Sweden's failed attempt at a colonial empire in the Americas
And I'm not talking about Minnesota...
For those of us who live in the western hemisphere, we’re all pretty familiar with our previous colonial overlords. Between Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, the Dutch, and even the Russians, this side of the planet was carved up over the last few centuries. Of course, over time, those six colonizers would be mostly whittled down to three main colonizers — Britain, Spain and Portugal — through various wars, sales and treaties.
But, in another timeline, there very well could have been a 7th! Or at the very least a replacement for one of the above — likely the Dutch. And that colonizer would be Sweden! So let’s talk a little bit about New Sweden and why it failed to establish a permanent foothold in the Americans.
Oh and this is, in no way, meant to glamorize or romanticize colonization. It’s just meant to tell a story that I don’t think many people really know about.
New Sweden was a short-lived Swedish colony established along the Delaware River in North America during the mid-17th century. It was basically from around the area of Wilmington, Delware today through Philadelphia, and up to Trenton, New Jersey. And it was one of the original colonies founded in North America when it was founded in 1638. Jamestown, the oldest surviving English colony was founded only a three decades prior in 1607.
And like with all colonies at the time, its main purpose was to expand Sweden's territorial holdings, strengthen the country’s presence in the fur trade, and establish a foothold in the increasingly competitive world of European colonialism. All told, New Sweden spanned parts of present-day Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with Fort Christina (today Wilmington, Delaware) as its capital. All of this was able to happen because, at the time, Sweden was experiencing a golden age of wealth and culture that could match any of its European peers. Unfortunately for Sweden, however, it didn’t really anticipate the tenacity that would be required to sustain and, more importantly, protect its colony for the long term.
But let’s go back to the beginning!
The roots of New Sweden's establishment lie in the Swedish Kingdom’s desire to compete with other European powers, mainly the Dutch and English, who were rapidly expanding their overseas territories during the time. But they kind of got off to a weird start. You see, the Swedish Crown had to partner with Dutch merchants and navigators to help them establish the colony because Sweden lacked a prominent navy that could do it for them. This probably should have been the first red flag that New Sweden was unlikely to survive the duration!
Despite not having a navy, New Sweden did okay for its first few years! But when you don’t have the basic resources to provide ongoing support, things can go south really quick. Such was the case for New Sweden. You see, the colony was isolated from other Swedish territories and its survival depended on supplies and reinforcements from Europe, which were sporadic at best. Sweden’s small navy meant that supply ships were infrequent and the colony had to rely heavily on trade with the Dutch in New Netherland and local indigenous peoples. The colonists also faced challenges in maintaining strong leadership; governance was inconsistent and often weak, with a rapid turnover of governors over its short existence.
But the big issue at play here was that New Sweden was established in territory that was already claimed by the Dutch, who had founded New Netherland in the early 1600s. While the two colonies coexisted relatively peacefully for a time, tensions between the Dutch and Swedes grew as New Sweden expanded. The Dutch viewed the Swedish presence as a threat to their control of the region’s lucrative fur trade, leading to increasing friction. In 1655, the Dutch, under the leadership of Peter Stuyvesant, launched a military expedition to seize control of New Sweden. The Swedish forces, underprepared and outnumbered, surrendered without much resistance, and New Sweden was absorbed into New Netherland. This marked the end of Swedish control in the region.
While the political entity of New Sweden disappeared, its legacy lived on in various ways. After the Dutch takeover, the settlers were largely allowed to stay, and many of their traditions and ways of life persisted. One of the most enduring legacies of New Sweden is the introduction of Finnish-style log cabin construction to the Americas. The Finns, who were part of the Swedish Empire at the time, brought their knowledge of building log houses, which became a common form of construction in frontier areas, particularly as settlers moved westward.
New Sweden also continues to exist in relatively subtle ways. According to a number of helpful people over on Threads you can visit and see some of New Sweden’s colonial legacy in person if you like! Though, admittedly, there’s not much to go on these days. Additionally, a number of place names in the region still reflect the Swedish presence, including Christina River in Delaware, named after Sweden’s Queen Christina, and Swedesboro in New Jersey.
Sweden, of course, never really mustered a colonial empire in the same way that Spain or Britain did. But that’s not to say Sweden (as well as Norway and Finland) wouldn’t have a disproportionate impact on the western hemisphere! In fact, during the mid 1800s, a famine swept through Scandinavia at large and caused a huge exodus of Swedes, Norwegians and Finns to move abroad, mostly to the area we today know of as Minnesota. So, in some ways, New Sweden did rise again… just more as a route of immigration rather than colonization.
Sweden might have enjoyed (at least a bit) more success as a colonial empire, whether in the present-day Delaware Bay area or elsewhere in the New World, had it managed to hold on as an empire containing a good deal more territory than present-day Sweden. In that sort of timeline, in which the Swedish Empire doesn't ultimately get defeated by Russia, Sweden might compete at least with the Dutch, though not necessarily with the British, French, Spanish, or Portuguese.