“Affidavit of Four Men from the Key of Camar”

In Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware, the excerpt, “Affidavit of Four Men From the Key of Calmar, 1638” describes the events of the first Swedish expedition. The authors of this excerpt served on the Key Calmar, a Dutch-built ship used for trade. Two of the men, Michell Sionssen and Peter Johanssen, were Dutch while Jacob Evertssen Sandelin was Scottish. The fourth mate, Johan Joachimssen is possibly believed to be Dutch. The men account their travels on the ship from West India to the Delaware River. The affidavit describes and lists the men’s experience upon sailing into the Minquas Kil, which is now known as Christina Creek. Upon approaching the territory the men took precautions before going ashore in order to announce their arrival to the Indians. By firing the ship’s cannons the men attracted Indian chiefs aboard, which resulted in the signing of a legal document that granted the land to the Kingdom of Sweden.

Peter Minuit

The agreement stated that the region of New Sweden would exist within seventy miles along the Delaware River. The director of this agreement and former governor of New Netherlands was Peter Minuit, who led the exploration of the Key of Calmar as described in this excerpt. As Taylor describes in American Colonies, the colonists, under Minuit’s command, founded Fort Christina, named after the Sweden’s Queen. Fort Christina served as a trade region with the Indians. The Swedes soon gained control of the trade, proving too much for them to handle, as Taylor explains. As time went on, Taylor explains, the Dutch settlers merged with both the Swedes and Finns before, “the Dutch colony stretched to thin to hold both the Delaware and the Hudson against the English” (Taylor 255).

This chosen exploration narrative is an example of a descriptive mode genre. The lengthy catalogs of names and geographic locations given in this narrative are evidence for this. For example, the affidavit begins with the names of the four sailors, the date of which the event occurred, and the additional listing of witnesses. This narrative is not so much a tragic tale or tale of triumph as it is a record of the witnesses and locations that were involved with the event. The narrative also provides evidence to support the factuality of the event, for example, “Peter Ruttens, the residing public notary in the city of Amsterdam, admitted and sworn by the Supreme Court in Holland” and “And the testimony was produced [at the instance of Peter Spiring] that the above mentioned mate, together with Peter Minuit, the skipper Joan von de Water and the former upper boatswain Andress Lucasen and still other officers of the ship’s council…” (86). These lines are an example of how the narrative lists and catalogs names and facts in regards to the event that occurred. Another reason the record is considered a descriptive mode genre of exploration narratives is the way in which the ages and backgrounds of each mate or witness are listed. The narrative provides the homelands and ages of several of the ship’s men, which draws connections between what is known and what is unknown. By listing that several of the men originate from Holland and range from the ages of 27 to 54, the narrative creates a connection between the men of the ship.

The narrative, while mostly a descriptive mode genre, can also (lightly) be considered a promotional narrative. While the narrative is not necessarily mythically portraying the exploration of the New World, it often provides positive portrays of the events. The narrative positively describes the interactions between the men and the Indian chiefs, stating that, “And these sachems or princes…in the presence of the whole ship’s council…transferred all the land” and “they acknowledged that they, to their satisfaction, were paid and fully compensated for it by good and proper merchandise” (87-88). These lines serve as evidence of a promotional exploration narrative because they portray the agreement between the men and the Indian chiefs in a positive manner. There was no shipwreck, lack of supplies or lack of leadership mentioned in their description, but cordial agreement between both parties, which is why this narrative can also be considered a promotional narrative.

The purpose of the narrative is to catalog the witnesses and locations involved within the establishing of New Sweden. The narrative is an affidavit, which means it is a written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation, for use as evidence in court. The affidavit serves the purpose of recording a sequence of events that occurred within the establishing of New Sweden. The narrative acts as a record of the men involved and their backgrounds, the territories explored and the dates of which the events occurred. As well as a descriptive record of events, the narrative also serves the purpose of positively promoting the events. By portraying the events in a positive way, leaving out any sign of tragedy or disloyalty, the narrative catalogs aspects details while promoting historical events.

I believe the intended audience of this narrative to be potential future civilizations and populations of this new land, as well as the court of law. Being an affidavit, the narrative’s audience is exposed within the title of the document. The primary audience is a court of law, however, I believe there to be a secondary audience as well. This intended audience greatly influences matters of style, tone, rhetorical stance and the inclusion (and exclusion) of certain details. As well as a court of law, the narrative is directed towards possible future colonists of New Sweden, which results in a specific style and tone. The narrative’s tone is positive and factual; it lists the sequence of events and those who were involved, while maintaining a positive tone. Because the narrative is an affidavit, the style is not one of a story, but a record of facts involved within the exploration. The narrative portrays its affidavit side in a positive way, which allows its style to take on a promotional narrative in some aspects. Keeping the narrative’s intended audience in mind, there are intentional inclusions and exclusions of details within the document. On one hand, the narrative’s intended audience is a court of law, which requires the document to include and exclude certain details. For example, the affidavit must include dates, names and geographic locations that were involved in the event. The document excludes anything unrelated to the facts of the event, i.e. tragedy, disloyalty, personal aspects etc. On the other hand, the narrative’s audience is potential colonists, which includes positive portrayals of the establishing of New Sweden, excluding negative aspects of the event.

In reading this narrative, I read with the mindset of each of its intended audiences. First, I read it as a member of the court of law and secondly as a potential colonist. In reading the narrative as one audience verses the other, I found the style and content to be very interesting as well as flexible. When reading the document with the mindset of a member of the court, I found the narrative to be anything but a story. It read factual and served as a piece of evidence. When taking on the mindset of a potential colonist, the style of the narrative changed for me. I found myself understanding the narrative in a new way, more promotional than before.