Editing Tinicum Island (section)

== Establishment Under Johan Printz ==

Johan Printz arrived in New Sweden in 1643 as the colony's third governor, bringing new colonists, supplies, and instructions from the Swedish government to strengthen the colonial enterprise. Printz was a physically imposing figure—contemporary accounts describe him as enormously fat, weighing perhaps 400 pounds—with an authoritarian temperament and considerable administrative ability. Recognizing that [[Fort Christina]], the existing capital, was poorly positioned to control river traffic and vulnerable to Dutch competition, Printz determined to establish a new capital further up the Delaware River. He selected Tinicum Island for this purpose, attracted by its strategic location and the presence of an existing [[Lenape People|Lenape]] settlement that demonstrated the site's suitability for habitation.<ref name="acrelius">{{cite book |last=Acrelius |first=Israel |title=A History of New Sweden; or, The Settlements on the River Delaware |year=1874 |publisher=Historical Society of Pennsylvania |location=Philadelphia |orig-year=1759}}</ref>

Construction of the new capital began immediately upon Printz's arrival. The centerpiece was Printzhof (Printz Hall), the governor's residence and administrative headquarters, described as the finest building in the Swedish colonies—a two-story log structure with glass windows, a luxury in frontier America. Nearby, Printz ordered the construction of Fort New Gothenburg (sometimes called Fort New Korsholm), a fortification intended to command the river and protect the settlement from attack. The colonists also built a church, the first Lutheran church in North America, a gristmill, and various other structures necessary for colonial life. The settlement quickly became the effective center of Swedish presence in the Delaware Valley.<ref name="johnson"/>