Sweden's colony along the Delaware River contained a blend of Swedes and non-Swedes. These settlements in modern-day Chester, Wilmington, and New Castle also housed peoples of Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, German, English, and African origin.
Sinnick Broer, a Finn, brought this painted iron strongbox to the New Sweden Colony. Broer traveled to the Delaware River in 1656 with his wife, daughter, and two sons aboard the Mercurius—Sweden’s last expedition to the colony. When the settlers arrived in the New World, they discovered that the Dutch had conquered Sweden's settlements. Despite the change in leadership, Broer’s family flourished in the Americas. His sons settled in what is today Delaware and New Jersey. This chest passed through the family of Broer Sinnickson until they donated it to the American Swedish Historical Museum in 1981.