New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before e ...

in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

when

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

was a great military power. New Sweden formed part of the Swedish efforts to colonize the Americas. Settlements were established on both sides of the

Delaware Valley The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Vall ...

in the region of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent De ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean ...

, and

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, ...

, often in places where Swedish traders had been visiting since about 1610.

Fort Christina Fort Christina (also called Fort Altena) was the first Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony. Built in 1638 and named after Queen Christina of Sweden, it was located approximately 1 mi (1. ...

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 ...

, was the first settlement, named after the reigning Swedish monarch. The settlers were Swedes, Finns, and a number of Dutch. New Sweden was conquered by the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

in 1655 during the

Second Northern War The Second Northern War (1655–60), (also First or Little Northern War) was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1655–60), the Tsardom of Russia ( 1656–58), Brandenburg-Prussia (1657–60), the H ...

and incorporated into the Dutch colony of

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva ...

History

By the middle of the 17th century, the

Realm of Sweden The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...

had reached its greatest territorial extent and was one of the great powers of Europe; it was the '' stormaktstiden'' ("age of greatness" or "great power period"). Sweden then included

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

and

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe, Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, sea across from Sweden, to ...

, along with parts of modern Russia,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, Germany, and

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

under King

Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S_19_December.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/now ...

and later Queen Christina. Other northern European nations were establishing colonies in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

and building successful trading empires at this time. The Swedes sought to expand their influence by creating their own plantation (

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 chie ...

) and fur-trading colony to circumvent French and English merchants. The

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 ...

was founded in 1626 with a mandate to establish colonies between

Florida Florida is a U.S. state, state located in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia (U.S. state), Geo ...

and Newfoundland for the purposes of trade, particularly along the Delaware River. Its charter included Swedish, Dutch, and German stockholders led by directors of the New Sweden Company, including Samuel Blommaert. The company sponsored 11 expeditions in 14 separate voyages to Delaware between 1638 and 1655; two did not survive. The first Swedish expedition to America sailed from the

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

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 a ...

in late 1637, organized and overseen by Clas Larsson Fleming, a Swedish admiral from Finland. Flemish Dutch

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 ...

assisted the fitting-out and appointed

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 Ne ...

(the former Governor of

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

) to lead the expedition. The expedition sailed into

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 inland ...

aboard the ''

Fogel Grip ''Fogel Grip'' (''Bird Griffin'', Swedish: ''Fågel Grip'') was a Swedish sailing ship originally built in the Netherlands in the early 17th century. She was used on the first Swedish expedition in 1638 together with ''Kalmar Nyckel'' to establi ...

'' and ''

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 nyc ...

'', which lay within the territory claimed by the Dutch. They passed Cape May and

Cape Henlopen Cape Henlopen is the southern cape of the Delaware Bay along the Atlantic coast of the United States. It lies in the state of Delaware, near the town of Lewes, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Off the coast on the bay side are two l ...

in late March 1638McCormick, p. 12; Munroe, ''Colonial Delaware'', p. 16. and anchored on March 29 at a rocky point on the Minquas Kill that is known today as Swedes' Landing. They built a fort in Wilmington which they named

after their Queen. Nieuw Nederland and Nya Sverige

In the following years, the area was settled by 600 Swedes and Finns, a number of Dutchmen, a few Germans, a Dane, and at least one Estonian, and Minuit became the first governor of the colony of New Sweden. He had been the third Director of

, and he knew that the Dutch claimed the area south to the Delaware River and its bay. The Dutch, however, had pulled back their settlers from the area after several years in order to concentrate on the settlement on

Manhattan Island Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Governor Minuit landed on the west bank of the river and gathered the sachems of the

Delawares The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

and Susquehannocks. They held a conclave in Minuit's cabin on the ''Kalmar Nyckel'', and he persuaded them to sign deeds which he had prepared to solve any issue with the Dutch. The Swedes claimed that the purchased land included land on the west side of the South (Delaware) River from just below the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...

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. Sin ...

, southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and coastal Maryland. Delaware sachem Mattahoon later claimed that the purchase only included as much land as was contained within an area marked by "six trees", and the rest of the land occupied by the Swedes was stolen.

