Only Swedish colony in North America, on the Delaware River , extending from the site of present-day Trenton , N.J., U.S., to the mouth of the river.
It was established by the New Sweden Co. led by Peter Minuit in 1638, when Fort Christina was built at what is now Wilmington , Del. It was captured by the Dutch in 1655 under Peter Stuyvesant . The Swedish colonists were allowed to keep their lands and continue their customs under Dutch rule.