Swedish Empire
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| History of Sweden |
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Sweden was, between 1611 and 1718, one of the great powers of Europe. In modern historiography this period is known as the Swedish Empire, or Stormaktstiden.
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[edit] The Peace of Westphalia
- See also: Peace of Westphalia and Rise of Sweden as a Great Power
At the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War, the Peace of Westphalia Congress in 1648 granted Sweden territories as war reparations. Sweden demanded Silesia, Pomerania (which had been in her possession for nearly twenty years), and a war indemnity of 20,000,000 Riksdaler.
Through the efforts of Axel Oxenstierna and Johan Banér it obtained:
- Upper Pomerania, with the islands of Rügen and Usedom;
- a strip of Lower Pomerania on the right side of the Oder, including the towns of Stettin, Garz, Damm and Gollnow;
- the isle of Wollin, with the right of succession to the rest of Lower Pomerania in the case of the extinction of the Brandenburg Hohenzollerns;
- the town of Wismar with the districts of Pod and Neukloster;
- the secularized bishoprics of Bremen-Verden with the town of Wildeshausen; and
- 5,000,000 Riksdaler.
These German possessions were to be held as fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire. This allowed Sweden a vote in the Imperial Diet and to "direct" the Lower Saxon Circle alternately with Brandenburg. France and Sweden, moreover, became joint guarantors of the treaty with the Holy Roman Emperor, and were entrusted with carrying out its provisions, as enacted by the executive congress of Nuremberg in 1650.
[edit] Dominions
- See also: Dominions of Sweden
As a result of eighteen years of war, Sweden gained small and scattered possessions, but had secured control of three principal rivers in north Germany — the Oder, the Elbe and the Weser — and gained toll-collection rights for those great commercial arteries. Two principle reasons for the small reparations were France's jealousy and Queen Christina of Sweden's impatience. As a result of Sweden's intervention, Sweden secured religious liberty in Europe for Protestants; and this remains Sweden's greatest political achievement, becoming the recognized leader of Continental Protestantism for 70 years, until the Empire's collapse. The elevation of Sweden to the rank of an imperial power required that it remain a military monarchy, armed for possible emergency. Sweden's poverty and sparse population meant the country was ill-suited for imperial status. However, in the middle of the 17th century, with France as a firm ally, the incompatibility between her powers and her pretensions was not so obvious.
[edit] Domestic Consolidation
For the moment, Sweden held a tenuous position of leadership. Careful statesmanship might mean permanent dominion on the Baltic shore, but left little room for mistakes. Unfortunately the extravagance of Gustavus Adolphus's two immediate successors, Christina and Charles X, caused great difficulties for the new empire.
Christina's financial extravagance brought the state to the verge of bankruptcy, and the financial difficulties caused public unrest before her abdication. The Swedish people feared that the external, artificial greatness of their country might be purchased with the loss of their civil and political liberties. The Swedish people looked to a new king to address the problem of too much power vested in the nobility.
Charles X was a strong arbiter between the people and the nobility. Primarily a soldier, he directed his ambition towards military glory; but he was also an unusually sharp-sighted politician. While placing great emphasis on military strength, he also understood that domestic unity was necessary for a powerful foreign policy.
The most pressing domestic question was the "Reduktion", or restitution of alienated crown lands. At the Riksdag of the Estates of 1655, the king proposed that noble holders of crown property should either: 1) pay an annual sum of 200,000 Riksdaler out of the lands they would receive, or 2) surrender a fourth of the property itself, worth approximately 800,000 Riksdaler. The nobility wished to avoid taxation and stipulated that November 6, 1632, the day of Gustavus Adolphus's death, should be the limit to which retrospective taxes could be collected, and that there should be no further restitution of alienated crown property. Against this, the over-taxed lower estates protested and the Diet had to be suspended. The king intervened; not to quell the commons, as the senate insisted, but to compel the nobility to give way. He proposed a special committee to investigate the matter before the meeting of the next Riksdag, and a proportional contribution should be levied on all classes in the meantime. Both groups accepted this arrangement.
Charles X had done his best recover from the financial extravagance of Christina. However, his own desire for military glory may have caused problems for his country. In three days, he persuaded the Swedish estates of the potential of his attack on Poland. However, when he left Stockholm for Warsaw, on the July 10, 1654, he gained more personal glory than advantage for his country. The Polish War expanded into a general European war. He achieved passage over the Belts and emerged triumphant, only to die of sheer exhaustion. Immediately after his death, the regency appointed to govern Sweden during the minority of his only son and successor, Charles XI of Sweden (who was four years old) moved quickly to end the war with Sweden's numerous enemies, which now included Russia, Poland, Brandenburg, and Denmark.