Willem Kieft Willem Kieft (September 1597 – September 27, 1647) was a Dutch merchant and the Director of New Netherland (of which New Amsterdam was the capital) from 1638 to 1647. Life and career Willem Kieft was appointed to the rank of director b ...

objected to the Swedes landing, but Minuit ignored him since he knew that the Dutch were militarily weak at the moment. Minuit completed Fort Christina in 1638, then sailed for

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropol ...

to bring the second group of settlers. He made a detour to the Caribbean to pick up a shipment of tobacco to sell in Europe in order to make the voyage profitable. However, he died on this voyage during a hurricane at St. Christopher in the Caribbean. The official duties of the governor of New Sweden were carried out by Captain Måns Nilsson Kling, until a new governor was selected and arrived from Sweden two years later. The company expanded along the river from Fort Christina under the leadership of

Johan Björnsson Printz Johan Björnsson Printz (July 20, 1592 – May 3, 1663) was governor from 1643 until 1653 of the Swedish colony of New Sweden on the Delaware River in North America. Early life in Sweden He was born in Bottnaryd, Jönköping County, in the p ...

, governor from 1643 to 1653. They established Fort Nya Elfsborg on the east bank of the Delaware near

Salem, New Jersey Salem is a city in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the city's population was 5,146,Tinicum Island to the immediate southwest of Philadelphia. Printz also built his manor house, The Printzhof, at Fort Nya Gothenborg, and the Swedish colony prospered for a time. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their war against

colonists. In May 1654, soldiers from New Sweden led by Governor

Johan Risingh Johan Classon Risingh (1617 in Risinge – 1672) was the last governor of the Swedish colony of New Sweden. Biography Risingh was born in 1617 in Risinge, Östergötland, Sweden. After gymnasium at Linköping, he attended the University of Upps ...

captured

Fort Casimir Fort Casimir or Fort Trinity was a Dutch fort in the seventeenth-century colony of New Netherland. It was located on a no-longer existing barrier island at the end of Chestnut Street in what is now New Castle, Delaware. Background The Dutch ...

and renamed it Fort Trinity (''Trefaldigheten'' in Swedish). Sweden opened the

in the Baltic by attacking the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania rul ...

, and the Dutch sent an armed squadron of ships under Director-General

Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Net ...

to seize New Sweden. In the summer of 1655, the Dutch marched an army to the Delaware River, easily capturing Fort Trinity and Fort Christina. The Swedish settlement was formally incorporated into Dutch New Netherland on September 15, 1655, although the Swedish and Finnish settlers were allowed local autonomy. They retained their own militia, religion, court, and lands. This lasted until the English conquest of New Netherland, launched on June 24, 1664. The Duke of York sold New Jersey to John Berkeley and

George Carteret Vice admiral (Royal Navy), Vice Admiral Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet ( – 14 January 1680 New Style, N.S.) was a royalist statesman in Jersey and England, who served in the Clarendon ministry, Clarendon Ministry as Treasurer of the Navy. ...

to become a proprietary colony, separate from the projected colony of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

. The invasion began on August 29, 1664, with the capture of

and ended with the capture of

(

New Castle, Delaware New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The city is located six miles (10 km) south of Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 5,285. History New Castl ...

) in October. This took place at the beginning of the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas and trade routes, wh ...

. In 1669, New Sweden was under British rule, but most of the population was still Swedish. A man named Marcus Jacobsson, posing as a member of the Königsmarck family, attempted to instigate a rebellion against the British to return New Sweden to Swedish rule. The rebellion, known as the Revolt of the Long Swede due to Jacobsson's height, failed. Jacobsson was sold into slavery in the Caribbean and the families that had supported him were fined for their participation in the revolt. New Sweden continued to exist unofficially, and some immigration and expansion continued. The first settlement at Wicaco began with a Swedish log blockhouse located on

Society Hill Society Hill is a historic neighborhood in Center City Philadelphia, with a population of 6,215 . Settled in the early 1680s, Society Hill is one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Philadelphia.The Center City District dates the Free Soc ...

in Philadelphia in 1669. It was later used as a church until about 1700, when

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 ( ...

of Philadelphia was built on the site. New Sweden finally came to an end when its land was included in

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

's charter for Pennsylvania on August 24, 1682.

