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The historian H. A. Barton has suggested that the greatest significance of New Sweden was the strong and long-lasting interest in America that the colony generated in Sweden. America was seen as the standard-bearer of liberalism and personal freedom, and became an ideal for liberal Swedes.
The Famine of 1867–1869 was the last famine in Sweden, and (together with the Finnish famine of 1866–1868) the last major famine in Northern Europe. [1] [2] In Sweden, the year 1867 was known as Storsvagåret (' Year of Great Weakness ') and, in Tornedalen, as Lavåret (' Lichen Year ') because of the bark bread made of lichen. [3]
Sweden under king Gustavus III was the first country not engaged in the American Revolutionary War to recognize the young American republic. The Swedish Count Axel von Fersen was a distinguished soldier during the war, serving as an interpreter between General Rochambeau and General Washington .
In 1896 the Vasa Order of America, a Swedish-American fraternal organization, was founded to provide ethnic identity and social services such as health insurance and death subsidies, operates numerous social and recreational opportunities, and maintains contact with fellow lodges in Sweden. Johannes and Helga Hoving were its leaders, calling ...
Between 1821 and 1920, the U.S. witnessed a significant wave of Scandinavian immigration. Within this period, Sweden was the dominant contributor. While its population stood at 5,847,637 in 1920, Sweden accounted for a staggering 1,144,607 immigrants, making up 53.5% of the total Scandinavian immigrants to the US during this era.
Illustration of starvation in northern Sweden, Famine of 1866–1868 Caricature from the paper Fäderneslandet 14 December 1867, criticizing the unjust distribution of the relief help committees: the relief help are given first to county governor, and are thereafter given first to the wealthy officials and rich farmers and last, when only an handful is left, to the poor people truly in need.
The death penalty was abolished for certain crimes during the reign of Gustav III, and pardons were more frequently issued. During the 19th century, the use of pardons increased even more, and starting in the middle of the 1800s, courts were officially permitted to pick between the death penalty or lifetime in prison. [38]
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.