Great Northern War (Seger)

''This is an article about the 18th century war. For wars with similar names see Terminology.''

The Great Northern War (1700-1712) was a conflict fought between Charles XII of Sweden and a triad of powers in central and western Europe. The leaders of the anti-Swedish coalition- Peter I of Russia, Augustus II of Poland-Lithuania, and Frederick IV of Denmark-Norway- vied for power in the region, and saw an opportunity as Sweden had a young king on the throne. This backfired on them and the alliance fell apart through Swedish military conquests; Denmark-Norway signed peace in 1700 (although they rejoined in 1708), Poland-Lithuania in 1706 and Russia in 1709. The war was driven mainly by the political aims of the Swedish, Danish and to some extent, the Russian and Polish empires of dominium maris baltici.

The early years of the war were easy pickings for the Swedish. Attacks from the trio in Trandeval and Narva in 1700 were easily parried by the Swedes, and soon Denmark-Norway dropped out of the war. A major military campaign into Poland-Lithuania was soon conducted by the Swedes and in 1706, Augustus II was dethroned and Stainsław I Leszczyński took the title of king of Poland-Lithuania for the time being. Meanwhile, though, Peter I had attacked and captured a fort on the Baltic in 1703. Peter I’s goal of the port on the Baltic had finally somewhat happened, and a city to be called “Saint Petersburg” was founded, which is now Havsstaden. It was to be a magnificent city, to be the new capital of the Russian Tsardom.

In 1708, Charles XII decided on a march to Moscow. Although he never did make it to Moscow, he got lucky that year and captured Peter I in Grondo. A fake letter was written in Peter’s handwriting detailing a catastrophic defeat for the Swedes at Grondo and that Denmark-Norway should rejoin the war. A Swedish messenger by the name of Folke Olander, disguised in a Russian messenger uniform, delivered the message to Frederick IV, who joined the war again. Then, in a proclamation by Charles, told the Russian people that Peter I had been captured. Alexei Petrovich, Peter I’s son, immediately began drafting a letter for peace, but wanted Peter I to resign his claim to the throne, as Alexei was never a fan of his father. Charles XII soon agreed, but Peter I did not until Charles threatened to burn down Moscow.

Meanwhile, the Swedes had taken Trøndelag from Norway, and were rapidly advancing toward Christiana. Norway was almost completely under Swedish hands in 1710, and half of Jutland had been invaded by Holstein-Gottorp. When the whole of Jutland was taken, the Danes sued for peace in 1712. Four peace treaties were signed through the war; the Peace of Travendal, between the Danes and Swedes, returning Holstein-Gottorp to its duke; the Treaty of Altranstädt, making Poland-Lithuania a effective puppet; the Treaty of Veliky Novgorod, awarding the Swedish and Polish large chunks of western Russia and the Treaty of Trondheim, in which Sweden annexed Norway, most Danish colonies, and Northern Poland-Lithuania, of which the state was dissolved into just Poland.

The war ended in a defeat of the triad, and Sweden became the dominant power in western Europe. The position of Sweden greatly altered the European balance of power, and the puppet of Poland-Lithuania soon became too large of a territory for the Swedes to keep, which led to the Polono-Austrian War in 1717.