Hoarkill, New Amstel, and Upland

The start of the

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War ( nl, Derde Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog), 27 March 1672 to 19 February 1674, was a naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France. It is considered a subsidiary of the wider 1672 to 167 ...

resulted in the Dutch recapture of New Netherland in August 1673. They restored the status which predated the English capture, and codified it in the establishment of three counties: Hoarkill County, New Amstel County, and Upland County, which was later partitioned between New Castle County, Delaware, and the Colony of Pennsylvania. The three counties were created on September 12, 1673, the first two on the west shore of the Delaware River and the third on both sides of the river. The Treaty of Westminster of 1674 ended the second period of Dutch control and required them to return all of New Netherland to the English on June 29, including the three counties which they created.Parry, Clive, ed. '' Consolidated Treaty Series.''; Vol. 13, p. 136; Dobbs Ferry, New York; Oceana Publications, 1969–1981. After taking stock, the English declared on November 11 that settlements on the west side of the Delaware River and Delaware Bay were to be dependent on the

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the U ...

, including the three Counties. This declaration was followed by a declaration that renamed New Amstel as New Castle. The other counties retained their Dutch names. The next step in the assimilation of New Sweden into New York was the extension of the Duke's laws into the region on September 22, 1676. This was followed by the partition of some Upland Counties to conform to the borders of Pennsylvania and Delaware, with most of the Delaware portion going to New Castle County on November 12, 1678. The remainder of Upland continued in place under the same name. On June 21, 1680, New Castle and Hoarkill Counties were partitioned to produce St. Jones County. On March 4, 1681, 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 border with New Jersey at the Delaware River, while the western limit was undefined. In June 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 August 24, 1682, the Duke of York transferred the western Delaware River region to William Penn, including Delaware, thus transferring Deale County and St. Jones County from New York to Delaware. St. Jones County was renamed Kent County, Deale County was renamed Sussex County, and New Castle County retained its name.''Pennsylvania Archives'', 2nd series, Vol. 5: pp. 739–744. Swedish explorer and botanist

Pehr Kalm Pehr Kalm (6 March 1716 – 16 November 1779), also known as Peter Kalm, was a Swedish explorer, botanist, naturalist, and agricultural economist. He was one of the most important apostles of Carl Linnaeus. In 1747, he was commissioned by the ...

visited the descendants of the early Swedish immigrants to New Sweden in the mid-18th century and documented their experiences with the Native American Indians who resided in those parts, in a book entitled ''Travels into North America''.

Significance and legacy

Historian H. Arnold Barton has suggested that the greatest significance of New Sweden was the strong and lasting interest in America that the colony generated in Sweden, although major Swedish immigration did not occur until the late 19th century. From 1870 to 1910, more than one million Swedes arrived in America, settling particularly in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and other states of the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referrin ...

. Traces of New Sweden persist in the lower Delaware valley, including Holy Trinity Church in

, Gloria Dei Church and St. James Kingsessing Church in Philadelphia, Trinity Episcopal Church in

Swedesboro, New Jersey Swedesboro is a borough in Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,584,Swedesburg, Pennsylvania. All of those churches are commonly known as "Old Swedes' Church".

Christiana, Delaware Christiana is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in New Castle County, Delaware, New Castle County, Delaware, United States, located on the Christina River, 12 miles southwest of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington. It is home to the C ...

, is one of the few settlements in the area retaining a Swedish name, and Upland survives as

Upland, Pennsylvania Upland is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Upland is governed by an elected seven-member borough council. The population was 3,239 at the 2010 census, up from 2,974 at the 2000 census. Geography Upland is located in ...

. Swedesford Road is still found in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania, although Swedesford has long since become Norristown. Swedeland, Pennsylvania, is part of Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County. The

American Swedish Historical Museum The American Swedish Historical Museum is the oldest Swedish-American museum in the United States. It is located in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park in South Philadelphia, on part of a historic 17th-century land grant originally provided by Queen C ...

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a less finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first generation home building by settlers. Eur ...

, which became such an icon of the American frontier that it is commonly thought of as an American structure. The C. A. Nothnagle Log House on Swedesboro-Paulsboro Road in Gibbstown, New Jersey, is one of the oldest surviving log houses in the United States.

