''Fogel Grip'' (''Bird Griffin'', Swedish: ''Fågel Grip'') was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships c ...

originally built in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in the early 17th century. She was used on the first Swedish expedition in 1638 together with ''

Kalmar Nyckel ''Kalmar Nyckel'' (''Key of Kalmar'') was a Swedish ship built by the Dutch famed for carrying Swedish settlers to North America in 1638, to establish the colony of New Sweden. The name Kalmar Nyckel comes from the Swedish city of Kalmar and nyck ...

'' to establish the colony of

New Sweden New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden form ...

The ship

Little is known about the vessel. ''Fogel Grip'' was a

full-rigged pinnace The full-rigged pinnace was the larger of two types of vessel called a pinnace in use from the sixteenth century. Etymology The word ''pinnace'', and similar words in many languages (as far afield as Indonesia, where the boat "pinisi" took it ...

about long. Originally built in the Netherlands in the early 17th century the ship was bought by the Swedish

Swedish South Company The Swedish South Company, also known as the Company of New-Sweden (Swedish, ', '), was a trading company from Sweden founded in 1626, that supported the trade between Sweden and its colony New Sweden, in North America. The colony was envisioned ...

in 1636 or 1637.

The New Sweden expedition

The first expedition was prepared by

Samuel Blommaert Samuel Blommaert (''Bloemaert'', ''Blommaerts'', ''Blommaart'', ''Blomert'', etc.) (11 or 21 August 1583, in Antwerp – 23 December 1651, in Amsterdam) was a Flemish/Dutch merchant and director of the Dutch West India Company from 1622 to 1629 ...

in secrecy in fear of the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

which at that time dominated the area. The commander was

Peter Minuit Peter Minuit (between 1580 and 1585 – August 5, 1638) was a Wallonian merchant from Tournai, in present-day Belgium. He was the 3rd Director of the Dutch North American colony of New Netherland from 1626 until 1631, and 3rd Governor of New N ...

. In November 1637, ''Fogel Grip'' captained by Adrian Jöransen and ''Kalmar Nyckel'' captained by Jan Hindricksen van der Water left

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

harbor. The crew was part Dutch and part Swedish; the Swedes on ''Fogel Grip'' were under the command of

Måns Nilsson Kling Måns Nilsson Kling or Mauno Kling was the second governor of the 17th century colony of New Sweden (Swedish: ''Nya Sverige''), which he administrated from Fort Christina, now Wilmington, Delaware. Biography The first Swedish expedition to North A ...

. The expedition was caught in bad weather in the North Sea badly damaging both ships. Separated during the storm, both vessels made it to

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of De ...

and

Medemblik Medemblik () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. It lies immediately south of the polder and former municipality of Wieringermeer. History Medemblik was a prosperous ...

for repairs. After about one month the expedition could continue and the ships left port on December 31. Passing the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

and

Saint Christopher Island Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

the expedition reached

Delaware Bay Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwater of the Atlantic Ocean. The bay is bordered inlan ...

in March 1638 sailing up the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

where they made landfall at the mouth of

Christina River The Christina River is a tributary of the Delaware River, approximately 35 miles (56 km) long, in northern Delaware in the United States, also flowing through small areas of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland. Near i ...

in present-day

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

. ''Fogel Grip'' then cruised the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

for some time before returning to New Sweden bringing the former slave ''Anthony Swartz'' from St. Kitts. The ship was then loaded with

fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

before leaving for Sweden and on the return in around June 1639 the cargo was sold. In August 1639, ''Fogel Grip'' was shipwrecked on a sand shoal in Gothenburg harbor during a storm and abandoned.

Legacy

Models of ''Fogel Grip'' and ''Kalmar Nyckel'' are kept at

Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church Gloria Dei Church, known locally as Old Swedes, is a historic church located in the Southwark neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 929 South Water Street, bounded by Christian Street on the north, South Christopher Columbus Boulevard ( ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. In 1938 the Swedish mail issued a

commemorative stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike def ...

of both ships.

References

External links

Painting of ''Fogel Grip'' (and ''Kalmar Nyckel'')

Drawing of ''Fogel Grip'' (and ''Kalmar Nyckel'')

Commemorative stamp of ''Fogel Grip'' (and ''Kalmar Nyckel'')
{{coord missing, North Sea 1600s ships New Sweden 17th century in Sweden Individual sailing vessels Pinnaces Ships of Sweden Age of Sail ships of Sweden Ships built in the Netherlands Wilmington Riverfront Shipwrecks in the North Sea Swedish migration to North America Exploration ships of the Dutch Republic