Everything about New Sweden totally explained
New Sweden, or
Nya Sverige, was a small
Swedish settlement along the
Delaware River on the
Mid-Atlantic coast of
North America. It was centered at
Fort Christina, now in
Wilmington,
Delaware, and included parts of the present-day
American states of
Delaware,
New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania. The settlement was founded
March 29,
1638, and was incorporated into
Dutch New Netherland on
September 15,
1655. Along with
Swedes and
Finns, a number of the settlers were
Dutch. There were also some
Germans who first came to the colony as soldiers in the Swedish army.
History
By the middle of the 17th century, the
Realm of Sweden had reached its greatest territorial extent and was one of the great powers of Europe. Sweden then included
Finland and
Estonia along with parts of modern
Russia,
Poland,
Germany and
Latvia. The Swedes sought to expand their influence by creating an agricultural (tobacco) and fur-trading colony to bypass
French and
British merchants. The
New Sweden Company was chartered and included Swedish, Dutch and German stockholders.
The first Swedish expedition to North America embarked from the port of
Gothenburg in late 1637. It was organized and overseen by
Clas Fleming, a Swedish
Admiral from
Finland. A Dutchman,
Samuel Blommaert, assisted the fitting-out and appointed
Peter Minuit to lead the expedition.
The members of the expedition, aboard the ships
Fogel Grip and
Kalmar Nyckel, sailed into
Delaware Bay, which lay within the territory claimed by the
Dutch, passing
Cape May and
Cape Henlopen in late March 1638, and anchored at a rocky point on the
Minquas Kill that's known today as
Swedes' Landing. They built a fort on the present site of the city of
Wilmington, which they named
Fort Christina, after Queen
Christina of Sweden.
In the following years, 600
Swedes and
Finns, mainly
Forest Finns from central Sweden (and also a number of
Dutchmen and
Germans in Swedish service) settled in the area. The settlement constituted an invasion of
New Netherland, since the river and the land in question had previously been explored and claimed for that colony.
Peter Minuit was to become the first governor of the newly established colony of New Sweden. Having been the Director of the
Dutch West India Company, and the predecessor of then-Director
William Kieft, Minuit knew the status of the lands on either side of the Delaware River at that time. He knew that the Dutch had established deeds for the lands east of the river (
New Jersey), but not for the lands to the west (Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania).
Minuit made good on his appointment by landing on the west bank of the river and gathered the sachems of the local
Delawares tribe. Sachems of the
Susquehannocks were also present. They held a conclave in his cabin on the
Kalmar Nyckel, and persuaded the sachems to sign some deeds he'd prepared for the purpose to solve any issue with the Dutch. This deed hasn't survived. The Swedes said the segment of land purchased included the land on the west side of the South River from just below the
Schuylkill; in other words, today's
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. The Delaware sachem Mattahorn, who was one of the participants in the transaction stated that only as much land as was contained within "six trees" was purchased and the rest of the land occupied by the Swedes was stolen.
Director Kieft objected to the landing of the Swedes, but Minuit ignored his missive because he knew that the Dutch were militarily impotent at the moment. Minuit finished Fort Christina during 1638, then departed to return to
Stockholm for a second load, and made a side trip to the
Caribbean to pick up a shipment of tobacco for resale in Europe to make the voyage profitable. Minuit died while on this voyage during a
hurricane at
St. Christopher in the Caribbean.
The official duties of the first governor of New Sweden were carried out by Lieutenant (then raised to the rank of Captain)
Måns Nilsson Kling, until the next governor was chosen and brought in from the mainland Sweden, two years later.
In 1643 the company expanded along the river from Fort Christina, and established
Fort Nya Elfsborg on the south bank near present-day
Salem, New Jersey. In 1644, New Sweden supported the
Susquehannocks in their victory in a war against the English
Province of Maryland. In May 1654, the Dutch
Fort Casimir was captured by soldiers from the New Sweden colony led by governor
Johan Rising. The fort was taken without a fight because its garrison had no gunpowder, and the fort was renamed
Fort Trinity.
As reprisal, the Dutch — led by governor
Peter Stuyvesant — moved an army to the
Delaware River in the late summer of 1655, leading to the immediate surrender of Fort Trinity and Fort Christina.
The Swedish and Finnish settlers continued to enjoy a degree of local autonomy, having their own militia, religion, court, and lands.
This status lasted officially until the
English conquest of the New Netherland colony was launched on
1664-06-24 when the Duke of York sold the area that's today
New Jersey to
John Berkeley and
George Carteret for a proprietary colony, separate from the projected
New York. The actual invasion started on
1664-08-29 with the capture of
New Amsterdam. The invasion continued, and was concluded with the capture of
Fort Casimir (
New Castle, Delaware) in October of 1664. The invasion was one of the things that was contested in the start of the
Second Anglo-Dutch War.
The status continued unofficially until the area was included in
William Penn's charter for Pennsylvania, on
1682-08-24. During this later period some immigration and expansion continued. The first settlement and
Fort Wicaco were built on the present site of Philadelphia in 1669.
