New Sweden

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Map of New Sweden, around 1650

New Sweden ( Swedish Nya Sverige , Latin Nova Svecia ) was a Swedish trading post in America on the lower reaches of the Delaware . The area of New Sweden is now part of the US states of Delaware , New Jersey and Pennsylvania . The settlers were mostly Swedes and Finns , but also Dutch and North Germans . The colony existed from March 29, 1638 to September 1655.

prehistory

Sweden was a major regional power in the Baltic Sea region in the 17th century . In addition to Finland , strategically and economically important parts of the German and Baltic Baltic coasts belonged to Sweden. In 1623 or 1624 the merchant Willem Usselinx from Antwerp came to the Swedish court and proposed to the Chancellor Oxenstierna that a Swedish colony should be founded in North America in order not to leave the profitable trade in tobacco and fur to France and England . As a Protestant, Usselinx had to leave his homeland and founded the Dutch West-Indian Compagnie (WIC) in 1621 . Since she did not want to meet his demands, however, he had left her again.

On November 10, 1624, King Gustav Adolf granted him the license to trade and serve in North America for a period of twelve years. Usselinx founded the Swedish South Sea Company (Svenska Söderkompaniet) , but it soon ran into financial difficulties. Sweden's involvement in the Thirty Years War also stopped the plans for the time being. In 1632 peace seemed to have come temporarily and Usselinx resumed his previous work. At the Frankfurt Bundestag in 1634 he advertised his company with his Argonautic Gustaviana font . The Elector of Brandenburg was interested, but the flare-up of war finally destroyed Usselinx's plans.

Foundation of the New Sweden Company

Chancellor Oxenstierna, who had been the guardianship of the young Queen Christine since Gustav Adolf's death , met the merchant Samuel Blommaert in The Hague in 1635 , who already owned land on the Delaware . Blommaert turned the Chancellor's interest from Guinea and Brazil back to North America. He suggested Peter Minuit from Wesel as head of the company. Minuit had expanded the colony of New Netherlands on the Hudson on behalf of the WIC in 1625 and was its most capable governor, but had to leave the WIC in 1632 for unknown reasons. In 1636 Minuit came to Sweden and submitted his plans to the Chancellor. He also suggested the name of the colony, Nova Svecia . The company's scope of action should extend from Newfoundland to Florida and its goods should be exempt from customs duties and taxes for ten years. In the autumn of 1636 this idea prevailed against the Swedish Guinea plans, not least because the Dutch merchants, to whom Peter Spiring (also Peter Spieringk ) joined, provided half of the capital. The New Sweden Company (Nya Sverige-kompaniet) was founded to implement the plans .

Landing at Delaware Bay

Minuit prepared the expedition in Sweden, while Blommaert looked for experienced seamen in Holland and took care of the ship's equipment. Minuit was appointed head of the expedition. In late autumn 1637, the ships Kalmar Nyckel ('Key of Kalmar') and Fågel Grip ('Vogel Greif'; also Gripen ) set sail from Gothenburg . Swedish, Finnish, German and Dutch settlers were on board. In March 1638 they reached the west side of the Delaware Bay . The seafarers, exhausted from the long sea voyage, called the landing site Paradis Udden ('Paradieslandzunge'; exact location not known). They called the Delaware Nya Sverige's Elf ('New Sweden River'). At the confluence of today's Brandywine Creek , which was called Christiana Elf , they built Fort Christina and the port of Christinahamn (today Christinaham, a district of Wilmington , Delaware). The colony was called Nya Sverige ('New Sweden').

On April 28, the news reached Governor Willem Kieft of New Netherlands. On May 7th, July / May 17, 1638 greg. he addressed a formal protest note to Minuit, according to which the entire Delaware (called Zuydt Rivier in contrast to the Hudson, which was called Noordt Rivier ) was part of New Netherlands. This claim was derived from the already existing branches in Fort Nassau (now Gloucester , New Jersey) and Zwaanendael (also Swanendael ; now Lewes , Delaware). Minuit ignored the threat, knowing that New Netherlands could not declare war without the consent of the States General and that Holland could not afford a conflict with Sweden at that time (Thirty Years War). He also regarded the claim to the west side of the Delaware as lapsed, since Zwaanendael was abandoned again. After leaving the command to his brother-in-law Henrik Huyghens , he drove the Kalmar Nyckel back towards Sweden, but was killed in a storm.

Consolidation of the colony

The Gripen traded on the North American coast and in the Caribbean . In 1639 she returned to Sweden. This year the Kalmar Nyckel drove again towards New Sweden , this time with mostly Swedish and Finnish settlers, some soldiers who were guilty of desertion or other offenses and were forcibly shipped with their families as a "grace". On April 17, 1640 the second expedition reached New Sweden, with it the new governor Peter Hollender (also Hollandaer ). Hollender drove up the Delaware to buy land from the Delawars for the colony's further growth, thereby undermining Dutch claims. The Kalmar Nyckel drove back to Sweden to “recruit” new settlers. Since the deserted soldiers did not cope well with the conditions, this time Finns who had been imprisoned for forest crime were persuaded to emigrate with a reference to a pardon. In 1641 the Kalmar Nyckel reached New Sweden for the third time. The later governor Johan Printz also traveled with this expedition. A fourth expedition with the ships Svanen and Fama came on February 15, 1643, this time no coercive measures were necessary. The following expedition with the Fama in 1644, the Gyllene Hajen ('Golden Shark') in 1646 and the Svanen in 1647 finally ensured the colony's viability.

