A Man and His Ship: Peter Minuit and the Kalmar Nyckel

by C.A. Weslager

One of twenty-four books dealing with the early history of the Delaware Valley written by noted historian and Delaware author, C. A. Weslager, A Man and His Ship gives Peter Minuit and the ship he commanded, which brought the first Swedes and Finns to America to make the first permanent settlement in the Delaware Valley, their deserved place on the pages of history.

Using primary references found in Swedish, Dutch and German sources, Dr. Weslager introduces evidence that in its first voyages the Kalmar Nyckel carried more colonists to Delaware than arrived on the Mayflower, and includes for the first time the names of known passengers on these voyages between 1638 and 1645.

Engagingly written and carefully researched, A Man and His Ship is a book to be read, collected and cherished.

225 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1990

About the author

The late Dr. Clinton A. Weslager was a History Professor Emeritus of Brandywine College of Widener University and was nationally known for his 24 books dealing with the early history of the Delaware valley, including Indian, Dutch, Swedish and English occupations.

Known for his engaging writing style, Dr. Weslager was awarded the University of Delaware Medal of Distinction, and the DAR History Medal. He received two citations from the American Association of State and Local History, and was elected a Fellow of the Archaeological Society of New Jersey.

Reviews

[Justinian]

2018-10 – A Man and His Ship: Peter Minuit and the Kalmar Nyckel. C. A. Weslager (Author) 1990. 225 Pages.

We had watched a documentary on PBS about Peter Minuit and the Kalmar Nyckel. That was before we toured the faithful reproduction of the ship during a Tall Ships event in Philadelphia. We stumbled across this book in a dusty corner of a used book shop. The writing style is dated but the story is compelling. Part “hidden history” (New Sweden!) and part adventure story, I thought both aspects … the man and the ship were equally fascinating. It is sad that Peter Minuit has been almost erased from our American story. Perhaps his mysterious death during a hurricane in the Caribbean lays behind this. The Kalmar Nyckel is a ship 90% of Americans have never heard of even though it made the trans-Atlantic crossing from Europe to America and back four times in the early 1600’s …. An unmatched record number of crossings. A good book … a great story.

[Eyani]

There does not exist a more extensive biography of Pieter Minuit

[Chris]

This one was particular to me since I was reading it out of genealogical interest. It is a very interesting history though, on the Swedish Colonies in America, as short lived as they were, and just written well to make it interesting and not exceedingly dull accounts of history. I liked it, but like I said, I think part of liking it was that it held personal relevance.