The early Vasa kings created the Swedish state. Its chief characteristic was a strong monarchy in a rather rustic and backward economy (with the mining industry a noteworthy exception). Its chief weaknesses were opposition from the high nobility and a thirst for revenge on Denmark. In the following decades Sweden relegated Denmark to second place in the north and became a most aggressive great power. The reign of Gustav II Adolf
Gustav II Adolf (Gustavus II Adolphus; ruled 1611–32) was only 16 years old when his father, Charles IX, died, so the actual leadership passed to the aristocrat Axel Oxenstierna and the council. The regency period lasted only a few months, however, before Gustav Adolf took full power. After the Kalmar War the king joined in organizing the Swedes for the next war. Civil servants and officers were selected exclusively from among the nobility. A standing army was organized. The infantry was conscripted among the peasants and regularly trained by officers who lived on the king’s farms among their soldiers; only the cavalry and the navy were professional. Swedish copper and iron were made into the best firearms of the period. The Swedish field artillery proved especially mobile and effective. The central administration was professionalized and became a model of efficiency; directing it were members of the high nobility, working together in collegiate bodies. The new organization of the Swedish administration, parts of which still exist, was confirmed by the constitution adopted in 1634.
Axel Oxenstierna, detail of an oil painting by David Beck; in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.Courtesy of the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm
When Gustav II Adolf ascended the throne, the country was already embroiled in wars with Denmark, Russia, and Poland. As noted above, the war with Denmark was concluded by the Peace of Knäred with some losses for Sweden. The war with Russia was fought more successfully, however, with Swedish armies even reaching Moscow. Russia was thereby forced to agree to the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617, by the terms of which Sweden acquired the provinces of Ingria and Kexholm. The war with Poland continued into the 1620s, and after several campaigns in the Baltic States it was successfully concluded in 1629 by the Truce of Altmark, by which Sweden received Livonia and the right to the customs of key Baltic harbours. At about the same time, Gustav Adolf negotiated with France for its support against the German emperor, whose armies threatened the south shores of the Baltic. In 1630 Gustav Adolf with his Swedish army landed in northern Germany, joining in the Thirty Years’ War. In 1631 Sweden concluded its treaty with France, and, at Breitenfeld in that same year, the Swedish army practically annihilated the imperial forces under the famous Bavarian general the Count von Tilly.
Gustav II Adolf, portrait by Matthäus Merian the Elder, 1632; in Skokloster, Uppland, Sweden.Courtesy of the Svenska Portrattarkivet, Stockholm
Gustav Adolf’s German campaign swept southward, and by late 1631 he had taken Mainz and Frankfurt am Main. By the spring and summer of 1632, he had marched through Bavaria, where Nürnberg, Augsburg, and Munich also fell. At Lützen on November 6, Gustav Adolf’s Swedish forces engaged the imperial army led by Albrecht von Wallenstein, and a fierce battle ensued. The encounter resulted in an important tactical victory for Sweden but at great cost: Gustav Adolf was killed in battle.
Gustav Adolf’s only heir, his daughter Christina, had not reached her sixth birthday at the time of her father’s death. A council of the high nobility led by the chancellor Axel Oxenstierna controlled the regency during her minority. The council resolved to carry on the war against Germany despite its great cost and a diminishing German threat. Warfare through the mid-17th century
For 16 more years the war continued with varying success. The Swedish armies, which at the beginning of the war were composed largely of Swedish peasants, consisted during its later stages mostly of mercenaries from Germany, Scotland, and England. Many foreign officers took up permanent residence in Sweden and were ennobled. At the Peace of Westphalia, which in 1648 ended the war, Sweden was granted most of Pomerania and other territorial concessions along the Baltic and the North Sea coasts, but the Polish ports had to be relinquished.
The Swedish empire in 1660.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Sweden’s strategic position was now entirely changed, and in a short war with Denmark (1643–45) Sweden demonstrated its military superiority and established its position as the dominant power in the Baltic region. During the reign of Queen Christina (ruled 1644–54), the transfer of crown property to the nobility, which had begun as an instrument to finance the wars, continued on an increasing scale. The queen, however, proved to have a remarkably independent will. She refused to marry, and she used the Diet and the threat of the Reduction (return of crown properties) to have her first cousin, Charles Gustav of the Palatinate, recognized as her heir to the throne. Then Christina, the daughter of the “saviour of Protestantism,” abdicated, converted publicly to Catholicism, and went to Rome, where she lived the rest of her life.
In 1655 Charles X Gustav (ruled 1654–60) initiated a campaign (known as the First Northern War) in Poland and conquered most of the country. When in 1657 the resistance grew stronger, Denmark used the opportunity to declare war. Charles Gustav then turned his forces toward Denmark. In one of the most daring exploits in military history, he led his troops over the straits called the Belts, which only rarely freeze over, and scored a quick victory over the Danes. In the Peace of Roskilde that followed in February 1658, Sweden acquired the provinces of Skåne, Halland, Blekinge, and Bohuslän, thus establishing the country’s modern-day boundaries. In addition, Sweden received Trondheim and the island of Bornholm, both of which were lost two years later when Charles Gustav, in a second war against Denmark, tried to take the entire country and achieve his goal of unifying Scandinavia. The king suddenly died after failing to capture Copenhagen.
Charles X Gustav, detail from a portrait by Sebastian Bourdon; in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.Courtesy of the Svenska Portrattarkivet, Stockholm
Charles XI, only four years old at his father’s death, became king. During the long regency that followed, the influence of the high nobility under the chancellor Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie grew to a degree that threatened the freedom of the peasants and the finances of the crown. In 1672, at age 17, Charles XI led a difficult offensive against Denmark for possession of the southern provinces. Peace was finally agreed to in 1679 with no advantage for either side; Charles was then faced with the enormous problem of reorganizing the economy and the administration of the country.
Magnus De la Gardie, detail from an oil painting by Hendrik Münnichhofen after a portrait attributed to David Beck; in Gripsholm Castle, Sweden.Courtesy of the Svenska Portrattarkivet, Stockholm
Impact of continuous warfare
A generation of continuous warfare had had a profound impact on Swedish society. The Swedish nobility had gained about two-thirds of Swedish and Finnish soil through the transfer of crown property and of royal ground taxes. The nobles wanted to perpetuate this process and to introduce the same feudal structure that they had seen and used in their annexations in the Baltic area.