In the following years the colony grew to around 600 settlers and expanded upstream. The colony was now integrated into the state. The governor became a Swedish government official and the colony received a budget from the state treasury. The limits were also precisely defined. The first governor under the new order was Johan Printz on January 1, 1643. In the same year Fort Nya Elfsborg (later Fort Elsinburgh , near today's Salem in New Jersey) was founded. Other foundations are Nya Stockholm (today's Bridgeport ) and Swedesboro . On the island of Nya Gotheborg (also Nya Göteborg ; today Big Tinicum Island , Pennsylvania ) Printz built the new capital, Printzhof (later Printz Hall ; today Tinicum Township , Delaware County, PA). Under Governor Printz, tensions grew between the Swedish, Finnish and German settlers on the one hand and the Dutch and English settlers on the other, as the latter were assumed to have secret loyalty to their home countries. The English captain Thomas Lamberton was arrested by Printz on the pretext that he was planning an Indian revolt. This led to diplomatic entanglements with England and Holland.

Conflict with the Dutch

New Sweden and New Netherlands

In 1645, the commandant of Fort Nassau, Andreas Hudde , bought land on the west bank of the Delaware and erected the Dutch emblems there. Printz had this torn down again by Henrik Huyghens. Huyghens was then arrested by Hudde. Printz responded by building forts at important points, especially at the confluence of the Schuylkill , such as Fort Nya Korsholm (probably today's Province Island near Philadelphia ), Fort Mecoponacka (also Uppland or Finlandia ; today Chester , Pennsylvania) and Nya Vaasa ( also Nya Vasa or Nya Wasa ; today Kinsessing, part of Philadelphia). As a result, the Swedes ruled the river and the hinterland. Printz also armed Indians against the Dutch, and drove out or persecuted Dutch settlers in New Sweden.

On May 27, 1647 Peter Stuyvesant replaced Kieft as governor of New Netherlands. Now two equally excitable and militarily shrewd personalities faced each other, but Stuyvesant was far more adept at diplomatic matters. In 1651 Stuyvesant came to the Delaware, presented evidence for the Dutch claims, and asked Printz to prove the Swedish claims as well. Printz was barely able to define the colony's boundaries. Despite Printz's protest, Stuyvesant built Fort Casimir (today's New Castle in the state of Delaware) near Fort Christina , and the garrison in Fort Nassau was withdrawn and relocated to the new fort. Printz brought the dispute to the Swedish royal court. However, since the case was delayed, he himself traveled to Sweden in 1653, after leaving his son-in-law Johan Papegoja (also Papegoya ) behind as Vice-Governor. Printz's efforts sparked a renewed interest in the overseas colony. At the instigation of Axel Oxenstierna's son Erik , the ship Örnen ('Adler') was sent out, on board the new governor, Johan Claesson Rising. On May 21, Jul. / May 31st 1654 greg. , Trinity Sunday , the Örnen reached Fort Casimir and fired at it. Since the defenders ran out of powder, the fort was captured without loss. After the liturgical date of the conquest, it was renamed Fort Trefaltighet .

End of Swedish rule

The Örnen returned to Sweden in July 1654. In September the Gyllene Hajen drove into the Hudson, believing that it had reached the Delaware. In Manhattan was Gyllene Hajen set of Stuyvesant. At this point the Dutch had just made peace with the British, and the government was able to send five warships to New Netherlands. With this fleet, Stuyvesant retook Fort Casimir / Trefaltighet on September 14, 1655. Thereupon he turned against Tinicum. Given the overwhelming power, most Swedes took the oath of Dutch suzerainty. They were granted local autonomy, they were allowed to keep their property and had their own powers of self-defense. Some Swedes who refused to take the oath were deported to Manhattan. Even after these events (on October 16), the tenth Swedish expedition set sail with the ship Mercurius . Only when she arrived in March 1656 did she find out about the new situation.

Fort Casimir initially received its old name, Fort Christina became Altona , and Delaware Bay was named Bompies Hoeck ('tree corner '; English today, Bombay Hook ). In 1657 three ships with Dutch settlers arrived. Fort Casimir was named Neu-Amstel (Dutch: Nieuwer-Amstel ) with the inclusion of the surrounding area, making it the first city in the former New Sweden. This name briefly became the name of the colony.

End of Dutch rule

In 1659 an epidemic broke out among the not yet acclimatized residents of Neu-Amstel. Many settlers left the colony for Virginia , Maryland or Manhattan. In this situation the governor of Maryland, Lord Baltimore , made claims on the Delaware. The WIC found itself unable to defend the colony and on December 22, 1663 transferred it to the city of Amsterdam . In 1664 the Second Anglo-Dutch War broke out. The Duke of York, the brother of the English king and later King James II , equipped an expedition against the New Netherlands. On September 9th, New Amsterdam had to surrender and was renamed New York . In October, the former New Sweden was conquered and the city of New Amstel became New Castle. In 1673 the Dutch were able to briefly re-establish their rule in another war against the English. With the Treaty of Westminster of February 10, 1674, English rule was restored. As a result, the Swedish settlement territory became part of the Thirteen Colonies and was divided between the colonies of Pennsylvania , New Jersey and Delaware .

additional

New Castle is called "First City of the First State" because Delaware is number 1 in the order of the US states and New Castle was the first city to be founded in what is now Delaware.

New Sweden is characterized by America's first anti-slavery proclamation in July 1654, which limited the length of time a slave could be kept to six years and fixed wages.

List of governors

Research institutions and museums

The most important museum on the subject is the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia .

Literature (english)

Weblinks (English)

Commons : New Sweden  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ American Swedish Historical Museum , museum website