Johan Classon Risingh (1617–1672) was a Swedish politician who was the last governor of

New Sweden New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...

, the Swedish colony in North America.

Biography

Risingh was born in 1617 in Risinge,

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. His father was a pastor named Reverend Clas Botvidi.Johnson, Amandus. “Johan Classon Rising, the Last Director of New Sweden, on the Delaware.” ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 39, no. 2 (1915): 129–42. . After gymnasium at

Linköping Linköping ( , ) is a city in southern Sweden, with around 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

, he attended the

University of Uppsala Uppsala University (UU) () is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially founded in the 15th century, the university rose to s ...

and

University of Leyden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

. From 1651 to 1653, he held the office of secretary of the Commercial College of Sweden under Erik Alexsson Oxenstierna. He wrote the first treatise on trade and economics ever compiled in Sweden in the autumn of 1653. Receiving knighthood, he set out from Sweden early in 1654, to take up his duties in New Sweden. Risingh was appointed assistant councilor of New Sweden under Governor

Johan Printz Johan may refer to: * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (1921 film), a Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (2005 film), a Dutch romantic comedy film * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Joh ...

. Upon arrival in 1654, Risingh expressed concerns about the loss of Native alliances due to declining trade. This relationship was in decline due to rising hostilities over trade competition in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Risingh wrote that the loss of Native alliances could severely impact the territorial integrity of New Sweden against the English colony of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and Dutch colony of

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

.Rising, Johan. Report of Governor Johan Rising, 1655, on New Sweden. Retrieved from His first act was to cause the seizure of the Dutch

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 c ...

, which the

Director-General of New Netherland This is a list of Directors, appointed by the Dutch West India Company, of the 17th century Dutch province of New Netherland (''Nieuw-Nederland'' in Dutch) in North America. Only the last, Peter Stuyvesant, held the title of Director General. As ...

Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant ( – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial administrator who served as the Directors of New Netherland, director-general of New Netherland from 1647 to 1664, when the colony was pro ...

, had erected just below

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

(near

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, Delaware, Wilmington and is situated on the Delaware River. As of 2020, the city's population was 5,551. New Cast ...

) in 1651. Risingh claimed that Fort Casimir had been built on land that New Sweden had purchased from the local Native Americans. Stuyvesant subsequently responded by leading an expedition to New Sweden and brought the colony under control of his government. In 1655, Risingh wrote to the Swedish government asking for financial support, but none was given. Swedish-allied Lenape launched raids on underdefended villages in New Netherland in response to the Dutch attack on New Sweden. Despite this, New Sweden prompted to surrender following the fall of Fort Christina to the Dutch on August 15, 1655. After the surrender, Risingh and the other officials, soldiers, and such colonists as were unwilling to become Dutch subjects, were taken back to Europe. Risingh died in poverty at Stockholm in April 1672. Risingh's reports for the period 1654 to 1655, constituting a valuable history of New Sweden under his administration. A contemporary manuscript copy of this report in Swedish is in the

National Library of Sweden The National Library of Sweden (, ''KB'', meaning "the Royal Library") is Sweden's national library. It collects and preserves all domestic printed and audio-visual materials in Swedish, as well as content with Swedish association published ab ...

. This report was printed in 1878, in the appendix of Carl K. S. Sprinchorn's ''Kolonien Nya Sveriges Historia'' (in English: History of the Colony of New Sweden). A translation of Sprinchorn's text was made by

Amandus Johnson Amandus Johnson (October 27, 1877 – June 30, 1974) was a Swedish- American historian, author and museum director. He is most associated with his epic two volume history '' The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware 1638-1664'', which was also publ ...

In culture

Risingh is a character in

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

's "Knickerbocker's History of New York." Irving gives a tongue-in-cheek report of the battle for Fort Casimir.Irving, Washington: Knickerbocker's History of New York, Ed. Anne Carroll Moore, NewYork:Frederick Ungar Publishing Co. 1959. Originally published 1809.

References

Other sources

* Johnson, Amandus. ''Johan Classon Rising: The Last Governor of New Sweden'' (Philadelphia: The Swedish Colonial Society, 1915) * Johnson, Amandus. ''The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware 1638-1664, Volume II'' (Philadelphia: The Swedish Colonial Society, 1927) *Ward, Christopher. ''Dutch and Swedes on the Delaware, 1609 - 1664'' (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1930) * Griffis, William Elliot. ''The Story of New Netherland. The Dutch In America '' (Boston And New York. Houghton Mifflin Company. The Riverside Press Cambridge. 1909) *Myers, Albert Cook. ''Narratives of early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware, 1630-1707.'' Charles Scribner's, 1912. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/narrativesofearl00myer/page/n3/mode/2up

External links

Report of Governor Johan Risingh, 1654 (his name has in the modernised English translation been changed to Rising)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Risingh, Johan 1617 births 1672 deaths People from Finspång Municipality Governors of New Sweden People from New Netherland People of New Sweden People from colonial Delaware