This is in comparison to the usual suspects: Britain, France, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal etc. I know Germany had colonies in Africa but still compared to the Western Europeans, they and the Nordic countries were very tame in the colonial bids. Why was that?
Sweden established a North American colony called "New Sweden" around the area of present day Wilmington, Delaware. But the Netherlands asserted that they had claimed this land first.
After the Swedes had been there for 17 years, the Netherlands got fed up, and sailed to New Sweden to attack. The Swedish colonists surrendered without a fight, and the Dutch gained control of the colony. A few years later, the Dutch were conquered by the English, so New Sweden became part of England's colonial holdings in North America.