Under his rule the Swedish colony initially prospered, and he built Fort Nya Elfsborg on the east bank of the Delaware and Fort New Gothenburg on Tinicum Island (to the immediate SW of today's Philadelphia), where he also built his own manor house which he called Printzhof. Before long, however, problems with the surrounding Dutch and English colonies became increasingly severe. Short of supplies from Sweden, Printz was unable to prevent the Dutch and the English from practically monopolizing the beaver fur trade in the area. His main adversary was Peter Stuyvesant, Director General of New Netherlands.
In the end, Printz found his position impossible and in 1654 he returned to Sweden where he spent the next three years without an official position. In 1658 he was appointed Governor of Jönköping. His son-in-law Johan Papegoya succeed him as the governor of New Sweden.
