History
In general, we may date the settling of the area from around 1637, the year when 2 ships, the "Kalmar Nyckel and the "Gripen" were put under the command of Peter Minuit, of the Swedish West India Company; & they arrived in the New World in March of 1638. In the next 18 year, 13 more ships arrived at the Delaware River settlement, bringing about 300 passengers bound for the colony of New Sweden. Others never made it; some were shipwrecked near Puerto Rico and imprisoned by the Spaniards, while others died of illness on the voyage over; immigration was always filled with many dangers.
In the 1650s, there was internal trouble in the colony; when the Dutch Governor Peter Stuyvesant erected a fort near New Castle several settlers left and moved to Maryland with the promise of free land. Others returned to Sweden after they had completed their service contracts, either voluntary or not, as in case of men convicted of crimes at home who chose colonization rather than penal servitude. Those left in New Sweden were dissatisfied with their treatment under (then) Governor Printz, who became enraged over a petition of their complaints and took legal action against the signers, claiming their complaints constituted mutiny. While this was brewing, the Swedish government was manning its largest force yet destined for the New World, under the command of Johan Rising, who was to be the last Swedish Governor of the colony. When he arrived, Rising demanded the surrender of the Dutch in the area, (which they did, for they were out of gunpowder) but the colony had shrunk to a mere 65 or 70 colonistsby this time. So, Rising found it the better part of valor to make peace with those earlier settlers who had petitioned against Printz, , negotiate property rights for the settlers, and create a climate where new colonization was possible. Then 5 years later, when the colony had re-established itself and was up to 300+ citizens, Governor Peter Stuyvesand reappeared with fully armed and manned warships, greatly outnumbering the Swedes. In the face of overwhelming odds, the Swedes had no option but to surrender. With their surrender Governor Rising and his "council" returned to Sweden, accompanied by a few soldiers and citizens, tired of the never ending struggle. However, in 1656 another large group of settlers arrived, giving the depleated colony a much needed boost, with new colonists. Peter Stuyvesand treated the colony rather well and agreed to recognize them as "the Upland County". This "Swedish Nation" was officially begun in 1656, and although watched carefully by Stuyvesand, it continued to be autonomous, lending no help to the Dutch and often even refusing their direct orders. Difficulties between the Swedes and Dutch were ongoing, particularly in the places where they overlapped, as in the New Castle area, and continued until the 1680s, when the gradual increase of English settlers changed the complexion of the whole colony. The coming of the Quakers, from1682 onward, signaled the end of New Sweden and the beginning of Pennsylvania as we know it today. The Swedes, however, were well treated by the new Quaker order, and were very much responsible for the survival of the early Quakers who were unfamiliar with a very inhospitable land. They provide food and showed the new settlers how to erect shelters to protect themselves from our harsh weather. Many of the Swedes had had extensive dealings with the local Indians, and served as go-betweens for the native tribes and Quakers, offering advice in negotiations and valuable interpretive skills. The Swedes made the transition from the "Swedish Nation" to Quaker Colony apparently rather effortlessly, and continued to be valuable members of the growing Commonwealth. They served in every capacity, from attorney and craftsman to soldier and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
The Quaker religion was founded by George Fox in about 1650, in England. In this period there was constant struggle between the predominant religious groups, all of whom wished to have their religion accepted by governmental authority and be declared the state religion. Not only were there religious reasons for this, but monetary as well. The religion that was the state religion could collect a tithe from each citizen, whether they were members of that religion or not. This caused much difficulty for those who belonged to other faiths, those who wished their hard earned money to go to the religion of their choice, rather than one chosen for them by their ruler. By the 1600s, there were several hundred different religious sects in England, the Quakers being only one of this number. Quakers refused to give tithes to state churches and would not take oaths to the crown, thus making them targets of any standing government. Their religious beliefs prevented them from lending any support, either personal or monetary, to any group who engaged in physical violence, for theirs was a religion that embraced pacifism. As governments kept, and used armies, Quakers could not, by the tenants of their faith, lend support in any way, nor pledge allegiance to any but God, thus doubly angering the government.
In 1681 the land which is now Pennsylvania was given to William Penn to settle a huge debt owed to his father, by the King of England. William Penn, a devout Quaker, used this land grant to create a Quaker colony in the New World, thus beginning the Quaker tide of emigration, and the creation of Pennsylvania.
