Swedish Empire

The Swedish Empire was a time when Sweden became an important country in Europe. This happened mostly in the 1600s and early 1700s. During this time, Sweden controlled lands around the Baltic region, some places on the North Sea, and a few overseas colonies, like New Sweden.

It began when Gustavus Adolphus became king in 1611. After he died in battle in 1632, leaders from wealthy families, like the Oxenstierna family, helped rule while the kings were still young.

Sweden won many fights, especially in the Thirty Years' War. After a big peace agreement, called the Peace of Westphalia, Sweden gained land in northern Germany. The country grew strongest after winning the Northern War of 1655–1660. In 1658, through the Treaty of Roskilde, Denmark–Norway had to give up some of its land.

Later, under Charles XII, Sweden won early battles. But things changed when the king led soldiers into Russia. There, they lost at the Battle of Poltava. This defeat stopped Sweden from growing bigger. By the time Charles XII died in 1718, Sweden had lost much of its land and power. Later, more land was lost to Russia and Denmark.

History

Emergence as a great power

Sweden grew into a big European power under leaders like Axel Oxenstierna and King Gustavus Adolphus. By taking lands from Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and fighting in the Thirty Years' War, Sweden became a leader among Protestant nations.

During this war, Sweden took control of about half of the states in the Holy Roman Empire. The war went back and forth, and after a loss at the Battle of Nördlingen in 1634, Sweden lost support from some areas. But with help from France, Sweden’s luck changed again. The war caused many deaths in the German states.

Sweden also built colonies overseas, mainly in the New World. New Sweden was started in the Delaware River valley in 1638, and Sweden claimed some islands in the Caribbean. They also built forts and trading posts along the West African coast, though these were not meant for Swedish settlers.

Peace of Westphalia

At the end of the Thirty Years' War, the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 gave Sweden lands as payment for fighting. Sweden asked for Silesia, Pomerania, and a large sum of money called Riksdaler.

Thanks to efforts by Johan Oxenstierna and Johan Adler Salvius, Sweden received:

• Swedish Pomerania, including Western Pomerania with islands like Rügen and Usedom, and towns such as Stettin, Greifswald, and Stralsund;
• a part of Farther Pomerania along the Oder River, including Damm and Gollnow;
• the town of Wismar with nearby districts;
• the areas of Bremen-Verden, including Wildeshausen; and
• 5,000,000 Riksdaler.

These lands in Germany were held as fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire. This gave Sweden a vote in the Imperial Diet and allowed it to influence the Lower Saxon Circle. France and Sweden became joint guarantors of the treaty.

After the Peace of Westphalia and other treaties, Sweden became the third-largest land area in Europe, behind only Russia and Spain. Sweden reached its largest size under King Charles X Gustav after the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658.

Domestic consolidation

Sweden’s position was uncertain. Careful leadership could mean lasting power on the Baltic coast, but mistakes could lead to big problems. The spending of Gustavus Adolphus’s next two rulers, Christina and Charles X Gustav, caused financial troubles for the new empire.

Christina’s spending almost bankrupted the state and caused public upset before she stepped down. People in Sweden worried that their country’s greatness came at the cost of losing their freedoms. They hoped a new king would fix the problem of too much power in the nobility.

Charles X Gustav worked between the people and the nobility. He was a soldier but also a smart politician. He focused on military strength but knew that unity at home was needed for a strong foreign policy.

A big issue was taking back lands that the crown had lost. In 1655, the king asked nobles to either pay a large sum every year or give back a quarter of the lands. The nobles wanted to avoid taxes and said taxes could only be collected back to 1632, the day Gustavus Adolphus died. The lower groups of people protested, and the meeting had to be stopped. The king stepped in not to calm the people, as the senate wanted, but to make the nobility agree. He suggested a special group to look into the matter before the next meeting and that everyone should pay a fair share in the meantime. Both sides agreed to this.

The high nobility’s interests were different from the policy of uniformity, which aimed to keep the status of Swedish estates equal. In areas gained during times of noble rule, serfdom was not ended, and there was a move to create estates in Sweden itself. The Great Reduction of 1680 ended these efforts by the nobility and made them return estates taken from the crown to the king. However, serfdom stayed in places like the Holy Roman Empire and Swedish Estonia, where treaties made it hard to apply the uniformity policy.