Hoarkill, New Amstel, and Upland
The start of the
Third Anglo-Dutch War resulted in - among other things - the recapture of New Netherlands by the Dutch in August of 1673. The Dutch restored the status that pre-existed the British invasion, and codified it in the establishment of three Counties in what had been New Sweden. They were Hoarkill County, which today is
Sussex County, Delaware ; New Amstel County, which is today
New Castle County, Delaware
After taking stock, the British declared on
1674-11-06 that settlements on the west side of the
Delaware River and
Delaware Bay (in present day
Delaware and
Pennsylvania) to be
dependent on the Colony of
New York, including the three Counties. This declaration was followed up on
1674-11-11 by a new declaration that renamed New Amstel as
New Castle. The other counties retained their Dutch names for the duration. This was followed by the partitioning of the Counties to conform to the borders of Pennsylvania and Delaware.
The first move was to partition Upland between Delaware and Pennsylvania, with most of the Delaware portion going to New Castle County. This was accomplished on
1678-11-12 The remainder of Upland continued in place under the same name.
On
1680-06-21, New Castle and Hoarkill Counties were partitioned to produce St. Jones County
On
1681-03-04 What had been the Colony of New Sweden was formally partitioned into the colonies of Delaware and Pennsylvania. The border was established 12 Miles north of
New Castle, and the northern limit of Pennsylvania was set at 42 Degrees, north latitude. The eastern limit was the current border with New Jersey at the Delaware River, while the western limit was unlimited. Pennsylvania immediately started to reorganize the lands of the former New Sweden within the limits of Pennsylvania. In June of 1681, Upland ceased to exist as the result of the reorganization of the Colony of
Pennsylvania, with the Upland government becoming the government of Chester County, Pennsylvania.
On
1682-08-24, the Duke of York transferred the western Delaware River region, including modern day Delaware to
William Penn, thus transferring
Deale,
St. Jones from
New York to
Delaware. St. Jones County was renamed as
Kent County; Deale County was renamed
Sussex County; New Castle County retained its name.
Significance and Legacy
The historian
H. Arnold Barton has suggested that the greatest significance of New Sweden was the strong and long-lasting interest in North America that the colony generated in Sweden.
America was seen as the standard-bearer of
enlightenment and
freedom, and became the ideal of
liberal Swedes. Admiration for America was combined with the notion of a past Swedish
Golden Age, whose ancient
Nordic ideals had supposedly been corrupted by foreign influences.
Recovering the purity of these timeless values in the
New World was a fundamental theme of Swedish, and later
Swedish-American, discussion of America.
Since the imaginary Golden Age answered to shifting needs and ideals, the "timeless values" varied over time, and so did the Swedish idea of the new land. In the 17th and 18th centuries, North America stood for the rights of
conscience and
religious freedom.
In the political turmoil of 19th-century Europe, the focus of interest shifted to American respect for honest toil and to the virtues of
republican government. In the early 20th century, the Swedish-American dream even embraced the
Welfare State ideal of a society responsible for the well-being of all its citizens. By contrast, America became later in the 20th century the
symbol and dream of ultimate
individualism.
A massive Swedish immigration to the United States wasn't to emerge until 1870-1910, most notably to
Minnesota, with a total of over a million Swedes moving. With the exceptions of
Germany,
Ireland and
Norway, no other European country had a higher percentage of its population move to North America.
Traces of New Sweden persist in the Delaware Valley to this day, including
Holy Trinity Church in Wilmington,
Gloria Dei Church in Philadelphia, and Trinity Episcopal Church in
Swedesboro, New Jersey, all commonly known as "Old Swedes' Church".
Perhaps the greatest contribution of New Sweden to the development of the New World is one that isn't even thought of as Swedish. The colonists brought with them the
log cabin, which became such an icon of the American frontier that it's thought of as an American structure.
List of governors
All Governors lived at
Fort Christina, except
Johan Björnsson Printz who lived at Fort New Gothenborg located in Tinicom Island.
Forts
Fort Christina, now Wilmington, Delaware 1638-1655
Fort New Gothenborg (Nya Göteborg), now Essington, Pennsylvania 1643-1655
Fort New Korsholm, now Southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1647-1653
Fort New Elfsborg, now near Salem, New Jersey 1643-1651
Fort Trinity (Trefaldigheten), now New Castle, Delaware 1654-1655
Permanent settlements
Christina, now Wilmington, Delaware 1638
Finland (Chamassungh), now Trainer, Pennsylvania 1641
Upland, now Chester, Pennsylvania 1641
Sveaborg, now Swedesboro, New Jersey 1642
Printztorp, now Chester, Pennsylvania 1643
Tequirassy, now Eddystone, Pennsylvania 1643
Tinicum Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania 1643
Province (Manaiping) Island, in the Schuylkill River, now Southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1643
Minqua's Island, now Southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1643
Kingsessing (Nya Vasa), now Southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1644
Mölndal, now Yeadon, Pennsylvania 1645
Torne (Aronameck), now West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1647
The Sidoland, now Wilmington, Delaware 1654
Timber Island, now Wilmington, Delaware 1654
Strandviken, now Wilmington, Delaware 1654
Ammansland, now Darby, Pennsylvania 1654
New Stockholm, now Bridgeport, New Jersey
Rivers and creeks
Swenskes Revier, Nya Sweriges Rivier (Delaware River)
Schuylen Kyl (Schuylkill River)
Minquas Kyl (Christina River)
Fiske Kyl (Brandywine Creek)
Footnotes
Further Information
Get more info on 'New Sweden'.
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