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By the middle of the 17th century the Realm of Sweden had reached its greatest territorial extent and was on the verge of becoming one of the great powers of Europe. Sweden then included Finland along with parts of modern RussiaIngria or Ingermanland was a dominion of Sweden from 1580 to 1595 and then again from 1617 to 1719, when it was ceded to Russia in the Treaty of Nystad. It consisted of the area along the basin of the river Neva, between the Gulf of Finland, the Narva Riv, PolandSwedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from the 17th to the 19th century, situated on the German Baltic Sea coast. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the Southern Baltic Coa, GermanyBremen-Verden was a dominion of Sweden from 1648 to 1719, when it was ceded to Hanover in the Treaty of Stockholm. It came under Swedish control by the Peace of Westphalia, which concluded the Thirty Years' War, and consited of the bishoprics of Bremen an, EstoniaEstonia was a dominion of Sweden from 1561 until 1719, when it was ceded to Russia in the Treaty of Nystad, following the outcome in the Great Northern War. The dominion arose when the northern part of present-day Estonia were united under Swedish rule in, and LatviaLivonia was a dominion of Sweden from the 1620s until 1721. Swedish Livonia, which constituted the southern part of Estonia and nortern part of Latvia, represented the conquest of nearly all of what was Polish Livonia and was completed by 1629. Even if Li. They sought to extend their influence by creating an agricultural (tobacco) and fur trading colony to bypass FrenchThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. and BritishGreat Britain (often abbreviated as Britain is an island lying off the western coast of Europe, comprising the main territory of the United Kingdom. Great Britain is also used as a political term describing the combination of England, Scotland, and Wales, merchants. The New Sweden Company was chartered and included Swedish, Dutch and German stockholders.

The first Swedish expedition to North America was launched from the port of Gothenburg in late 1637. Samuel Blommaert assisted with the fitting-out and appointed Peter Minuit to lead the expedition. Minuit was formerly the governor of the Dutch colony of New Netherland. The members of the expedition, traveling aboard the ships Fogel Grip and Kalmar Nyckel, arrived in the Delaware Bay, a location within the territory claimed by the Dutch, in late March 1638. They built a fort on the present-day location of the city of Wilmington which they named Fort Christina, after Queen Christina of Sweden. In the following years, some 600 Swedes and Finns settled in the area.

In 1643, the company expanded along the river from Fort Christiana, established Fort Nya Elfsborg on the north bank near present-day Salem, New Jersey In May 1654, the Dutch Fort Casimir was conquered by the New Sweden colony, led by governor Johan Rising. The fort was taken without force since no gunpowder was present, and the settlement was renamed Fort Trinity . As reprisal, the Dutch - led by governor Peter Stuyvesant - moved an army to the Delaware River in the late summer of 1655, leading to the immediate surrender of Fort Trinity and Fort Christina.

The Swedish and Finnish settlers continued to enjoy a degree of local autonomy, having the right to their own militia, religion, court, and lands. This status lasted officially until the English conquest of the New Netherland colony, in October 1664, and continued unofficially until the area was included in William Penn's charter for Pennsylvania, in 1682. During this later period some immigration and expansion continued. The first settlement and Fort Wicaco were built on the present site of Philadelphia in 1669.