A History of the Kalmar Nyckel
The Kalmar Nyckel was a remarkable ship. She was the pride of Sweden, heavily armed, able to hold a large cargo, yet more nimble and maneuverable than other ships her
A History of the Kalmar Nyckel
The Kalmar Nyckel was a remarkable ship. She was the pride of Sweden, heavily armed, able to hold a large cargo, yet more nimble and maneuverable than other ships her size. Majestic and seaworthy, this three-masted square-rigger first crossed of the Atlantic Ocean in 1638. Unknown to most Americans, and omitted from all but a few history books, she has the distinction of being the ship that crossed the Atlantic Ocean more times than any other ship before the American Revolution. She only made four round trips, but nonetheless, that was the more than any other ship was able to accomplish.
The modern replica of the Kalmar Nyckel was built 350 years later to become Delaware's Tall Ship. Back in 2001 and 2003, several members of our family sailed aboard her, and my father boarded her once much earlier after the construction was complete but before she was ready to sail. The new Kalmar Nyckel was constructed to resemble the original ship as closely as possible, but much guesswork had to be used. A few contemporary descriptions exist, but no blueprints, plans or drawings of the original Kalmar Nyckel have been found. Like the original Kalmar Nyckel, the replica is painted the same shade of blue as found on the Swedish flag and hosts a golden lion as her figurehead. Unlike the original, and hidden from view, the modern-day ship has a engine for back-up power and a contemporary kitchen for her crew. Both ships were built with a square stern and a high poopdeck, underneath which the ship's captain's quarters could be found. Even if they were almost the same size, in the seventeenth century, her captain would have considered the space large and comfortable, while to a modern eye the modern Kalmar Nyckel's captain's quarters appear to be a bit cramped. Different members of our family spent glorious and fun-filled sunny afternoons aboard the new Kalmar Nyckel on Delaware Bay. In contrast, when some of our ancestors crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard the original ship, they would have spent over three months in miserable quarters bringing with them all their clothes and other earthly possessions, including, if they were so lucky, livestock.
The first Kalmar Nyckel served her country for more than thirty years. She was a merchant ship that had been redesigned as a man-of-war. The first time the Kalmar Nyckel sailed across the Atlantic, she was under orders to attack any vulnerable enemy ship she might encounter and relieve it any cargo the captain deemed to be valuable -- in other words, in addition to all the other remarkable things about her, the Kalmar Nyckel was also a pirate ship.
To appreciate the history of the Kalmar Nyckel, it is important to understand the colonial aspirations of the Kingdom of Sweden. Not to besmirch the Swedes, but Sweden is not the first (or second, or third, or fourth) country you think of as an empire-building world power. In American history surveys, Nya Sverige, or New Sweden, is usually considered an insignificant episode, if it is included at all. However, when the Kalmar Nyckel was setting its trans-Atlantic record, Sweden really was a "Great Power" in Europe. The Thirty Years War was raging, and King Gustavus Adolphus II earned the nickname the Lion of the North as he became the principal military figure of Europe. He was hailed a great Protestant champion and did his best to vanquish the Catholic states and conquer for Sweden as much of Europe as he could. Finland and much of Scandinavia had already fallen under Swedish domination, but he expanded his empire to include Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, plus significant parts of Russia, Poland, and Germany. When trading company directors approached him with a proposal for extending the empire into the New World, he granted them a charter.
The trading company had several different names and was re-organized more than a few times. Names included the General Trading Company, the Swedish Florida Company, Swedish West Indian Company, the Ships' Company, the Australian Company, the South Company, the United South Ships Company, and finally the name we know it by today, the New Sweden Company.
If the directors were pleased to now have a charter, they were disappointed in two other major regards. The king left it up to the directors to find their own funding for an expedition across the Atlantic (or beyond), and he gave them no ships, as he had none to spare while war was being waged. Fortunately for the directors, they did have some experience raising money and organizing an expedition to the New World. Most of them were Dutch, not Swedes, and had been involved in the founding of New Amsterdam. They had only approached the Swedish king because they had had disputes with their royal Dutch patrons and been fired. Good pr