Finnish influence

The settlers came from all over the Swedish realm. The percentage of Finns in New Sweden grew especially towards the end of the period of colonization. Finns composed 22 percent of the population during Swedish rule, and rose to about 50 percent after the colony came under Dutch rule. A contingent of 140 Finns arrived in 1664. The ship ''Mercurius'' sailed to the colony in 1665, and 92 of the 106 passengers were listed as Finns. Memory of the early Finnish settlement lived on in place names near the Delaware River such as Finland (Marcus Hook), Torne, Lapland,

Finns Point Finns Point is a small strategic promontory in Pennsville Township, Salem County, New Jersey, and New Castle County, Delaware, located at the southwest corner of the cape of Penns Neck, on the east bank of the Delaware River near its mouth on Del ...

, Mullica Hill, and Mullica River. A portion of these Finns were known as

Forest Finns Forest Finns ( fi, Metsäsuomalaiset, Norwegian bokmål: ''Skogfinner'', Norwegian nynorsk: ''Skogfinnar'', sv, Skogsfinnar) were Finnish migrants from Savonia and Northern Tavastia in Finland who settled in forest areas of Sweden proper and ...

, people of Finnish descent who had been living in the forest areas of Central Sweden. The Forest Finns had moved from Savonia in Eastern Finland to

Dalarna Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Norwa ...

Bergslagen Bergslagen is a historical, cultural, and linguistic region located north of Lake Mälaren in northern Svealand, Sweden, traditionally known as a mining district. In Bergslagen, the mining and metallurgic industries have been important since ...

and other provinces in central Sweden during the late-16th to mid-17th century. Their relocation had started as part of an effort by Swedish King

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

to expand agriculture to these uninhabited parts of the country. The Finns in Savonia traditionally farmed with a slash-and-burn method which was better suited to pioneering

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

in vast forest areas. This was also the farming method used by the American Indians of Delaware.

Forts

(1638) – at the Brandywine Creek and

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 ...

, later renamed Fort Altena (1655) *Fort Mecoponacka (1641) – in

, near Finlandia or Upland in

Delaware County, Pennsylvania Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census, it is the fifth-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the third=smallest in area. D ...

* Fort Nya Elfsborg (1643) – between present-day Salem Creek and Alloway Creek near

Bridgeport, New Jersey Bridgeport is a census-designated place{ (CDP) and unincorporated community that is part of Logan Township, in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2020 United States census, the population of the CDP was 389. in the ...

*Fort Nya Gothenborg (1643) – on Tinicum Island near the site of The Printzhof in

Essington Essington is a village and civil parish in South Staffordshire, England, located near the city of Wolverhampton and towns of Walsall, Bloxwich, Cannock and Brewood. The villages of Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Coven, Penkridge and Featherston ...

*Fort Nya Vasa (1646) – at Kingsessing, on the eastern-side of Cobbs Creek in

*Fort Nya Korsholm (1647) – on the

near the South River in

(1654) – also known as Fort Trinity (in Swedish, ''Trefaldigheten''), located at the end of Chestnut Street near Harmony & 2nd streets in New Castle, Delaware.

Permanent settlements

*Christina (1638 and 1641; modern

)Johnson, Amandus.
The Swedish settlements on the Delaware, 1638–1664.
'. Swedish Colonial Society, 1911. *Finland, Finlandia, or Chamassungh (1641 and 1643; modern

Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania Marcus Hook is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,397 at the 2010 census. The current mayor is Gene Taylor. The borough calls itself "The Cornerstone of Pennsylvania". The 2005 film ''One Last Thing''... was set an ...

) *Upland or Uppland (1641 and 1643; modern

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in ...

) *Varkens Kill (1641; modern

Salem County, New Jersey Salem County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western boundary is formed by the Delaware River and its eastern terminus is the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects the county with New Castle, Delaware. Its cou ...

) *Printztorp (1643; modern Chester, Pa.) *Tequirassy (1643; modern Eddystone, Pennsylvania) *Tenakonk or Tinicum (1643; modern

Tinicum Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Tinicum Township, more popularly known as "Tinicum Island" or "The Island", is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 4,091 at the 2010 census, down from 4,353 at the 2000 census. Included within the townships boundari ...

