Fort Christina
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Fort Christina, also called Fort Altena, was the first Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the
New Sweden New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...
colony. Built in 1638 and named after
Christina, Queen of Sweden Christina (; 18 December O.S. 8 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 8 December1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden from ...
, it was located approximately 1 mi (1.6 km) east of the present-day downtown
Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...
, at the confluence of the Brandywine River and the
Christina River The Christina River is a tributary of the Delaware River, approximately 35 miles (56 km) long, in northern Delaware. It also flows through small areas of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland. Near its mouth, the river ...
, approximately 2 mi (3 km) upstream from the mouth of the Christina on the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
.


History

Following plans by King
Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...
of Sweden to establish a Swedish colony in North America, the Swedes arrived in Delaware Bay (Fort Christina) on March 29, 1638, aboard the ships '' Kalmar Nyckel'' and '' Fogel Grip'' under the command of
Peter Minuit Peter Minuit (French language, French: ''Pierre Minuit'', Dutch language, Dutch: ''Peter Minnewit''; 1580 – August 5, 1638) was a Walloons, Walloon merchant and politician who was the 3rd Director of New Netherland, Director of the Dutch Nort ...
, the former director of the
New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...
colony. They landed at a spot along the
Christina River The Christina River is a tributary of the Delaware River, approximately 35 miles (56 km) long, in northern Delaware. It also flows through small areas of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland. Near its mouth, the river ...
at a stone outcropping which formed a natural wharf, known as "The Rocks." Minuit selected the site on the Christina River near the Delaware as being optimal for trade in
beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...
pelts with the local
Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...
. He also considered the site easily defensible, and he ordered the construction of an earthwork fort around the Rocks. At the time, the Dutch had claimed the area south to the Delaware (then called "South River"). The Swedes claimed an area for the Realm of Sweden on the south side of the Delaware that encompassed much of the present-day U.S. state of
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
, eventually including parts of present-day southeastern
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
and southern
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
on the north side of the river. The fort's earthworks were strengthened in 1640 by Governor
Peter Hollander Ridder Peter Hollander Ridder (1608–1692) was a Swedish naval officer who was the 2nd governor of New Sweden, the Swedish colony in North America, from 1640 until 1643. Early life Peter Hollander Ridder's father was a Dutchman living in Ekenäs, F ...
to help defend against the possibility of Dutch or Native American attacks. As additional colonists arrived from Sweden in the years following the landing, homes and farms began to be built outside of the confines of the fort. The fort was rebuilt entirely in 1647. The colony of New Sweden remained in constant friction with the Dutch. In 1651, the Dutch under Peter Stuyvesant established
Fort Casimir Fort Casimir or Fort Trinity was a Dutch fort in the seventeenth-century colony of New Netherland. It was located on a no-longer existing barrier island at the end of Chestnut Street in what is now New Castle, Delaware. Background The Dutch c ...
at present-day New Castle, only 7 mi (12 km) south of Fort Christina, in order to menace the Swedish settlement. In 1654, the Swedes captured Fort Casimir under the orders of Governor
Johan Risingh Johan Classon Risingh (1617–1672) was a Swedish politician who was the last governor of New Sweden, the Swedish colony in North America. Biography Risingh was born in 1617 in Risinge, Östergötland, Sweden. His father was a pastor named Rever ...
. Risingh, fearing reprisals, strengthened the defenses of Fort Christina by adding a wooden palisade around the earthworks. In 1655, the Dutch under Stuyvesant returned in force and laid siege to Fort Christina. The fort's surrender after ten days ended the official Swedish colonial presence in North America, though most of the colonists remained and were allowed to continue their linguistic and religious practices by the Dutch. Stuyvesant renamed Fort Christina as Fort Altena. It is noteworthy to the modern reader that the struggle for Fort Christina and Fort Casimir involved hundreds of mercenaries and chartered warships, and was run personally by Stuyvesant, but was not seen at the time as in any way a war between the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of Sweden. It was rather a struggle between the Dutch West India Company and the Swedish West India Company. The land remained as part of New Netherland until it became part of the English possessions when an English fleet invaded the area in 1664. Under English rule, the original Swedish fortifications around the Rocks fell into disrepair and eventually vanished entirely. New fortifications were built by the Americans on the same site during the Revolutionary period, and they established Fort Union here during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. Men involved in the defense of the fort included Caesar Augustus Rodney and James A. Bayard Sr. During the nineteenth century, the peninsula where the fort once stood became heavily industrialized, and included factories for the Jackson and Sharp Company and Mingus Iron Works.


