Electronic God-Man
09-27-2009, 05:09 AM
The Revolt of the Long Swede - Transatlantic Hopes and Fears on the Delaware, 1669
The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
Opening paragraph:
In the Fall of 1669, when New York ruled the Delaware River valley but most of its colonists had come from Sweden, fears of a conspiracy to restore the area to Swedish rule filled the court at New Castle. The contention, confusion, and downright ignorance that have surrounded the incident ever since are reflected in the lack of agreement on its name. Variously called (in more or less chronological order) the Intended Insurrection of the Long Swede, the Insurrection in Delaware, the Uproar Among the Swedes, and the Long Finn Rebellion, it remains a virtually unknown event from an obscure corner of colonial American history. Few are the people who even know that it happened. It has inspired a highly fanciful work of early American literature, James Kirke Paulding’s Koningsmarke, the Long Finne: A Story of the New World, but little historical analysis. There is not even a proper narrative of what happened, when, or why. Using the few available fragments, this article provides a plausible account of the incident and argues for its significance to both the early history of the Delaware Valley and the broader colonial American experience. I deliberately label it the Revolt of the Long Swede (even though the main actor may have been a Finn) to draw attention away from prevailing concerns with ethnicity and towards the more relevant issue of transatlantic political loyalties.
The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography
Opening paragraph:
In the Fall of 1669, when New York ruled the Delaware River valley but most of its colonists had come from Sweden, fears of a conspiracy to restore the area to Swedish rule filled the court at New Castle. The contention, confusion, and downright ignorance that have surrounded the incident ever since are reflected in the lack of agreement on its name. Variously called (in more or less chronological order) the Intended Insurrection of the Long Swede, the Insurrection in Delaware, the Uproar Among the Swedes, and the Long Finn Rebellion, it remains a virtually unknown event from an obscure corner of colonial American history. Few are the people who even know that it happened. It has inspired a highly fanciful work of early American literature, James Kirke Paulding’s Koningsmarke, the Long Finne: A Story of the New World, but little historical analysis. There is not even a proper narrative of what happened, when, or why. Using the few available fragments, this article provides a plausible account of the incident and argues for its significance to both the early history of the Delaware Valley and the broader colonial American experience. I deliberately label it the Revolt of the Long Swede (even though the main actor may have been a Finn) to draw attention away from prevailing concerns with ethnicity and towards the more relevant issue of transatlantic political loyalties.