Sweden: Growth of the Swedish State

The founder of the modern Swedish state, Gustavus eliminated the influence of the Hanseatic League in Sweden, strengthened the central authority, made (1544) the kingship hereditary in the Vasa dynasty, and made Lutheranism the state religion. However, he was unable to regain the southern provinces, held by Denmark. His successor, Eric XIV (reigned 1560–68), began the Swedish conquest of Livonia by taking (1561) its northern section (Estonia).

Swedish interests in E Europe were further enhanced by the marriage of John III (reigned 1569–92), Eric's successor, to the sister of Sigismund II of Poland. Their son, Sigismund III of Poland, was a Roman Catholic; his accession (1592) to the Swedish throne was deeply resented by the Protestant Swedes. He was deposed in 1599, and his uncle became regent and then king of Sweden as Charles IX (reigned 1607–11).

Charles's son, Gustavus II (Gustavus Adolphus; reigned 1611–32), made Sweden a great European power. Through a war with Russia, he acquired (1617) Ingermanland and Karelia; from Poland he took nearly all of Livonia. By his victories at Breitenfeld (1631) and Lützen (1632) in the Thirty Years War, Gustavus made Sweden the dominant Protestant power of continental Europe. Axel Oxenstierna, appointed chancellor by Gustavus in 1612, was highly influential during Gustavus's reign and the first half of the reign of Queen Christina (1632–54).

In the 17th cent. Swedish colonial aspirations in North America (see New Sweden) proved short-lived. The Peace of Westphalia (1648; see Westphalia, Peace of), which ended the Thirty Years War, gave W Pomerania, Wismar, and the archbishopric of Bremen to Sweden, making the Swedish kings princes of the Holy Roman Empire. Charles X, who became king on the abdication (1654) of Christina, successfully led wars against Poland and Denmark. The southern provinces of Sweden were definitively recovered from Denmark in 1660. Under Charles XI (reigned 1660–97), Sweden became an absolute monarchy, and the great nobles lost their independence.

In the Northern War (1700–1721), which broke out shortly after the accession of Charles XII (reigned 1697–1718), Sweden was crushed after gaining its greatest military triumphs (e.g., at Narva and in Livonia). Under the treaties of Stockholm (1720) and Nystad (1721), Sweden ceded the archbishopric of Bremen to Hanover, part of Pomerania to Prussia, and Livonia, Ingermanland, and Karelia to Russia. Internally, Sweden was torn in the 18th cent. by political intrigue and civil discord. Ulrica Eleonora (d.1741) succeeded her brother, Charles XII, in 1718, but abdicated (1720) in favor of her husband, Frederick I (d. 1751), a prince of Hesse-Kassel.

The constitution of 1720 gave increased powers to the Riksdag (diet) and the political scene was dominated (1738–65) by the faction known as the Hats, who favored an aggressive anti-Russian policy in alliance with France and who represented the nobility and the bureaucracy. They were successfully challenged in 1765 by the Caps, who sought peaceful relations with Russia and who represented the lesser estates. In 1751 the house of Oldenburg-Holstein-Gottorp gained the Swedish throne when Adolphus Frederick became king. His son, Gustavus III (reigned 1771–92), restored absolutism in 1772 but was later assassinated by a conspiracy of nobles. Gustavus IV (reigned 1792–1809), a despotic ruler, involved Sweden in war with Napoleon I and then (1806–9) with Russia. A coup (1809) placed his uncle, Charles XIII, on the throne, and later in the same year Sweden was forced to cede Finland to Russia.

A constitutional monarchy was established by the constitution of 1809, which, although modified considerably (e.g., in 1866 and 1969), remained in effect until Jan. 1, 1975. From 1810, Swedish affairs were in the hands of Charles's adopted heir, Marshal Bernadotte (later Charles XIV). Sweden again joined the allies against Napoleon in 1813; this was the last war in which Sweden has participated. The Congress of Vienna compensated (1814) Sweden for its loss of Pomerania and Finland with Norway, which remained a separate kingdom in personal union with Sweden until 1905.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Sweden since 1814
• Growth of the Swedish State
• Origins of Sweden
• Government
• Economy
• Land and People
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Scandinavian Political Geography