CiteNew Sweden
New Sweden, Swedish colony (1638–55), on the Delaware River included parts of what are now Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. With the support of Swedish statesman Axel Oxenstierna, Admiral Klas Fleming (a Finn), and Peter Minuit (a Dutchman), the New Sweden Company was organized in Sweden in 1633. Two ships (the Kalmar Nyckel and the Fogel Grip ), commanded by Minuit, reached the Delaware River in Mar., 1638. Minuit immediately bought land from the Native Americans and founded Fort Christina, where Wilmington, Del., stands. In 1643, Tinicum Island (at Philadelphia) became the colony's capital. About half of the colonists were Finns. Peter Stuyvesant , with a Dutch force larger than the population of New Sweden, took the little colony in 1655.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Miscellaneous U.S. Geography
Browse by Subject
- Earth and the Environment +-
- History +-
- Literature and the Arts +-
- Medicine +-
- People +-
- Philosophy and Religion +-
- Places +-
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia and Oceania
- Britain, Ireland, France, and the Low Countries
- Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baltic Nations
- Germany, Scandinavia, and Central Europe
- Latin America and the Caribbean
- Oceans, Continents, and Polar Regions
- Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans
- United States, Canada, and Greenland
- Plants and Animals +-
- Science and Technology +-
- Social Sciences and the Law +-
- Sports and Everyday Life +-