Figure 1.--. |
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The eastern half of the Scandinavian Peninsula during Roman times was inhabited by two great Germanic tribes, the Suiones or Swedes in the north (Svealand) and the Gothones or Goths in the south (Gothia). These tribes, although united in religious belief were generally at war with each other. Previous to the 10th century, details of Swedish history or obscure. Not until about 980, are historians sure about the names of Swedish kings. Frankish misionaries in the 9th century began teaching Christianity which slowly became established. Olaf Skutkonug ruling from 993-1024 was the first Swedish to become a Christian. One of Sweden's most powerful monarchs was Eric IX ruling from 1150-60. He became the patron saint of Sweden. Eric invaded Finland, forcing Christianity upon the conquered population. Eric was killed in an attack by Denmark, initiating an extended series of wars between the two countries. The power of the nobility grew in the 14th and 15th century as Feudalism became the dominate force in the country as the power of the monarchy waned. A historic painting shows the wife of King Magnus Ericson, Queen Blanka, with her son Crown Prince Eric. The nobility deposed King Albert in 1388 and offered the crown to Margaret, Queen of Denmark and Norway. The Union of Kalmar united the crowns of the three Scandinavian kingdoms in 1397. The union endured for more than a century, but was characterized by constant tension between the Danes and Swedes. King Christian II invaded Sweden in 1520 to enforce his authority. His brutal methods, including the execution of Stockholm nobles, caused a rebellion led by Gustavus Vasa in 1521 who became Gustavus I of an independent Swedish Kingdom. Gustavus I became an hereditary monarch and severely limited the power of the nobility. Lutheranism was established as the state religion. Parts of Estonia requested protection from Sweden. After a war with Poland, Sweden acquired all of Estonia. Gustavus Adolphus, generally considered the greatest Swedish king, succeeded to the throne in 1611. He expanded Swedish territory during wars with Russia and Poland. His intervention in Germany helped to ensure the victory of protestant forces during the Thirty Years War. Charles X-XII achieved spectacular military successes, but Swedish military power was finally broken by Peter the Great of Russia at the Battle of Poltava in the Great Northern War. Sweden was in fact a small country and did not have the capacity to compete with a huge state like Russia. Charles XI had also tried to strike at fundamental Swedish political standards and impose an absolutist regime. As in most other European countries, the 16th and 17th centuries in Sweden were characterized by the emergence of an increasingly efficient and centralized administration.
Scandinavian became populated by a people who lived primarily by hunter-gathers (8,000-6,000 BC). Both hunting and fishing were very important, in pat because agricultural potential was limited by he climate. These people y used simple stone tools. Dwelling places emerged and graves have been found reveling some information about these people. The Stone Age lasted (until about 1,800 BC). These ancient people are today known as the Sami, one of the many indigenous peoples of the world. Despite their long presence in Scandinavia, they were only documented (1st century AD).
The Bronze Age was most notable in Scandinavian by an increasingly sophisticated cultural level, especially bin Denmark, but also to some extent in Sweden. The major source of information on this period is grave goods.
After about 500 BC, bronze age goods begin to disappear, heralding the onset of the Iron Age. This mean that metal became screamingly important because once iron-technology was developed it was much less expensive than bronze and it could be put to more uses by more people. They presumably acquired iron-age technology from the Celts, an Iron Age people who dominated much of Europe. We begin to see more populated settlements and agriculture became increasingly prevalent, becoming the base of the economy and thus society. Fishing continued to be important.
The eastern half of the Scandinavian Peninsula during Roman times was inhabited by two great Germanic groupings. These were the Suiones or Swedes in the north (Svealand) and the Gothones or Goths to the south (Gothia). These tribes, although united in religious belief and cultural attributes were generally at war with each other. We know little about the Swedes, because they unlike the Goths were not in contact with the Romans.
