Pieter Corneliszoon Plockhoy

Who was Pieter Corneliszoon Plockhoy?

Pieter Corneliszoon Plockhoy was a Dutch Mennonite and Collegiant utopist who founded a settlement in 1663 near Horekill on the banks of Godyn's Bay, near present-day Lewes, Delaware. The settlement was destroyed within a year by England.

Almost nothing is known of Plockhoy's childhood and early life, but it is reasonable to assume he came from Zeeland and had a Mennonite background. In the early 1660s he lived at Amsterdam, where he became associated with the struggle of the liberal Mennonites, who were influenced by Collegiantism and were led by Galenus Abrahamsz de Haan, against the conservative Mennonites.

Before embarking for the New World, Plockhoy unsuccessfully petitioned Oliver Cromwell in 1658 for support in establishing various ideal settlements in England. It's possible that he worked in the circle of the intellectual Samuel Hartlib, who was certainly aware of his utopian plans. Plockhoy published political pamphlets addressing contemporary social problems in 1658 and collaborated with Franciscus van den Enden in plans for founding a new society in New Netherland. Some contemporary writers that were critical of his views alleged that Plockhoy defended polygamy. Plockhoy moved back to the Netherlands in 1661. He entered into a contract with the Dutch government to create a settlement along the southern part of the Delaware River.