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Swedish overseas colonies. 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 Caribbean during the 18th and 19th centuries.
The settlers came from all over the Swedish realm. The percentage of Finns in New Sweden grew especially towards the end of the period of colonization. [33] Finns composed 22 percent of the population during Swedish rule, and rose to about 50 percent after the colony came under Dutch rule. [34] A contingent of 140 Finns arrived in 1664.
The charter included Swedish, Dutch and German stockholders. Once they landed they established Fort Christina (now Wilmington, Delaware), named after Queen Christina of Sweden. Many of the settlers were Finnish, since until 1809 the area of modern Finland was the eastern third of the kingdom of Sweden.
Until 1656, close to 700 Swedish and Finnish settlers had migrated to the colony, of which perhaps 40% was Finnish; what is now the country of Finland was then part of Sweden, and many Finns had migrated to Sweden proper, particularly Värmland, from whence they came to America. [3]
The first Swedish Americans were the settlers of New Sweden: a colony established by Queen Christina of Sweden in 1638. It centered around the Delaware Valley including parts of the present-day states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
New Sweden was a Swedish colony founded by Peter Minuit in 1638 along the Delaware River. The colony, centered on Fort Christina, thrived for a number of years under the administration of Johan Printz, attracting Swedish and Finnish settlers who engaged in farming and fur trading with the Lenape and Susquehannock.
During the 1600s, Swedish settlers, led by Peter Minuit, began their colonization efforts in the Delaware River region, culminating in the establishment of New Sweden and Fort Kristina in 1638. [7] [8] However, these efforts were fraught with challenges, including ship malfunctions and tensions with English and Dutch settlers. [7]
The history of Sweden can be traced back to the melting of the Northern Polar Ice Caps.From as early as 12000 BC, humans have inhabited this area. Throughout the Stone Age, between 8000 BC and 6000 BC, early inhabitants used stone-crafting methods to make tools and weapons for hunting, gathering and fishing as means of survival. [1]