Måns Nilsson Kling or Mauno Kling was a Swedish military officer who was the second

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on 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 ...

, the 17th century

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

in America, which he administrated from

Fort Christina Fort Christina, also called Fort Altena, was the first Sweden, Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony. Built in 1638 and named after Christina, Queen of Sweden, it was located approximately 1&nb ...

(now

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 ...

, United States).

Biography

The first Swedish expedition to North America with '' Fogel Grip'' and ''

Kalmar Nyckel was a Swedish ship built by the Dutch famed for carrying Swedish settlers to North America in 1638, to establish the colony of New Sweden. The name comes from the Swedish city of Kalmar and meaning in Swedish. The name was also a tribute to K ...

'' was launched from the port city of

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

in late 1637. The expedition was organized and overseen by Swedish Admiral Clas Fleming. Samuel Blommaert, a Dutch colonial patron, assisted with the fitting-out. Following the recommendation of

Willem Usselincx Willem Usselincx (1567 – 1647) was a Flemish Dutch merchant, investor and diplomat who was instrumental in drawing both Dutch and Swedish attention to the importance of the New World. Usselincx was the founding father of the Dutch West India ...

, one of the directors of the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...

, Swedish Chancellor

Axel Oxenstierna Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna (; 1583–1654) was a Swedish statesman and Count of Södermöre. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of ...

appointed

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 ...

to lead the expedition. Minuit made arrangements to found a Swedish colony on the lower

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 ...

in parts of the present-day states 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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

, within the territory later claimed by the Dutch. The first settlers, (Swedes, Finns, and some Dutchmen) reached the location now known as Swedes' Landing in

on March 29, 1638. Peter Minuit became the first governor of the newly established colony of New Sweden. However, Minuit left the colony on June 15, 1638 and sailed to the Caribbean Island of St. Christopher to barter a ship's cargo of wine and aquavit for tobacco. Minuit died there during a hurricane. Måns Kling had arrived with the first expedition and was left in command of New Sweden following the departure of Peter Minuit. Kling, who had been promoted to captain, carried out the duties of governor until Lieutenant

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 ...

of the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

, arrived in New Sweden on April 17, 1640. Johnson, Amandus ''The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware Vol. I: Their History and Relation to the Indians, Dutch and English, 1638-1664'' (Philadelphia, PA: The Swedish Colonial Society. 1911 Kling is believed to have been from the Swedish province of

Småland Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...

; only one officer named Måns Nilsson occurs in the military lists of the times. The Måns Nilsson in question had served in Adolf Hård's Regiment in

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...

, Småland, first as a private and then as an officer, before being discharged in 1636. He may also have been of Finnish origin, since

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

was part of the

Realm of Sweden The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...

at the time.

References

Other sources

* * * * *

External links

American Swedish Historical Museum

Nya Sverige
(in Swedish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kling, Mans Nilsson Governors of New Sweden Swedish military officers Finnish military personnel Year of birth missing Year of death missing People of New Sweden

Biography

See also

References

Other sources

External links