While often covered briefly in national histories, it should be stressed that the medieval era is the longest period in the history of European countries, about a thousand years--basically an entire millennium. Swedish medieval history is different than that of the rest of he German community to the south. This was because they were outside the Roman cultural sphere, a people largely unknown to the Romans. This is important not only bcause there culture was little influenced by classical culture Greece and Rome). As a result, are no Roman accounts available. And of course the northern Germans had no written language of their own. As a result, very little is know about these people during the early-medieval era. We note many historians do not even mention Sweden until the Vikings emerged from the dark, ice-bound misty haunts of northern Europe. Scandinavians would have traded with medieval Europe as well as the Baltic peoples and Russians. The Western Scandinavians were more oriented toward Western Europe, while the eastern Scandinavians or Swedes were oriented toward Eastern Europe and beyond. The Viking Era marked Sweden's emergence as a major power in Northern Europe (circa 800-1050). This was less evident in Western Europe which had to contend with the Norwegian and Danish Vikings. The establishment of Christianity transformed the Swedish cultural and political landscape, bringing Sweden in to wider European culture (11th century). The Kalmar Union (1397-1523) united Sweden, Denmark, and Norway under a single monarchy. The Swedish nobility with the rise of Feudalism gained influence during the medieval period, impacting governance and land ownership. The economic expansion of the late-medieval period was destroyed by the Black Death (1350). The Hanseatic League played a role in Sweden's economic recovery. Gustav Vasa launched a rebellion ending the Kalmar Union and established an independent hereditary monarchy (1520).
King Gustavus Vasa (1523-60) in many ways laid the foundation of the modern Swedish state. He launched a rebellion against the Danes who were widely seen as abusing and over taxing by many Swedes. On the church green in Mora, Gustav Vasa urged the men of the town take up arms and free Sweden from Danish rule (1520). The resulting conflict is known variously as the Swedish War of Liberation, The Liberation War, Gustav Vasa's Rebellion, or the Swedish War of Secession. It was central event Swedish history. Gustav Vasa, a nobleman not in the royal line, led a rebellion against Danish King Christian II who also held the Swedish crown. The war resulted in the deposition of King Christian II from the throne of Sweden, effectively ending the Kalmar Union that had united Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. The conflict played a central role in shaping Sweden's national identity. Vasa became Gustavus I of an independent Swedish Kingdom. Gustavus became an hereditary monarch and in addition to achieving independence, reshaped the political ad social structure of Sweden. He significantly limited the power of the nobility. He nationalized the Church and seized its extensive estates. At the time agriculture was the backbone of the economy and monasteries and other church estate an important part of it. This occured just as Luther had inadvertently launched the Protestant Reformation in Germany (1517). This was a few years before King Henry VIII in England dissolved the monasteries for different reasons (1536-41). Although for both it meant access to vast wealth. Gustavus enthusiastically joined he Protestant Reformation which in effect legitimized his action against the Roman Church. Breaking with the Church could have been dangerous on his own, but the spread of Protestantism in Northern Europe made this a safe and profitable step, helping to enhance Gustavus' authority. Gustavus concentrated power in the hands of the hands of a hereditary monarchy. And Sweden would become the powerhouse of northern Europe.
The Protestant Revolution was the religious struggle during the 16th and 17th century which began as an effort to reform the Catholic Church and ended with the splintering of the Western Christendom into the Catholic and Protestant churches. While the Reformation began in Germany, Sweden would play an important role. Protestantism moved north into Scandinavia from northern Germany. Here the process was much more peaceful than in Germany and more parlimentarian. Luther's ideas reached Sweden almost immediately (1520). The advent of the printing press (15th century) mean that ideas could be rapidly spread. The monarchies in both Denmark and Sweden came to support the Reformation. These were the only states outside Germany where Lutheranism became the state religion. Olaus and Laurentius Petri helped spread the Lutheran faith in Sweden. The Swedish Diet at an early stage of the Reformation adopted Lutheranism with the support of King Gustavuis I (1527). The Reformation in Sweden was closely associated with the move toward independence. A full translation of the Bible into Swedish soon followed (1541). The process was much the same in Denmark. A Danish national assembly revoked the authority of Catholic bishops (1536). As Denmark at the time controlled Iceland and Norway, they were also affected. King Christian III requested that Johann Bugenhagen, a friend of Luther, organize a Danish Lutheran Church on the basis of the Augsburg Confession. The conversion of Scandinavia was important to the success of the Reformation in Germany. Not only were the northern German princes not surrounded by Catholics, but they now had potential northern allies. The Reformation also made inroads in Estonia. Parts of Estonia requested protection from Sweden. After a war with Poland, Sweden acquired all of Estonia.
