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 ...
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 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
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 ...
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.
See also
*
Swedish colonization of the Americas
Sweden established colonies in the Americas in the mid-17th century, including the colony of New Sweden (1638–1655) on the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, as well as two possessions in the Car ...
*
Swedish overseas colonies
References
Other sources
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External links
American Swedish Historical MuseumNya 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