new State Constitution. Archeologists thought that the first inhabitants of the land that would later be known as Pennsylvania were inhabited by paleo-Indians who were nomadic and hunter-gatherers, and preferred to live in groups of twenty to thirty.4 Archeological evidences indicated that the early inhabitant used stone impediments. The Meadowcroft Rockshelter archeological site in Pennsylvania revealed that there were inhabitants in the area as early as 16,000 years ago.5 Before the first Europeans set foot on Pennsylvania, the Lenni Lenape or Delawares lived in the northern and southern parts of the Delaware Valley.6 On the west, the northern Susquehanna Valley was home to Iroquoian-speaking tribes.7 The Susquehannocks, on the other hand occupied the Lancaster Valley and conducted trade along the Great Minguas Path.8 By the time the Europeans arrived,