Fort Nassau. 1 Built (1614) on Castle Island, in the Hudson River, S of Albany, N.Y. The fort served as a trading post for the Dutch until 1617, when it was destroyed by flood and replaced (1624) by Fort Orange, built on the site of Albany. 2 Built (1623) by the Dutch on the eastern bank of the Delaware River near Gloucester City, N.J. The Dutch soon abandoned the fort, but after Swedish colonization in that area, the Dutch reoccupied it. Fear of Swedish competition in the fur trade caused Dutch Gov. Peter Stuyvesant to take over (1655) the Swedish forts on the Delaware basin. After the Swedes evacuated Fort Elfsborg, the Dutch destroyed Fort Nassau.
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