Måns Nilsson Kling or Mauno Kling was the second

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the 17th century

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

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 fo ...

(Swedish: ''Nya Sverige''), which he administrated from

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. ...

, now

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 Christin ...

Biography

The first Swedish expedition to North America with ''

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 ...

'' was launched from the port city of Gothenburg in late 1637. The expedition was organized and overseen by Swedish Admiral Clas Fleming.

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 ...

, a Dutch colonial patron, assisted with the fitting-out. Following the recommendation of

Willem Usselincx Willem Usselincx (1567 – c. 1647) was a Flemish Dutch merchant, investor and diplomat who was instrumental in drawing both Dutch and Swedish attention to the importance of the New World. Usselincx was the founding father of the Dutch West Indi ...

, one of the directors 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 ( ...

, Swedish Chancellor

Axel Oxenstierna Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre (; 1583–1654), Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a ...

appointed

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

to lead the expedition. Minuit made arrangements to found a Swedish colony on the lower Delaware River in parts of the present-day states 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 adjacen ...

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 ...

, 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, Ma ...

, within the territory later claimed by the Dutch. The first settlers, (Swedes, Finns, and some Dutchmen) reached the location now known as Swedes' Landing in

on March 29, 1638. Peter Minuit became the first governor of the newly established colony of New Sweden. However, Minuit left the colony on June 15, 1638 and sailed to the Caribbean Island of St. Christopher to barter a ship's cargo of wine and aquavit for tobacco. Minuit died there during a hurricane. Måns Kling had arrived with the first expedition and was left in command of New Sweden following the departure of Peter Minuit. Kling, who had been promoted to captain, carried out the duties of governor until Lieutenant Peter Hollander Ridder of the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels ...

, arrived in New Sweden on April 17, 1640. Johnson, Amandus ''The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware Vol. I: Their History and Relation to the Indians, Dutch and English, 1638-1664'' (Philadelphia, PA: The Swedish Colonial Society. 1911 Kling is believed to have been from the Swedish province of

Småland Småland () is a historical 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 Lands''. The Latinized ...

; only one officer named Måns Nilsson occurs in the military lists of the times. The Måns Nilsson in question had served in Adolf Hård's Regiment in

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a 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 of Jönköping Munici ...

, Småland, first as a private and then as an officer, before being discharged in 1636. He may also have been of Finnish origin, since

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 Bo ...

was part of 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 ...

at the time.

References

Other sources

* * * * *

External links

American Swedish Historical Museum

Nya Sverige
(in Swedish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kling, Mans Nilsson Governors of New Sweden Swedish military officers Finnish military personnel Year of birth missing Year of death missing People of New Sweden

Biography

See also

References

Other sources

External links