[edit] The Peace of Oliva
- See also: Northern Wars
The Peace of Oliva on May 3, 1660, put an end to the long feud with Poland. French mediation of this treaty also ended the quarrel between Sweden and the emperor and the elector of Brandenburg. This treaty confirmed both Sweden's possession of Livonia, and the elector of Brandenburg's sovereignty over East Prussia; and the king of Poland renounced all claim to the Swedish crown. The treaty compelled Denmark-Norway to reopen direct negotiations with Sweden. Eventually under the peace of Copenhagen, May 27, 1660, Denmark-Norway ceded the three Scanian provinces to Sweden but received the Dano-Norwegian province of Trøndelag and the islands of Bornholm and Anholt which had been surrendered by the Treaty of Roskilde two years previously. Denmark-Norway was also compelled to recognize the independence of the dukes of Holstein-Gottorp. The Russo-Swedish War, 1656–1658, was terminated by the Peace of Kardis on July 2, 1661 by the Treaty of Stolbovo, through which the tsar surrendered the Baltic provinces to Sweden — Ingria, Estonia, and Kexholm.
Thus, Sweden emerged from the war not only a military power, but also one of the largest states of Europe, possessing about twice as much territory as modern Sweden. The land area of Sweden was 440,000 square km, 18,000 square km larger than the German Empire in the beginning of the twentieth century. While modern Sweden is bounded by the Baltic, during the 17th century the Baltic formed a bond between various widely dispersed dominions. All the islands in the Baltic, except the Danish group, belonged to Sweden. The estuaries of all the great German rivers lay within Swedish territory, which also included two-thirds of Lake Ladoga and one-half of Lake Peipus. Stockholm, the capital, lay in the very centre of the empire, whose second greatest city was Riga, on the other side of the sea. This empire contained less than a third of the population of modern Sweden — at only 2,500,000 people, or about 56 people per square km. Further, Sweden's new boundaries divided ethnic groups, with powerful neighboring countries looking for an opportunity to reunite them.
[edit] Danish defeat
- See also: Northern Wars
Sweden had now won considerable political influence, which was lessened by the loss of moral prestige. On Charles X's accession in 1655, Sweden's neighbours may have become allies, however territorial loss combined with the loss of religious liberty lessened their ties to Sweden. At Charles X's death, five years later, Sweden had not only damaged its newly claimed territories but also had become hated by the surrounding states for its lack of defense of Protestantism. Charles' attempt to gain the favor of the Brandenburgs by dividing Poland not only reversed his original policy, but also created a new southern rival almost as dangerous as Denmark in the west.
In 1660, after five years warfare, Sweden had obtained peace and the opportunity to organize and develop the new empire. Unfortunately, the fifteen-year regency which followed Charles X was unable to maneuver through the situation it faced. The administration was internally divided and hindered by the lack of unity and talent among its statesmen. The two major rivals were the military-aristocratic party headed by Magnus de la Gardie, and the party of peace and economy led by Johan Gyllenstierna. The aristocratic group prevailed, and brought with it a decline of morality which made it notorious to its neighbors. The administration was noted for sloth and carelessness leading to a general neglect of business. Additionally, government corruption led Sweden to be hired by foreign powers. This "subsidy policy" dates from the Treaty of Fontainebleau of 1661, through which Sweden, in exchange for a considerable sum of money, supported the French candidate for the Polish throne. Sweden was torn between Louis XIV of France and his adversaries in plans to control the Spanish Netherlands. The anti-French faction prevailed; and in April 1668 Sweden acceded to the Triple Alliance, which ended the French acquisitions through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. For the next four years, Sweden remained true to the Triple Alliance; but, in 1672, Louis XIV succeeded in isolating the Dutch Republic and regaining Sweden as an ally. By the Treaty of Stockholm on April 14, 1672 Sweden entered an agreement with the French to protect the Netherlands from German claims in return for 400,000 crowns per annum in peace and 600,000 in war-time.
[edit] The Scanian War
- See also: Scanian War
In 1674, Louis XIV called upon Sweden to invade Brandenburg. In May 1675, a Swedish army advanced into the Mark, but on June 18 was defeated at Fehrbellin, and retreated to Demmin. The Fehrbellin affair was a mere skirmish, with actual casualties amounting to fewer than 600 men, but it made Sweden appear vulnerable and enabled neighboring countries to attack in the Scanian War.
