In 1664, Robert Carr was sent to the Delaware area by the English. He pillaged and captured the area for England, ending Dutch rule and extending England's reach in North America. Once Delaware was captured, Carr sold every identified Dutch resident into slavery in Virginia. The English monarchy was in control of the Delaware colony until 1681, when James, the Duke of York (later King James II) granted the colony to William Penn.
The English colonists grew rice, indigo, grain, wheat, barley, corn, and other crops in the area's rich soil. They had a developing lumber industry supported by the fertile, flat land that was covered in forests. There were large industries such as ironwork, trading, and shipbuilding. The population was mainly Finnish, Swedish, English, and Dutch. Most people in the Delaware Colony were middle class farmers whose children went to school instead of working. No particular religion was practiced in the colony, as there were a mix of practices due to the colony's tolerance policy. The population of the Delaware Colony's daily life mostly consisted of plowing fields, harvesting, animal husbandry, and general land upkeep.
Delaware's economy was mainly dependent on tobacco farming, which was dependent on slave labor. After the Colonial Period, the Delaware Colony's economy started to have a slow decline due to their heavy reliance on growing tobacco. Under James, the Duke of York, the tobacco economy flourished once again. By 1680, pork and corn joined tobacco as the principal agricultural exports to England, Scotland, and the West Indies.
The Delaware Colony had a very mild climate with warm Summers and mild Winters that helped its population survive and grow crops easily. Colonial Delaware was very flat and low with plenty of lush forests and farmland. The colony had three major cities in New Castle, Wilmington, and Denver. Wilmington was founded during the New Sweden era, with Denver close behind and New Castle in third. Denver and New Castle were on the coast, with Wilmington to the North.