Charles X Gustav tried to fix the problems from Christina’s spending. But his desire for military glory caused issues for his country. In just three days, he convinced the Swedish estates to support his attack on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, when he left Stockholm for Warsaw on July 10, 1654, he gained personal fame but not much benefit for his country. The Polish-Swedish War grew into a larger European war. He crossed the Belts and won, but then died from exhaustion. After his death, a group of leaders governed Sweden for his young son, Charles XI. This group quickly ended the war with Sweden’s many enemies, including the Tsardom of Russia, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Electorate of Brandenburg, and Denmark-Norway.

Treaty of Roskilde and Peace of Oliva

After a Swedish war against Denmark–Norway, the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658 made Denmark–Norway give up Blekinge, Bornholm, Bohuslän, Scania, and Trøndelag, as well as Halland to Sweden. The Peace of Oliva on May 3, 1660, ended the long fight with Poland. French help with this treaty also ended the disagreement between Sweden, the Holy Roman emperor, and the elector of Brandenburg. This treaty confirmed Sweden’s control of Livonia and the elector of Brandenburg’s rule over Prussia. The king of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth gave up all claims to the Swedish crown. The treaty made Denmark–Norway restart talks with Sweden. Finally, with the Treaty of Copenhagen on May 27, 1660, Sweden kept the three former Danish Scanian provinces and the former Norwegian Bohuslän province, but had to give back the Norwegian province of Trøndelag and the Danish island of Bornholm. Denmark–Norway also had to accept the independence of the dukes of Holstein-Gottorp. The Russo-Swedish War of 1656–1658 ended with the Treaty of Cardis on July 2, 1661, where the Tsar gave up Baltic provinces to Sweden — Ingria, Estonia, and Kexholm.

Sweden came out of the war not just as a military power but also one of the largest states in Europe, controlling more than twice the land of modern Sweden. Sweden’s land area was 1,100,000 km². While modern Sweden is bordered by the Baltic, in the 17th century the Baltic connected many far-reaching dominions. All the islands in the Baltic, except the Danish group, belonged to Sweden. The mouths of all the major German rivers were in Swedish land, which also included two-thirds of Lake Ladoga and half of Lake Peipus. Stockholm, the capital, was at the center of the empire, with Riga as the second-largest city across the sea. This empire had about a quarter of the population of modern Sweden, with only 2,500,000 people, or about 2.3 people per square kilometer. However, Sweden’s growth was possible because nearby countries were weak and in chaos, and when they became stronger, they looked to take back what they had lost.

Sweden gained a lot of political influence, but lost some respect. When Charles X Gustav became king in 1655, Sweden’s neighbors might have been allies. But losing land and religious freedom weakened those ties. After Charles X Gustav died, Sweden had not only lost lands but also became disliked by surrounding states for not defending Protestantism. Charles X Gustav’s attempt to please Brandenburg by dividing Poland not only changed his original policy but also created a new southern rival almost as dangerous as Denmark–Norway in the west.

In 1660, after five years of war, Sweden made peace and had the chance to organize and develop its new large area. The fifteen-year leadership after Charles X Gustav couldn’t handle the situation well. The government was split internally and struggled because its leaders lacked unity and skill. The two main groups were the military-aristocratic party led by Magnus de la Gardie and the peace and economy group led by Johan Gyllenstierna. The aristocratic group won and brought a decline in morality that made neighbors unhappy. The government was slow and careless, leading to neglect of duties. Corruption also grew, with Sweden being hired by foreign powers. This “subsidy policy” started with the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1661, where Sweden supported the French candidate for the Polish throne in exchange for money. Sweden was caught between Louis XIV of France and his enemies in plans to control the Spanish Netherlands. The anti-French group won, and in April 1668, Sweden joined the Triple Alliance, which ended French gains through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. For the next four years, Sweden stayed with the Triple Alliance. But in 1672, Louis XIV managed to isolate the Dutch Republic and win Sweden back as an ally. With the Treaty of Stockholm on April 14, 1672, Sweden agreed to protect the Dutch Republic from German claims in exchange for 400,000 Riksdaler a year in peace and 600,000 during war.

