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Governor Johan Printz reports the 1644 status of the New Sweden Colony (now present-day New Jersey) to the Queen of Sweden. He provides accounts of remaining supplies, trade relations with other settlers and Indians in the Delaware Valley Region, and the health conditions of the settlers. The Colony struggled with disease, lawlessness, low morale, competition from other settlers, and defensive attacks by Native Americans. Additionally, the Swedish government expected the Colony to quickly establish itself as a dominant force, capable of self-suffiency and of netting high profits (of which a large portion would be sent back to Sweden.) In reality, goods and supplies were extremely expensive in the New World, and many settlers were paying for things out of their own pockets. Some of the Swedish settlers were also criminals, banished to the New World by Sweden. As their sentences neared completion, many of them wanted to return to Sweden. Printz asked the Swedish government for advice in dealing with the convicts, as well as for motivating other settlers who felt that they were of the nobility classes, which excused them from common work. This article is part of a Primary Source Material collection compiled by the New Sweden Commemorative Commission in 1988.

http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.3/SPCOL.Article.421

doi:10.7282/T3JQ0ZJ2

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