The Malady of Emigrants: Homesickness and Longing in the Colony of New Sweden (1638-1655)
Författare
Redaktör
- Mary C. Beaudry
- Travis G. Parno
Summary, in English
This chapter explores homesickness of the Swedish colonial employees in the settlement of New Sweden and pays attention to the potential role of material culture in instigating feelings of longing.
In the seventeenth century, in the age of wars fought far from home, colonial expansion and transoceanic resettlements, homesickness became a considerable social problem. In 1688, Johannes Hofer, a Swiss student of medicine described it as a psycho-somatic condition caused by inability to adjust to the life after relocation. Homesickness, or nostalgia, was to him “the sad mood originating from the desire for return to one’s native land”. Homesickness was a common malady in colonial America and one of the causes of return migration. It did not spare those employed in the colony of New Sweden, including Johan Printz, one of its governors. The governor’s letters and reports sent to Sweden provide insights into dissatisfaction with the life in the colony and desperate longing to return home. In case of governor Printz and his employees, nostalgic feelings might have been instigated by the interactions with objects brought from home. Already Hofer observed that those feeling homesick “are moved by small external objects and nothing creates a stronger impression than the desire recalling the homeland”. These connections between fantasies about home and materials that bring them about are explored and theorized about in this chapter.
In the seventeenth century, in the age of wars fought far from home, colonial expansion and transoceanic resettlements, homesickness became a considerable social problem. In 1688, Johannes Hofer, a Swiss student of medicine described it as a psycho-somatic condition caused by inability to adjust to the life after relocation. Homesickness, or nostalgia, was to him “the sad mood originating from the desire for return to one’s native land”. Homesickness was a common malady in colonial America and one of the causes of return migration. It did not spare those employed in the colony of New Sweden, including Johan Printz, one of its governors. The governor’s letters and reports sent to Sweden provide insights into dissatisfaction with the life in the colony and desperate longing to return home. In case of governor Printz and his employees, nostalgic feelings might have been instigated by the interactions with objects brought from home. Already Hofer observed that those feeling homesick “are moved by small external objects and nothing creates a stronger impression than the desire recalling the homeland”. These connections between fantasies about home and materials that bring them about are explored and theorized about in this chapter.
Avdelning/ar
Publiceringsår
2013
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
165-177
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Archaeologies of Mobility and Movement
Dokumenttyp
Del av eller Kapitel i bok
Förlag
Springer
Ämne
- Archaeology
Nyckelord
- New Sweden
- homesickness
- migration
- Johan Printz
- material culture
Status
Published
Projekt
- Sweden in the Delaware valley. Everyday life and identities in the seventeenth century colony of New Sweden
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 1574-0439
- ISBN: 9781461462101