) *Provins, Druweeÿland, or Manaiping (1643; modern southwest Philadelphia, on Province Island on the

) *Minquas or Minqua's Island (1644; modern southwest

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 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. Since ...

) *Kingsessing (1644; modern southwest

) *Mölndal (1645; modern Yeadon, Pennsylvania) *Torne (1647; modern

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...

) *Sveaborg (c. 1649; modern

Swedesboro, New Jersey Swedesboro is a borough in Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,584,Bridgeport, New Jersey Bridgeport is a census-designated place{ (CDP) and unincorporated community that is part of Logan Township, in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2020 United States census, the population of the CDP was 389. in the ...

) *Sidoland (1654; modern Wilmington, Del.) *Översidolandet (1654; modern Wilmington, Del.) *Timmerön or Timber Island (1654; modern Wilmington) *Strandviken (1654; modern Wilmington) *Ammansland (1654; modern

Darby, Pennsylvania Darby is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is located along Darby Creek southwest of Center City Philadelphia. The borough of Darby is distinct from the nearby municipality of Darby Township. History Darby ...

)

Rivers and creeks

: "South River" (''Södre Rivier''; as opposed to the Hudson), "Swedish River" (''Swenskes Rivier''), "New Sweden River" (''Nya Sweriges Rivier'') *

: "Schuyl Creek" (''Schuylen Kÿl'') meaning hidden river * Brandywine Creek: "Fish Creek" (''Fiske Kÿl'') *

: "Susquehanna" (''Minquas'') or "Christina Creek" (''Christina Kÿl'') * Raccoon Creek: "Narraticon" ''(

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

)'' meaning Raccoon *

Salem River The Salem River is a tributary of the Delaware River in southwestern New Jersey in the United States. The course and watershed of the Salem River are entirely within Salem County. Tributaries of the Salem include Game Creek, Mannington Creek, ...

: Varkens Kill (''Hogg Creek'') *

Mullica River The Mullica River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in southern New Jersey in the United States. The Mullica was once known as the ''Little Egg Ha ...

, named for an early Finnish settler, Eric Pålsson Mullica

References

Notes Bibliography * Barton, H. Arnold (1994). ''A Folk Divided: Homeland Swedes and Swedish Americans, 1840–1940''. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis * Benson, Adolph B. and Naboth Hedin, eds. (1938) ''Swedes in America, 1638–1938''. The Swedish American Tercentenary Association. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press * Jennings, Francis, (1984) ''The Ambiguous Iroquois''. New York: Norton * Johnson, Amandus (1927) ''The Swedes on the Delaware''. Philadelphia: International Printing Company * * Munroe, John A. (1977) ''Colonial Delaware''. Wilmington, Delaware: Delaware Heritage Press * Shorto, Russell (2004) ''The Island at the Center of the World''. New York: Doubleday * Weslager, C. A. (1990) ''A Man and his Ship, Peter Minuet and the Kalmar Nyckel''. Wilmington, Delaware: Kalmar Nyckel Foundation * Weslager, C. A. (1988) ''New Sweden on the Delaware 1638–1655''. Wilmington, Delaware: Middle Atlantic Press * Weslager, C. A. (1987) ''The Swedes and Dutch at New Castle''. Wilmington, Delaware: Middle Atlantic Press Further reading * Jameson, J. Franklin (1887) ''Willem Usselinx: Founder of the Dutch and Swedish West India Companies''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. * Mickley, Joseph J. (1881) ''Some Account of William Usselinx and Peter Minuit: Two individuals who were instrumental in establishing the first permanent colony in Delaware''. The Historical Society of Delaware. * Myers, Albert Cook, ed. (1912) ''Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey, and Delaware, 1630–1707''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons * Ward, Christopher (1930) ''Dutch and Swedes on the Delaware, 1609–1664''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press

External links

The Finns in American Colonial HistoryThe American Swedish Historical Museum
a
The Swedish Colonial SocietyThe New Sweden Centre – museum, tours and reenactorsNew Sweden
at the FamilySearch Research Wiki

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