Scanian War

In 1674, Louis XIV asked Sweden to invade the Electorate of Brandenburg. In May 1675, a Swedish army moved into the Mark but was defeated on June 18 at Fehrbellin and pulled back to Demmin in Swedish territory. The Fehrbellin event was a small fight with fewer than 600 casualties, but it made Sweden seem weak and allowed neighboring countries to attack in the Scanian War.

At this point, the empire started to fall apart. In 1675, Swedish Pomerania and the Duchy of Bremen were taken by Brandenburgers, Austrians, and Danes. In December 1677, the elector of Brandenburg captured Stettin. Stralsund fell on October 15, 1678. Greifswald, Sweden’s last land on the continent, was lost on November 5. An alliance with John III Sobieski of Poland stopped working on August 4, 1677, after Sweden lost its sea power in the Battle of Öland on June 17, 1676, the Battle of Fehmarn in June 1677, and most importantly the Battle of Køge Bay on July 1–2. Problems continued with the Polish king. The Scanian provinces (Scania, Halland, and Blekinge), formerly part of Denmark, became the center of heavy fighting between Swedes and Danes, with a big battle near Lund in December 1676. After the Swedish win at the Battle of Lund, Scania was split into Danish and Swedish areas around the main cities for the rest of the war. The rest of Scania was mostly empty land where intense small fights happened, with Swedish troops on one side and Danish officials and armed locals, including freelancers, on the other side.

Through military wins at home by the young Swedish king and diplomatic work by Louis XIV, peace talks started at Nijmegen in March 1677. In early April 1678, the French king set the peace terms. One main condition was that Sweden get all its lands back, as he needed Sweden as a strong ally. But Charles XI refused to give up lands to enemies, so the French king negotiated for Sweden without its agreement. With the Treaties of Nijmegen on February 7 and St. Germain on June 29, 1679, Sweden got almost all its German lands back. With the Treaty of Fontainebleau, confirmed by the Peace of Lund on September 2, Denmark–Norway had to return all lands it had taken to Sweden by October 4, 1679. Although Sweden could never have won these alone, Charles XI disliked the French king and developed a strong anti-French attitude.

Charles XI

The rest of Charles XI’s rule is known for changing Sweden’s government to a semi-absolute monarchy. The king believed that to keep Sweden as a great power, it needed big economic changes and less power for the aristocracy. Charles XI felt he could do this because he had support from the lower groups.

The Riksdag of Stockholm in October 1680 started a new time in Swedish history. At the request of the Estate of Peasants, the question of taking back lost crown lands was brought to the Riksdag, and a decision was made that all countships, baronies, domains, manors, and other estates paying more than a certain amount in rent each year should go back to the Crown. The same Riksdag decided that the king was not tied to any special constitution but only to laws and rules. He did not even have to talk to the Privy Council but was seen as a sovereign lord. The Privy Council changed its name from Riksråd to kungligt råd, showing that the councilors were no longer the king’s equals but his servants.

Sweden became an absolute monarchy but allowed the Swedish people, through parliament, to be consulted on important matters. The Riksdag, overshadowed by the Crown, mainly recorded the king’s orders during Charles XI’s rule, but it stayed as an important part of the government. This shift of power was a volunteer act. The people, trusting the king as their ally, worked with him. The Riksdag of 1682 said the king could give out and take back fiefs, making him the master of his subjects’ property. Soon, this new idea of autocracy was extended to the king’s power to make laws. On December 9, 1682, all four estates not only agreed that the king had the same lawmaking powers as his predecessors but also gave him the right to explain and change common law.

Taking back the lost crown lands was Charles XI’s main focus for the rest of his life. He set up a group that became a permanent government department. It worked on the idea that all private land titles could be questioned because at some point they must have belonged to the Crown, and the burden of proof was on the current owner, not the Crown. It’s impossible to know how much money the Crown made from this “Reduktion,” but with these funds, plus careful management and strict budgeting, Charles XI reduced the national debt by three quarters.

