Johan Björnsson Printz (July 20, 1592 – May 3, 1663) was a Swedish military officer who was the 3rd 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, from 1643 until 1653.

Early life in Sweden

He was born in Bottnaryd,

Jönköping County Jönköping County () is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The total county population was 356,291 inhabitants in September 2017. The capita ...

, in the province of

Småland Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...

in 1592. He was the son of a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

pastor, Björn Hansson, and Gunilla Svensdotter. This source indicates a court martial exonerated him for the surrender of Chemnitz, but punished him for being AWOL. Printz received his early education in Sweden followed in 1618 by theological studies at German universities. While on a journey in about 1620, he was pressed into military service. The involuntary change in occupation turned out to suit him. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, he initially became a mercenary for Archduke Leopold of Austria, Duke Christian of Brunswick, and King Christian IV of Denmark. Printz entered the

Swedish army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

in 1625 rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel under King

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 19 December15946 November ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 16 November1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 t ...

. He was dismissed from service for surrendering the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

town of

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

Life in New Sweden

By 1642, he was restored to royal favor, ennobled and appointed to be the third governor of New Sweden. He arrived at Fort Christina in the colony on 15 February 1643 with two ships, ''Fama'' (Fawn) and ''Svanen'' (The Swan). Under his rule the Swedish colony initially prospered. He built '' Fort Nya Elfsborg'' on the east bank of the Delaware, and ''Fort New Gothenburg'' on Tinicum Island (to the immediate SW of today's

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

). He thus secured a monopoly of trade with the Indians that inhabited both sides of the bay and river as far north as Trenton. On Tinicum Island, he also built his own manor house which he called '' The Printzhof''. It was two stories high, made of hewn logs and fireplaces of brick imported from Sweden. The manor contained a finished lumber interior made from lumber sent from Sweden, glass windows and lavish draperies. The location was chosen with an eye to controlling the trade of the river and because it was close to the Dutch at Fort Masson. He built Printz’s Mill on Cobbs Creek in 1645. Printz, who was an energetic and conscientious governor, established harmony with the local Indians. He was a very large man, reputably over 400 pounds, which earned him the nickname "Big Belly," from the native people, the Lenni

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

tribe. During his tenure of office, seven expeditions, containing more than 300 emigrants, sailed from Sweden. The influx of settlers was made up of

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

s who dealt fairly with the Indians and established a precedent of kindliness and justice.

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

and his followers later became indirect beneficiaries of this treatment when they were received in a friendly manner by the Indians. Printz arranged amicable relations with English settlers, initiated trade connections with the Dutch in New Netherlands, and directed several commercial enterprises within New Sweden. In time, problems with the surrounding Dutch and English colonies became increasingly severe. Short of supplies from Sweden, Printz was unable to prevent the Dutch and the English from practically monopolizing the beaver fur trade in the area. His main adversary was Peter Stuyvesant, Director General of New Netherlands, and earlier on, his local representative Andries Hudde. Printz also was an autocratic administrator and his growing quarrels with the settlers led several of them to petition to take their grievances directly to the Swedish government. Printz had the ringleader of the dissident colonists, Anders Jönsson, hanged on August 1, 1653, but tensions continued to grow. Grievances included lack of land rights and trade rights. In 1653 Hans Månsson and 21 others including Olof Persson Stille,

Peter Minuit Peter Minuit (French language, French: ''Pierre Minuit'', Dutch language, Dutch: ''Peter Minnewit''; 1580 – August 5, 1638) was a Walloons, Walloon merchant and politician who was the 3rd Director of New Netherland, Director of the Dutch Nort ...

and Sven Gunnarsson signed a petition opposing his rule.Thompson, Mark L. ''The Contest for the Delaware Valley: Allegiance, Identity, and Empire in the Seventeenth Century.'' LSU Press, 2013.
/ref>
/ref> Eventually, Printz found his position impossible, and in 1654 he returned to

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 son-in-law Johan Papegoja, married to his daughter

Armegott Printz Armegot Printz (1625–1695) was a Swedish noble. She was the daughter of Johan Björnsson Printz, governor of New Sweden, and she married her father's successor, governor Johan Papegoja. She is the most well documented and known woman of New ...

, was acting governor until John Rising ( Johan Risingh) was appointed Governor in his place.

Later life in Sweden

On his return to Sweden, Printz was made a general. Several years later, in 1658, he was appointed governor of

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...

. The information on this period in his life is limited.

Family

He was survived by five daughters, among them the well known Armegot Printz, and his second wife, Maria von Linnestau, who he had married in 1642. He was predeceased by his son, and also by his first wife, Elizabeth von Boche, whom he had married in 1622.

Memorials

*Governor Printz Park is located just south of I-95 at the Route 420 in Essington, PA. *The New Sweden Marker at 2nd Street & Taylor Avenue in Essington, Pennsylvania acknowledges the role of Johan Printz. * The Printzhof in Essington, Pennsylvania is listed on

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

is named Governor Printz Boulevard. *A portion of Pennsylvania Route 291 in Tinicum Township is named Governor Printz Boulevard. * The site of Printz's Mill on Cobbs Creek in Darby, PA is indicated by a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Marker. *The Johan Printz Sculpture is in the park ''Rådhusparken'' in Jönköping, Sweden. *The Johan Printz Plaque is in the church yard of ''Bottnaryd kyrka'' in Jönköping, Sweden *The

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

Notes

References

''Johan-Bjornsson-Printz'' (Encyclopædia Britannica)
* ttp://www.jttoday.com/2006/2006-06/NewSweden/NewSweden.html '' Before Pennsylvania was Pennsylvania, the Delaware Valley was New Sweden'' (Jim Thorpe PA Today. June 2006)br>''Chronology of Colonial Swedes on the Delaware, 1638-1713'' (Dr. Peter S. Craig. Swedish Colonial News. Volume 2, Number 5, Fall 2001)

* ttp://www.founderspatriots.org/articles/swedish.htm ''The Swedish come to America''. (Order of the Founders and Patriots of America)

External links

Bottnaryd Church (Swedish Link)

Explore Pennsylvania: Governor Printz Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Printz, Johan Bjornsson 1592 births 1663 deaths People from Jönköping Municipality Governors of New Sweden Governors of Jönköping County 17th-century Swedish nobility People of New Sweden