Sweden was a country of substantial military potential. Sweden would not look kindly on the suppression of their fellow Lutherans. King Gustavus Adolphus also had strong territorial concerns. Gustavus was unprepared to allow the Emperor reimpose Catholicism in norther Germany or gain control of the Baltic ports. Swedish or German Protestant control of the Baltic ports guaranteed Swedish security. The Swedes for their part had dreams of turning the Baltic into a Swedish lake. As it was the Swedish economy was highly dependent on commerce with the southern Baltic ports. Much of the royal income came from Baltic commerce. The religious issue was also important. Not only because Protestantism in Sweden was threatened, but because Gustavus Adolphus and other Swedes were disturbed about the tales of actions against Protestants in Germany. Gustavus Adolphus, generally considered the greatest Swedish king, succeed to the throne in 1611. He expanded Swedish territory during wars with Russia and Poland. His intervention in Germany helped to ensure the victory of protestant forces during the Thirty Years War.
The Great Northern War was the first war of the 18th century. It extended over two decades and was fought in different phases as battlefields and beligerants shifted. The phases of the War cnsisted of 1700-06, 1707-09, 1709-14, 1714-18, and 1718-21. The origins of the War began in the 1690s. At the time Sweden was the dominant power in northeastern Europe. A coaltion (Russia, Denmark, and Saxony-Poland) gradually formed to resist Sweden (1697-99). When Charles XII assumed the throne at only age 15, it seemed an opportunity to deal with Sweden which controlled a broad area of northeastern Europe. Charles V of Denmark had designs on Scania and other territories on the northern coast of the Baltic that was once Danish territory. Denmark also wanted to seize the Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp which Sweden now controlled. Agustus II of Saxony-Poland wanted Livonia on the Baltic. Augustus was known as Augustus the Strong. He was the Elector Frederick Augustus of Saxony within the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected king of Poland (1697). Possession of Livonia (Latvia) would enable Augustus to significantly, Peter, reduced Swedish commercial influence in the Baltic. Augustus saw the potential of combining Saxony's productive know how with Polish raw materials, but Swedish commercial power impaired Augustus' plans. Russia's dynamic young Tsar, Peter, had more limited goals. He primarily wanted an outlet on the Baltic. And Sweden possession of Karelia/Ingria (southern Finland) and Estonia blocked Peter's westward advancement.
Charles XI had also tried to strike at fundamental Swedish political standards and impose an absolutist regime. As in most other European countries, the 16th and 17th centuries in Sweden were characterized by the emergence of an increasingly efficient and centralized administration.
Gustavus IV was only 13 years old when his father was assassinated. A regent ruled until he was proclaimed king in 1800. Gustavus was bitterly deposed to Napoleon, and joined an alliance with Russia, Austria, and Great Britain to oppose him. The Russians, however, deserted the coalition and instead invaded Finland, threatening Sweden itself. An army revolt deposed Gustavus in 1809. The Riksdag formulated a new constitution and elected Gustavus IV's uncle as King Charles XII. The Constitution of 1809, which was in force right up until 1975 and then was the second oldest Constitution in the world after the United States, was formulated in accordance with Montesquieu's theory of the separation of powers, taking into account constitutional developments in Sweden. The King was to be the sole ruler of the realm, but had at his side a Council of Ministers, who must countersign, i.e. approve, all decisions. Legislative power was divided equally between the King and the Riksdag, while the Riksdag alone could levy taxes.Territory was ceded to Russia and a pro-Napoleonic policy adopted. Charles was, however, aging and childless. A successor to the throne had to be found. First, the Danish prince, Karl August of Augustenborg, was chosen, but he died shortly after his arrival in Sweden. In an effort to appease Napoleon, the Riksdag chose one of Napoleon's trusted marshals as crown prince--Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, Prince of Pontecorvo. The marshal accepted. One of the reasons for choosing Prince Bernadotte was a desire for an alliance with France and Napoleon in the hope of gaining the latter's support for winning Finland back from Russia. After his arrival in Sweden, Prince Bernadotte soon became the dominate force in Sweden, in reality Regent of the Realm. In 1812, he initiated quite a different policy, joined the coalition against Napoleon and in the Kiel peace treaty won Norway from Denmark and after a short campaign forced Norway to enter into a union with Sweden in 1814. This union was not dissolved until 1905.
