From a Distant Country

”They don’t trust us in any way, and we don’t trust them”, wrote Johan Printz, Governor of the colony New Sweden in present-day Delaware. He was describing the relationship between the settlers and the natives.

Johan Printz had been appointed Governor in 1642. His expressed orders were to maintain a good relationship with the natives and other settlers to further the trade in the region.

New Sweden encompassed parts of the territories of two native tribes, the Lenape and the Susquehannock. Most of the region was controlled by the English and the Dutch, however. The Dutch were considered the foremost enemy by the Swedes – rightly, as it turned out.

The colony expanded rapidly under the rule of Governor Printz. But Printz’ offensive type of leadership caused increasing opposition within the community. Any form of rebellion was punished hard, however, and Printz at least once had a citizen executed for treason.

The peaceful approach to the other inhabitants was not Governor Printz’ own idea. He wanted to annihilate the natives and fight the English and the Dutch. But Lord High Steward Per Brahe had more experience in the matter, being Governor General of Finland, and a mind for business. Luckily for the Lenape and the Susquehannock, Brahe had superiority over Printz.

Governor Printz by force, coercion or trade obtained a number of native objects. It is noted that he had “Indian curiosities” in his own armoury. But what about the objects at Skokloster?

There would have been several Native American objects in Sweden by the late 1600’s. After all, people like to send home souvenirs and it was important to send home “proofs” of a distant and exotic tribe.

The owner of Skokloster, Count Carl Gustaf Wrangel, belonged to the limited group of Governors of the Realm and might have been a recipient of such a gift.

No Indian artefacts are noted in Wrangel’s armoury, however. The objects at Skokloster were not likely included in Wrangel’s collection of ethnographic curiosities originally.

But after Printz' death in 1663 some “Indian antiques” were sent to Per Brahe. When Per Brahe died in 1680 all his possessions were inherited by his nephew Nils Brahe, who was Carl Gustaf Wrangel’s son-in-law.

And eventually, in 1701, Nils Brahe’s son Abraham inherited Skokloster and started an inventory of the house. The Skokloster armoury inventory of 1710 describes Indian artefacts for the first time.

The "Indian antiques" are still there toady, some 300 years later.