Editing New Sweden (section)

== Dutch Conquest ==

The end of New Sweden came swiftly in 1655 when Peter Stuyvesant, the Director-General of New Netherland, arrived with a fleet of seven ships and several hundred soldiers. The Dutch had long viewed the Swedish colony as an intrusion on territory they claimed by right of prior exploration, and Stuyvesant was determined to eliminate this competitor. The small Swedish garrison at Fort Christina, hopelessly outnumbered, surrendered without serious resistance. The colony's other posts, including the capital at [[Tinicum Island]], likewise fell without significant fighting. Governor Johan Rising, who had replaced Printz in 1654, negotiated terms that allowed Swedish colonists to remain on their lands under Dutch rule.<ref name="ward"/>

The [[Dutch Conquest of New Sweden]] ended Swedish political control in the Delaware Valley but did not end the Swedish cultural presence. Most Swedish and Finnish colonists remained on their farms under Dutch and later English rule, maintaining their language, Lutheran faith, and distinctive customs for generations. The Swedish population contributed to the development of the region even after their political independence was lost. When William Penn arrived to establish Pennsylvania in 1682, he found a population of several hundred Swedish and Finnish colonists who had already been farming the land for decades—a European presence that Penn incorporated into his new colony.<ref name="acrelius"/>