The first settlement was in Cape May County were Swedish Settlers bought land from the Lenni-Lenape. After that there were an number of Swedish and Dutch settlements started along the Delaware and Hudson Rivers, as well as the coast. Many of the first settlements started as military outposts; not only to establish settlement, but also to stake a respective nation's claim in the "new world".New Amsterdam was a base settled by the Dutch in 1626, on what is now Manhattan Island.In 1630 they expanded across the river and built a fort and village of Pavonia in what is now Jersey City. In 1655 the Dutch took over New Swedens's forts along the Delaware River including Fort Elfsborg near present-day Salem.
