The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 7, Issue 1, Winter 2018 | Page 13

bricks, lime, and furniture. 23 The conditions were less than ideal. The Dutch and
English settlers traded finished goods for provisions from the Indians, but the
Swedes were not receiving enough goods from Sweden to take part in this trade
network. Rising arranged for the Swedes to enter the trade network as middlemen
by “buying trade goods from other European colonists, trading them to Indians
with furs to sell, and reselling furs for transport to European consumers.” 24 This
arrangement was successful for a short time but unsustainable. In a letter to the
Swedish government, Rising wrote,
I will now also humbly report concerning our present condition,
namely, that everything is still in a fairly good state and
especially since all here have the sure hope that a good succor
from the Fatherland will soon relieve and comfort us, especially
through Your Excellency and the assistance of the High Lords. If
people were not animated by this hope, there would be danger
that a part of them would go beyond their limits, or that indeed a
large number of them would desert from here, not only because
many necessaries are lacking, but also because both the savages
and the Christians keep us in alarm. 25
Rising’s letter continued to explain the delicate relationship with the Indians. The
settlers had to purchase the Lenape’s friendship with daily gifts. If the Lenape
purchased anything from the settlers, they asked for half-credit and paid the rest
begrudgingly. Then the Lenape took the New Sweden goods to the Minque tribe
for beaver and elk-skins. The Minque then sold the skins to traders in Manhattan
for a large profit. 26 Rising’s letter emphasized his awareness of the colony’s
vulnerable state. Indians and settlers took notice of it, too.
Rising’s reliance on the Lenape for food and supplies meant he could not
afford ill relations with the tribe. Furthermore, New Sweden’s deteriorating
conditions put it at a disadvantage in bargaining trade deals. Conditions in the
colony were less than ideal, and Sweden offered little support for the colony;
consequently, colonists left for the English or Dutch settlements. 27 To add to their
problems, the relations with the Dutch deteriorated because the Swedes built new
forts and seized a Dutch settlement. The Dutch viewed this as an act of war and
forced the Swedes to surrender. Swedes could either safely return home or remain
as faithful subjects of the Dutch, but this marked the end of the Swedish
government’s involvement in North America. 28
13