Fort Christina National Historic Landmark

In 1938, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Swedish colonization of the area, the state of Delaware created a park which contained the Rocks and the site of the former forts. The dedication was attended by U.S. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
, Crown Prince Gustav Adolf, Crown Princess Louise, and Prince Bertil. The Prince presented a gift from their homeland: a monument, topped by a replica of the ''Kalmar Nyckel'', designed by Swedish sculptor
Carl Milles Carl Milles (; 23 June 1875 – 19 September 1955) was a Swedes, Swedish sculpture, sculptor. He was married to artist Olga Milles (née Granner) and brother to Ruth Milles and half-brother to the architect Evert Milles. Carl Milles sculpted the ...
. and   During the ceremony, the Prince spoke of the site's significance to both countries:
The monument to be unveiled today is a gift from the people of Sweden to the people of the United States. The funds were raised through public subscription, wherein several hundred thousands of our citizens took part. I believe that amongst these subscribers, many had across the Atlantic brothers and sisters, parents and children. In contributing, they must have felt the links, which connect them and all of us with your great country, where so many of the citizens are either of Swedish birth or purely or partly of Swedish descent. Near this spot, the Fort Christina State Park, was the first permanent settlement in the Delaware Valley. The Swedes, who landed here 300 years ago, were few in number and of poor means. Yet thus began the relations between our two Nations. Indeed, it is fitting that, together, we should commemorate that event, the inauguration of an unbroken period of international friendship. We shall be reminded of these facts by the monument, cut by our famous sculptor, Carl Milles, in the black granite of Sweden. What memories are summoned forth at a moment like this. It is with pride we recall the memory of those almost legendary pioneers who braved the Atlantic in their little vessel, the Kalmar Nyckel, and who came to found the colony of New Sweden. That little band of gallant men and women have inscribed their names on the pages of history. Their deeds have been considered important enough for the President and Congress of the United States to extend an official invitation to Sweden to take part in the commemorative celebration of this historic event. We of Sweden are deeply moved by this mark of your esteem. It meets with our high appreciation and we offer you our most sincere thanks. In our common acclaim of a historic event of 300 years ago, we stand united, as in our admiration of those early settlers from Sweden who were such worthy and resourceful people. Their love of freedom and their integrity they carried with them as a heritage from the land of their birth. We are happy to feel that in some measure they, as well as their successors during the intervening three centuries, were able to contribute to the development into greatness of your country, the country of their adoption. We are proud to think that their virtue and valor were brought down to their descendants and thus helped in the formation of those traits which we admire in the American people of the present day.
President Roosevelt, in accepting the monument, responded that, "I am fortunate in having personal association with the colony of Sweden, for one of my ancestors, William Beekman, served as vice director or governor of the colony of New Sweden on the Delaware River from 1658 to 1663." In May 2013, for the 375th anniversary of the Swedish landing, King
Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...
and Queen Silvia of Sweden, along with U.S. Vice President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
, reenacted the landing of the ''Kalmar Nyckel'' at Fort Christina Park on a replica of the original ship. The site was designated a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
in 1961. In 2014, the First State National Historical Park was authorized to potentially include Fort Christina; it now is part of the site.


Literary references

American author and essayist
Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...
(1783–1859) refers to Fort Christina in the opening pages of his short story " Rip van Winkle", describing the genealogy of his Dutch protagonist:


See also

*
Swedish colonization of the Americas 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 Carib ...
* Old Swedes Church, the oldest Swedish church in America a block away from Fort Christina, with burial sites dating back to the 1630s * Fort Nya Elfsborg *
Lenapehoking Lenapehoking () is widely translated as ' homelands of the Lenape', which in the 16th and 17th centuries, ranged along the Eastern seaboard from western Connecticut to Delaware, and encompassed the territory adjacent to the Delaware and lower ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Wilmington, Delaware National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...


References

Notes Sources *Irving, Washington. 1819. ''Rip van Winkle'' in The Oxford book of American short stories, Carol Joyce Oates, editor. Oxford ngland New York, Oxford University Press, 1992. Additional reading * Johnson, Amandus. ''The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware 1638–1664 Volume I '' (1911) * Johnson, Amandus. ''The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware 1638–1664, Volume II '' (1927)


External links

*
Delaware History Online: Fort ChristinaThe Kalmar Nyckel Foundation & Tall Ship Kalmar Nyckel.The Swedish Colonial SocietyThe New Sweden Centre – museum, tours and reenactors
{{authority control State parks of Delaware National Historic Landmarks in Delaware Tourist attractions in Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington Riverfront Parks in New Castle County, Delaware National Register of Historic Places in Wilmington, Delaware First State National Historical Park Buildings and structures in New Castle County, Delaware Buildings and structures in Wilmington, Delaware Christina
Casimir Casimir is a Latin version of the Polish male name Kazimierz (). The original Polish feminine form is Kazimiera, in Latin and other languages rendered as Casimira. It has two possible meanings: "preacher of peace" or alternatively "destroyer of p ...
Casimir Casimir is a Latin version of the Polish male name Kazimierz (). The original Polish feminine form is Kazimiera, in Latin and other languages rendered as Casimira. It has two possible meanings: "preacher of peace" or alternatively "destroyer of p ...
Dutch-American history Dutch-American culture in Delaware New Netherland
Casimir Casimir is a Latin version of the Polish male name Kazimierz (). The original Polish feminine form is Kazimiera, in Latin and other languages rendered as Casimira. It has two possible meanings: "preacher of peace" or alternatively "destroyer of p ...
Swedish-American history Swedish-American culture in Delaware New Sweden Forts of New Sweden 1638 establishments in the Swedish colonial empire Christina, Queen of Sweden Rip Van Winkle