Editing Fort Christina (section)

== Construction and Early Operations ==

The colonists immediately began constructing a fortification on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Christina River. Fort Christina was a simple wooden structure, typical of frontier outposts of the era, consisting of a palisade enclosing barracks, storehouses, and other necessary buildings. The Swedes armed the fort with cannons from their ships and established it as a trading post where they could exchange European goods for furs with the Lenape. Minuit negotiated a land purchase with local Lenape leaders, acquiring territory along the western shore of the Delaware River that would form the nucleus of Swedish colonial claims in the region.<ref name="dahlgren">{{cite book |last=Dahlgren |first=Stellan |last2=Norman |first2=Hans |title=The Rise and Fall of New Sweden |year=1988 |publisher=Coronet Books}}</ref>

Peter Minuit did not live to see his colony develop. In the summer of 1638, while the colonists were still establishing their settlement, Minuit died during a visit to the Caribbean island of St. Christopher (now St. Kitts), apparently caught in a hurricane while aboard a Dutch ship. His death left the new colony without experienced leadership at a critical moment. The Swedish government, preoccupied with military campaigns in Europe during the Thirty Years' War, was slow to send replacement governors and reinforcements. For the next several years, Fort Christina survived but struggled, its small population barely able to maintain the settlement against the challenges of frontier life and competition from Dutch and English neighbors.<ref name="ward"/>