Fort Hoop

Fort Hoop (Dutch: "Fort Goede Hoop"; Algic: Suckiaug) was a settlement by the New Netherlands colony in the land that would eventually become Connecticut.

In 1623, the Geoctroyeerde Westindische Compagnie (GWC) in English, the Chartered West India Company commonly known as the Dutch West India Company 1621-1793 of the United Netherlands Dutch Republic built a fortified trading house of the Roman Castra design with the praetorium, castra ways, and gates. Fort Hoop thus being at the south bank of the Little River, a tributary river of the Versche or Fresh River currently where Sheldon Street Hartford. This settlement eventually developed into Hartford, Connecticut on the confluence of the Connecticut River and the Park River.

The directors at Fort Orange now Albany and Fort Amsterdam now New York City had planned Fort Hoop to be the Northeast fortification and trading center of the GWC. Peter Minuit, Governor of the New Netherlands, did not follow the line of building fortifications as in Roman design, possibly out of haste & lack of resources, poor leadership, or a combination of both.

By 1633 Jacob van Curler had added a block house and palisade to the post while New Amsterdam sent a small garrison and a pair of cannons. The fort was commended by 1654 by the English at Hartford to the north of the Little or Park River.

ee also

*The Onrust, First ship built in New York (New Netherlands), 1613-1614. Adraien Block and the crew of The Tyger.

External links

* [http://www.nnp.org/vtour/regions/Connecticut_River/houseofhope.html New Netherland Virtual Tour: Fort Huys de Goede Hoop or Fort Hoop: Dutch; House of Good Hope or House of Hope: English]
* [http://www.themesh.com/his301.html The Onrust Project]
* [http://www.atlasgeo.net/fotw/flags/nl-indch.html The Chartered West India Company (GWC)]