Wilmington is the largest city in Delaware and New Castle County's seat. The city is the state's industrial, commercial, financial center, and main port. The Swedes established the oldest permanent European settlement, Fort Christina, in 1638, which was later captured by the Dutch forces in 1655.

In 1638, the first Swedish settlers arrived in Wilmington, Delaware, and built the first and oldest permanent European settlement, Fort Christina. With Philadelphia as the City's main trade center, Delaware produced profitable crops like wheat and tobacco, commonly used to settle debts and obligations. Today, agriculture is still a major economic activity in Delaware.

Delaware City emerged in the 1700s as a colonial trading area and a ferry crossing, quickly becoming the country's most important industrial and chemical-producing center. Some popular products from the State included tobacco, wheat, corn, barley, and gunpowder.

Before the arrival of the Swedes in 1638, the Lenape Indians had lived in the Delaware Valley for about 10,000 years. The native settlers were primarily farmers and used rivers and streams as their primary transportation.

And following the European's arrival in Delaware, the Lenape Indians and the colonists engaged in trade, exchanging animal furs for European goods. Under the Dutch colonial rule that ended in 1663, the City had 110 plantations with 2,000 cattle, thousands of pigs, horses, and sheep.