Charles XI also restarted the “indelningsverk” system on a larger scale. This was a way to tie national forces to the land. This was linked to the “rust hail tenure,” where tenants had to provide a cavalry soldier and horse instead of paying rent, while the knekthållare provided fully equipped foot soldiers. Soldiers lived on land they were given during peacetime. Before, regular conscription existed along with this system, but it was not popular and didn’t work well. In 1682, Charles XI ended it in favor of an expanded distribution system. The Swedish Royal Navy was completely reorganized. Since the recent war showed Stockholm was not a good naval base, construction began on a new arsenal at Karlskrona. After seventeen years of money problems, both projects were finished. When Charles XI died, Sweden had a fleet of forty-three three-deckers with 11,000 sailors and 2,648 guns, and one of the best arsenals in the world.

Charles XII and the Great Northern War

After Charles XI died, the throne went to his young son, Charles XII. After a short time under leaders, he was declared old enough to rule. Three years later, in 1700, Denmark–Norway, Poland, and Russia — the countries that had lost the most land to Sweden — declared war together. Denmark–Norway made peace quickly after Swedish, English, and Dutch armies intervened together. Then the king and much of the Swedish army went to the Baltic provinces, where Russian and Polish armies were besieging towns. The Russian army was defeated badly at the Battle of Narva. After that, Charles took the army into Poland to try to remove the Polish king Augustus II. This took several years, but in 1706, with the Treaty of Altranstädt, he succeeded.

In the meantime, Russia had taken several towns by the Baltic Sea. Instead of trying to take them back, Charles marched directly toward Moscow. But because of very cold weather, problems with his supplies, and Russia’s scorched earth strategy, he had to turn toward Ukraine. In 1709, the Swedish army was defeated and captured at the Battle of Poltava. Charles escaped south to Bender in the Ottoman Empire. After the loss at Poltava, Poland and Denmark joined the war again, along with other countries that wanted parts of Sweden’s lands. In the next years, most of these lands fell, and Russia took over the eastern half of Sweden (today’s Finland).

Even with these losses, Charles XII tried twice to invade Norway to force Denmark–Norway out of the war. On November 30, 1718, King Charles XII was seriously injured during the siege of Fredriksten Fortress in Fredrikshald, today’s Halden. With his death, Sweden’s war efforts mostly stopped, though Russia kept attacking the Swedish coast until the Treaty of Nystad was signed in 1721. Sweden stayed a regional power with mixed success until the 19th century, but the Great Northern War ended its time as a great power.

Dominions

See also: Dominions of Sweden

After eighteen years of war, Sweden gained some small lands. It also gained control of three important rivers in northern Germany—the Oder, the Elbe, and the Weser. This helped Sweden's economy grow. Two main reasons for these small gains were France’s envy and Queen Christina’s impatience. Sweden’s help supported religious freedom for Protestants in Europe. To stay strong, Sweden kept its army ready at all times. Even though Sweden was not very wealthy and did not have a large population, it tried to act like a major power, especially with France as an ally.

Military history

See also: Military of the Swedish Empire

Sweden did well in wars because of its smart battle plans. The country kept improving its military during this time. Before King Gustavus Adolphus became king, earlier rulers tried to change the army but had trouble. They struggled to organize soldiers and didn’t have enough money for proper armor.

When Gustavus Adolphus became king, he made big changes. He built a strong army with new ways of fighting. His cavalry charged quickly in tight groups, using swords. His infantry focused on shooting from far away to weaken enemies before getting closer. These new tactics helped Sweden win many battles and influenced armies around the world. Soldiers from Finland also played an important role, making up a large part of the army.

Gallery of the Swedish monarchs during the imperial era

Here are some important kings and queens from Sweden's time as a big powerful country:

• King Gustav II Adolph "Gustavus Adolphus"

[Queen Christina](/wiki/Christina,_Queen_of_Sweden)

[King Carl X Gustav](/wiki/Charles_X_Gustav)

King Carl XI

[King Carl XII](/wiki/Charles_XII_of_Sweden)

[Queen Ulrika Eleonora](/wiki/Ulrika_Eleonora_of_Sweden)

[King Frederick I](/wiki/Frederick_I_of_Sweden)