Swedish emigration began as early as the 17th century. Swedes even established a colony in North America--modern Delaware. The tidal wave of Swedish emigration, however, began much later and was caused by the agricultural crisis in Sweden. Swedish farmers had large families and the family land was often divided among the sons. This mean that over time generations of divided inheritances led to the fragmenting of farms into holdings that were so small that they could not support a family. Swedes began to farm marginal land. Others were forced to sell the small holdings and become tenant farmers. The cottages of these tenant farmers and landless laborers grew in number and the population continued to increase. Parishes records report stunning increases in population. And as the population of landless peasants increased, land owners could offer lower wages.
One historian describe mid-19th century Sweden as "a land of poverty, want and social frustration." There were efforts to address the problem, including the state-supported enclosure movement, farm schools and improved farming methods. An agricultural system which developed over a millennia could not be easily reformed.
Political liberals were frustrated by the difficulties of reform. The rural population resisted reform just as did bureaucratic conservatism. The "father of Swedish emigration", Gustav Unonius, concluded that there was no future in Sweden and began to look west to America. The first organized emigrant groups started to arrive in New York (1840s). This was same time that the Irish began arriving because of the potato famine. The Swedes came in smaller numbers because the crisis was not as great as in Ireland. Not all Swedish emigrants went to America, but it was the principal destination. And the Swedes unlike the Irish, did not remain in the major Eastern cities cities, but moved west into Iowa and Illinois becoming Homesteaders and setting up farms. Eventually about 1.3 million Swedes emigrated until American emigration laws were changes after World War I in the 1920s. Sweden became the seventh most important emigrant group. The numbers were particularly important in terns of the percentage of the Swedish population. Only the British Isles (because vof Ireland) and Norway sent a greater proportion of their population to America. The impact on Sweden was greatest in the early 20th century, just before World War I. An estimated 1.4 million Swedish first and second generation immigrants were recorded as living in the United States. The entire population of Sweden at the time was only 5.5 million.
The Swedish monarchy in the 19th century evolved into a parliamentary democracy. Sweden was in the 20th century a politically stable country with only minor extremist factions. There was in Sweden neither an important Communist or Fascist party that generated support for participation in the War. Despite his defeat in the struggle for the personal power of the King, Gustaf V won the affection of his people during his long reign, 1907-1950. During World War II, King Gustaf symbolized the unity of the nation. This meant that the monarchy was rooted in the personal popularity of the King. King Gustavus V died after the War at Drottningholm near Stockholm (1950).
The kings of the three Scandinavian countries met in Malmö to make a joint declaration of absolute neutrality (December 1914). While neutral, the Swedish public had considerable sympathy for the Germans. King Gustav V in particular favored the Germans. He delivered a speech written by explorer Sven Hedin which seem to favor entering the war on Germany's side (February 6, 1915). The Swedish public, however, had no desire to enter the War and thus Sweden remained neutral. Sweden had significant trade links with Germany. Sweden in particular shipped iron ore to Germany which supported the German armaments industry. The Baltic was essentially a German lake and the Royal Navy could not interdict these shipments. Some of the ore shipments, however, were shipped through Norwegian ports. The Royal Navy could interdict these shipments. Diplomatic pressure from Britain and France had some success in reducing other Swedish shipments to Germany.
Sweden was the only Scandinavian country and one of the few European countries not to be drawn into World War II. Like many countries, Sweden proclaimed its neutrality. Sweden remained neutral in World war I and hoped to do so again after World war II broke out in Europe. When the NAZIs invaded Denmark and Norway (April 1940), it was expected that Sweden would be next. In the end no military action took place on Swedish soil, but tat does not mean that Sweden was not affected by the War and played a part in it. Sweden acceded to German demands to use the Swedish railroad system to move men and material into Norway, but only after the Germans were securely in control of the country. When the NAZIs invaded Denmark and Norway (April 1940), it was expected that Sweden would be next. We do not know to what extent Hitler considered invading Sweden and what dissuaded him from doing so. The NAZIs finally concluded that Sweden would prove more useful as a neutral country. Sweden's primary role in the War was to supply raw materials (mineral ores, especially iron ore), finished steel, and manufactured goods to NAZI Germany. Surrounded by the NAZIs, Sweden had few options. Cut off from other trading partners, Sweden proceeded to expand trade with the Germans and Swedish raw materials supported the German war effort until late in the war.
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