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.
New Sweden 1650The colony of
New Sweden was founded in 1638 by the
Swedish South Company, a consortium of Swedish, Dutch and German business interests. Other European nations were establishing colonies in the
New World and building successful trading empires at the same time, and Sweden also sought to expand its own influence by creating a
tobacco plantation and fur-trading colony. The colony was located along the
Delaware River with settlements in modern
Delaware (e.g.,
Wilmington),
Pennsylvania (e.g.,
Philadelphia) and
New Jersey (e.g.,
New Stockholm and
Swedesboro) along locations where Swedish and Dutch traders had been visiting for decades. At the time (until 1809)
Finland was part of the
Kingdom of Sweden, and some of the settlers of Sweden's colonies came from present-day Finland or were
Finnish-speaking. The Swedes and Finns brought their
log house design to America, New Sweden was conquered by the
Dutch Republic in 1655 and incorporated into the Dutch colony of
New Netherland, although the Swedish and Finnish settlers were allowed local autonomy. They retained their own militia, religion, court, and lands. This lasted until the English conquest of New Netherland in 1664 at the beginning of the
Second Anglo-Dutch War. The conquest began on August 29, 1664, with the capture of New Amsterdam and ended with the capture of Fort Casimir in October.
Essequibo During the 18th century, the Swedes attempted to colonize the
Essequibo region between the lower
Orinoco and
Barima rivers in
Guyana's present-day
Barima-Waini region. The Swedes, settled in the area in July 1732, were expelled in 1737 by Spanish forces led by Major Sergeant Carlos Francisco Francois Sucre y Pardo (grandfather of Venezuelan independence leader
Antonio José de Sucre).
Antillian possessions Saint Barthélemy is the only Caribbean island to have been historically a
Swedish colony for any significant length of time, Guadeloupe only having been one briefly, at the end of the
Napoleonic Wars. As a result of Sweden's support of France's enemies during the
Napoleonic Wars, the island of
Guadeloupe was ceded to king
Charles XIV John personally, not to his Swedish state. However a year later the island was given to France by the
Treaty of Paris. Sweden then forced a settlement with the British government because it had been guaranteed the island which was strategically close to its other Caribbean colony. This led to the
Guadeloupe Fund which guaranteed Sweden 24 million
francs. Because of how the money was used, Sweden was then given an additional 300,000
Riksdaler under the
Riksdag of 1815 every year. The last installment was paid in 1983. In addition to these the Swedes briefly attempted to settle
Tobago in 1733, but were driven away by Native tribes, and Tobago was eventually claimed by the British.
Saint Barthélemy , 1784–1878.During the time of Sweden's colonisation of Africa's
Gold Coast, the small
Swedish slave trade began. However, after the fall of New Sweden to the Dutch, the slave trade ended. It would later be rejuvenated in 1784, when Sweden's monarch,
Gustav III, began negotiations with France with a view to creating a new alliance between the two countries. Gustav offered
Gothenburg as an
entrepôt to the French, in exchange for the Caribbean colony of
Saint Barthélemy, in addition to subsidies. Although Sweden was successful in acquiring the island in 1784, the population of the colony was less than 1000 people, and neither were particularly propitious trading ports—sugar and cotton only provided four shiploads a year, and many of the other resources were only produced in large enough quantities to provide subsistence for the inhabitants. However, the islands were close to the British and French trading posts of the
Leeward and
Windward islands. A new town was also constructed,
Gustavia (named after the king), and this facilitated trade. Within a year, the population had doubled and the king saw fit to form the
Swedish West India Company. The
Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) benefitted trade, as did the opening of free trade with Sweden in 1806; the population had continued to increase, reaching approximately 5000 by 1800. With the exception of a brief period of British occupation from 1801 to 1802, the colonies continued to grow. In 1811, 1800 ships visited Saint Barthélemy; and from October 1813 to September 1814, 20% of the U.S.'s exports passed through the island. The island was notable for its
liberalism, particularly in regards to
religious toleration. In Sweden,
Lutheranism was strictly adhered to; people were obligated to attend a number of church services a year, and adherence to other religions or denominations was against the law (conversion to
Catholicism, for example, often led to people being exiled). However, these two islands were inhabited by such a diverse group of people from European backgrounds, that French and English were also accepted official languages. On Saint Barthélemy, in 1787, only 21 Lutherans resided there, compared to over 500 Catholics, as well as several hundred people from different Protestant denominations. The government did not seek to suppress this: indeed, they ordered Saint Barthélemy's governor, Rosenstein, to salary a Catholic priest to come from Saint Martin twice a month. ==Africa==