History of Sweden
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| History of Sweden |
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[edit] Pre-historic age: 9,000–500 BC
Sweden, as well as the adjacent country Norway, has a high concentration of petroglyphs (ristningar[1] or hällristningar[2] in Swedish) throughout the country, with the highest concentration in the province of Bohuslän. The earliest images can, however, be found in the northern province of Jämtland, dating from 9000 BC.[citation needed] They depict wild animals such as elk, reindeer, bears and seals.[citation needed] The period 2300–500 BC was the most intensive carving period, with carvings of agriculture, warfare, ships, domesticated animals, etc.[citation needed] Also, petroglyphs with themes of sexual nature have been found in Bohuslän; these are dated from 800–500 BC.[citation needed]
[edit] Early Swedish history
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Sweden was founded sometime during the 13th century, but we know nothing of how and exactly when. If it had any connections with previous power structures, it was founded by local strongmen in Götaland or by Danish emissaries on the behest of the Danish kings. The newly founded state of Sweden would come to include what today is known as Finland. Queen Margaret I of Denmark united the Nordic countries in the Kalmar Union in 1397. Continual tension within the countries and within the union gradually led to open conflict between the Swedes and the Danes in the 15th century. The union's final disintegration in the early 16th century brought on a long-lived rivalry between Denmark on one side and Sweden on the other.The Swedish flag is blue and yellow.
[edit] Modern Sweden: 1523
In the 16th century, Gustav Vasa fought for an independent Sweden, crushing an attempt to restore the Kalmar Union and laying the foundation for modern Sweden. At the same time, he broke with the Roman Catholic Church and established the Reformation.
[edit] The rise of Sweden as a great power: 1600
After winning wars against Denmark-Norway, Russia, and Poland during the 17th century, Sweden emerged as a Great Power, despite having scarcely more than 1 million inhabitants. Its contributions during the Thirty Years' War under Gustavus Adolphus helped determine the political, as well as the religious, balance of power in Europe.
[edit] The Swedish Empire: 1648
By the treaties of Brömsebro, 1645, and Roskilde, 1658, Sweden acquired important provinces of Denmark and Norway. Following the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Sweden ruled Ingria, in which Saint Petersburg later would be founded, Estonia, Livonia, and important coastal towns and other areas of northern Germany.
[edit] The Great War: 1700
Russia, Saxony-Poland, and Denmark-Norway pooled their power in 1700 and attacked the Swedish empire. Although the young Swedish King Charles XII won spectacular victories in the early years of the Great Northern War, his plan to attack Moscow and force Russia into peace proved too ambitious; he was shot during the siege of Frederiksten fortress in Norway in 1718. In the subsequent peace treaties, the allied powers, joined by Prussia and by England-Hanover, ended Sweden's reign as a great power and introduced a period of limited monarchy under parliamentary rule.
[edit] Absolute monarchy: 1772
Following half a century of parliamentary domination came the reaction. A bloody coup d'état perpetrated by King Gustav III brought back absolute monarchy, a state of affairs that would last until involvement in the Napoleonic wars forced Sweden to cede Finland to Russia in 1809.
[edit] Union with Norway: 1814
The following year, the Swedish King's adopted heir, French Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, was elected Crown Prince Charles by the Riksdag. In 1813, his forces joined the allies against Napoleon. In the Treaty of Kiel, the king of Denmark-Norway ceded Norway to the Swedish king. Norway, however, declared its independence, adopted a constitution and chose a new king. Sweden invaded Norway to enforce the terms of the Kiel treaty. After a short war, the peace of Moss established a personal union between the two states. The union lasted until 1905, when it was peacefully dissolved at Norway's request.
[edit] Modernization of Sweden: 1866
Sweden's predominantly agricultural economy shifted gradually from village to private farm-based agriculture during the Industrial Revolution, but this change failed to bring economic and social improvements commensurate with the rate of population growth. About 1 million Swedes emigrated to the United States between 1850 and 1890. The 19th century was marked by the emergence of a liberal opposition press, the abolition of guild monopolies in trade and manufacturing in favour of free enterprise, the introduction of taxation and voting reforms, the installation of national military service, and the rise in the electorate of three major party groups – Social Democrat, Liberal, and Conservative.
[edit] Industrialization of Sweden: 1914
During and after World War I, in which Sweden remained neutral, the country benefitted from the world-wide demand for Swedish steel, ball bearings, wood pulp, and matches. Post-war prosperity provided the foundations for the social welfare policies characteristic of modern Sweden. Foreign policy concerns in the 1930s centered on Soviet and German expansionism, which stimulated abortive efforts at Nordic defence co-operation. Sweden followed a policy of armed neutrality during World War II and currently remains non-aligned.
[edit] Post-war Sweden: 1945
Sweden became a member of the European Union in 1995. In 2003, the majority of the population voted "No" on adopting the Euro as the country's official currency.
[edit] See also
- History of Scandinavia
- History of Finland
- History of Europe
- History of the European Union
- History of present-day nations and states
[edit] External links
- Sweden Chronology World History Database
- History of Sweden: Primary Documents
- Historical Atlas of Sweden
- Sweden Chronology World History Database
[edit] References
- ^ Papardoukakis, Antonis. "Ristningar på mesolitiska föremål och "neolitiska" skifferföremål från Sverige." (1993) UPARC
- ^ Nordström, Patrik. "Arkeologiska undersökningar invid hällristningar. Analys av 16 utgrävningar invid hällristningar i Sverige och Norge." (1995) STARC
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