At this point, the empire began to crumble. In 1675, Pomerania and the Duchy of Bremen were taken by the Brandenburgers, Austrians, and Danes. In December 1677, the elector of Brandenburg captured Stettin. Stralsund fell on October 15, 1678. Greifswald, Sweden's last possession on the continent, was lost on November 5. A defensive alliance with John III of Poland, was rendered inoperative on August 4, 1677 by the annihilation of Sweden's sea-power, the Battle of Öland, June 17, 1676; Battle of Fehmarn, June 1677, and the difficulties of the Polish king.
Through homeland military successes of the young Swedish king and the diplomatic activity of Louis XIV, a peace congress began its sessions at Nijmwegenin March 1677; and in the beginning of April 1678 the French king dictated the terms of a peace. One of his chief conditions was the complete restitution of Sweden, as he needed a strong Swedish ally. However, Charles XI refused to go along with ceding territories to its enemies, which led the French king to negotiate on behalf of Sweden without its consent. By the Treaties of Nijmegen, on February 7 and of St. Germain, on June 29, 1679, Sweden received full restitution of its German territory. On September 2 by the Peace of Fontainebleau confirmed by the subsequent Peace of Lund, on October 4, 1679, Denmark was also forced to cede land back to Sweden. While Sweden could never have gained these concession alone, Charles XI formed a personal dislike of the French king and developed a strong anti-French bias.
[edit] Charles XI
- See also: Charles XI of Sweden
The remainder of the reign of Charles XI is remarkable for a revolution, in which the government of Sweden was transformed to a semi-absolute monarchy. The king emerged from the war convinced that if Sweden were to retain its position as a great power it needed to radically reform its whole economic system, and circumscribe the power of the aristocracy. Charles XI felt that he could now that he had allies in the lower orders to support him.
The Riksdag of Stockholm, October 1680, began a new era of Swedish history. On the motion of the Estate of Peasants the question of the recovery of the alienated crown lands was brought before the Riksdag, and a resolution of the Diet directed that all countships, baronies, domains, manors and other estates producing an annual rent of more than a certain amount per annum should revert to the Crown. The same Riksdag decided that the king was not bound by any particular constitution, but only by law and statutes, and not even obligated to consult the Privy Council, but was to be regarded as a sovereign lord. The Privy Council changed its official title from Riksråd (council of state) to Kungligt råd (royal council); a visible sign that the councillors were no longer the king's colleagues, but rather his servants.
Thus, Sweden had become an absolute monarchy, but enacted the right of the Swedish people, in parliament, to be consulted on all important matters. The Riksdag, completely overshadowed by the throne, little more than register the royal decrees during the reign of Charles XI of Sweden; but, it continued to exist as an essential part of the government. Moreover, this transfer of authority was a voluntary act. The people, knowing the king to be their ally, trusted and cooperated with him. The Riksdag of 1682 declared that the king was empowered to bestow fiefs, and take them back again, making the king the disposer of his subjects' temporal property. Presently, this new principle of autocracy was extended to the king's legislative authority, when on December 9, 1682, all four estates not only confirmed the king held the legislative powers enjoyed by his predecessors, but even gave him the right of interpreting and amending the common law.
The recovery of the alienated crown lands occupied Charles XI for the rest of his life. He created a commission, which was ultimately converted into a permanent department of state. It acted on the principle that the titles of all private landed estates might be called in question, because at some time or other they must have belonged to the Crown; and the burden of proof of ownership lay with the actual owner of the property, not the Crown. The amount of revenue accruing to the Crown from the whole "Reduktion" is impossible to estimate; but by these means, combined with careful management and rigid economy, Charles XI reduced the national debt by three quarters.
Charles XI re-established on a broader basis the reorganization of the "indelningsverk" — a system of military tenure where national forces were bound to the soil. This tied to the "rust hail tenure", under which the tenants, instead of paying rent, were obliged to equip and maintain a cavalry soldier and horse; while the knekthållare supplied duly equipped foot soldiers. Soldiers were provided with holdings on which they lived in times of peace. Formerly, ordinary conscription had existed alongside this indelning, or distribution system; but it had proved inadequate as well as highly unpopular; and in 1682 Charles XI came ended it in favor of an extended distribution system. The Swedish Royal Navy was entirely remodelled; and, the recent war having demonstrated the unsuitability of Stockholm as a naval station, the construction of a new arsenal was begun at Karlskrona. After seventeen years of financial difficulties, the twofold enterprise was completed. At the death of Charles XI Sweden could boast of a fleet of forty-three three-deckers, manned by 11,000 men and armed with 2,648 guns, and one of the finest arsenals in the world.
See also: History of Finland, History of Denmark, History of Poland, Swedish colonial empire
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
