The colony, centered on Fort Christina, thrived for a number of years under the administration of Johan Printz, attracting Swedish and Finnish settlers who engaged in farming and fur trading with the Lenape and Susquehannock.

The Dutch West India Company, which governed New Netherland, saw New Sweden as a threat to its trade dominance and territorial ambitions in the region.

[2] In June 1651, the Director-General of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, marched overland with 120 soldiers to Fort Nassau while several armed ships sailed from New Amsterdam to the Delaware River.

Faced with the overwhelming Dutch force, Lieutenant Sven Skute, the Swedish commander of Fort Trefaldighet, surrendered the next day.

When Stuyvesant told him that his goal was the conquest of New Sweden, Elswick replied in Latin: "Hodie mihi, cras tibi" (Today me, tomorrow you).

[2] In a letter to Stuyvesant several weeks later, Risingh wrote: The women were, sometimes with violence, torn from their houses; buildings dismantled and hauled away; oxen, cows, pigs and other animals slaughtered daily in large numbers; even the horses were not spared but wantonly shot.

After the Lenape were attacked as they prepared to depart that evening, they retaliated by raiding Pavonia and Staten Island, killing 40 and taking 100 mostly women and children captive.

[4] In 1664, the British seized control of New Netherland, however, the Swedes in the Delaware River region maintained their distinct Swedish identity well into the eighteenth century.