New Sweden

39°44′12″N 75°32′19″W / 39.73667°N 75.53861°W / 39.73667; -75.53861

New Sweden Nya Sverige (Swedish)
1638–1655
Flag of Sweden
Map of New Sweden, c. 1650 by Amandus Johnson
Status	Swedish colony
Capital	Fort Christina
Common languages	Swedish, Finnish, Munsee, Unami
Religion	Church of Sweden Native American religion
Monarch of Sweden
• 1632–1654	Christina
• 1654–1660	Charles X Gustav
Governor
• 1638	Peter Minuit
• 1638–1640	Måns Nilsson Kling
• 1640–1643	Peter Hollander Ridder
• 1643–1653	Johan Björnsson Printz
• 1653–1654	Johan Papegoja
• 1654–1655	Johan Risingh
Historical era	Colonial period
• Established	1638
• Dutch conquest	1655
Currency	Swedish riksdaler
Preceded by Succeeded by New Netherland Lenape New Netherland
Today part of	United States

New Sweden (Swedish: Nya Sverige)^[1] was a colony of the Swedish Empire along the lower reaches of the Delaware River between 1638 and 1655 in present-day Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in the United States.^[2] Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great power, New Sweden formed part of the Swedish efforts to colonize the Americas.

Settlements were established on both sides of the Delaware River. Fort Christina, located in what is now Wilmington, Delaware, was the first settlement, named after Christina, Queen of Sweden. The settlers were Swedes, Finns, and a number of Dutch. New Sweden was conquered by the Dutch Republic in 1655 during the Second Northern War and incorporated into the Dutch colony of New Netherland.