| Kingdom of Sweden Konungariket Sverige | ||||||
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| Capital | Stockholm | |||||
| Languages | Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Estonian, Sami languages, Low German, Latin, Livonian, Latvian, Danish, Russian | |||||
| Religion | Church of Sweden (Jungism) | |||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy | |||||
| Monarch | ||||||
| - | 1496-1507 (first) | Eric XIV | ||||
| - | 1576-1581 | Svante I | ||||
| - | 1608- | Christina | ||||
| Legislature | Riksdag | |||||
| - | Council of the Realm | Riksrådet | ||||
| Historical era | Early Modern | |||||
| - | Eric XIV is crowned King of Sweden | 1496 | ||||
| - | Disestablished | ? | ||||
| Currency | Riksdaler | |||||
The Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige) was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region and Scandinavia during the 16th and 17th centuries. The beginning of the Empire is usually taken as the reign of Eric XIV, who achieved Swedish independence from Denmark-Norway in 1494, becoming the first independent ruler of Sweden since the creation of the Örebro Union.
During the 16th century Sweden emerged as a preeminent military power in northern Europe, often finding itself at odds with the Hanseatic League and other German powers of the Holy Roman Empire, the nation of Russia to the east, and its rival in Scandinavia, Denmark-Norway. During the Eight Years' War (1560-1568) and the later Sture War (1574-1576), Sweden defeated Denmark to become the dominant power in the north.
History[]
Early Modern Era[]
With the death of Olaf III in 1491, the Örebro Union passed from the House of Bjelbo to the Saxon House of La Marck under Henry I. Although Henry would be accepted in Denmark, he failed to achieve the approval of the Swedish nobility, who chose Eric Thot, Regent of Sweden, as their new monarch by 1493. Eric XIV Thot (-1507) would achieve an independent Sweden in 1496, crushing an attempt to restore the Union of Örebro and laying the foundation for modern Sweden.
During the reign of Eric XIV's son, Ivar II, Sweden would formally break from the papacy, becoming the first nation outside Germany to do so. This came after a decades long strong between the royalty and the clergy, and was particularly influenced by reformer Michael Kierkegaard. The Union's final disintegration in the early 16th century brought on a long-lived rivalry between Norway and Denmark on one side and Sweden on the other, which would lead to the Counts' War in Denmark, in which Ivar II supported Jungist claimant Olaf II.
The war would result in Denmark's conversion to Jungism, but also granted Ivar II the ability to use the Protestant Reformation to greatly curtail the power of the church in favor of the crown. After the war, high taxation and protestantization lead to numerous peasant revolts across Swededen. Ivar persuaded the Riksdag of Västerås (comprising the nobles, clergy, burghers, and freehold peasants) to confiscate church lands, which comprised 21% of the farmland in the country. Ivar took Jungist reformers under his protection and appointed his men as bishops, while suppressing aristocratic opposition to his ecclesiastical policies and efforts at centralization.
Tax reforms took place in 1532 and 1550, whereby multiple complex taxes on independent farmers were simplified and standardized throughout the district; tax assessments per farm were adjusted to reflect an ability to pay. Crown tax revenues increased, but more importantly, the new system was perceived as fairer and more acceptable. A conflict with Luebeck resulted in the expulsion of the Hanseatic traders, who previously had had a monopoly of foreign trade. With its own businessmen in charge, Sweden's economic strength grew rapidly, and by 1542 the crown controlled 60% of the farmlands in the country. Sweden used this wealth to build the first modern army in Europe, supported by a sophisticated tax system and government bureaucracy.
Eight Years' War[]
The growing rivalry between Sweden and Denmark-Norway would spark a war in 1560, which saw Denmark joined by the Hanseatic League and Russia. Despite this, Sweden would manage to defeat this alliance on land, cementing Swedish rule over several territories of Scandinavia, and also ensuring the independence of Finland from Russia, effectively as a Swedish puppet. The nation would also form an alliance with Poland-Lithuania, which successfully pressured Russia into peace.
Sture War[]
The death of John III in 1574 began a succession crisis, as he left no sons to succeed him. Instead the Swedish nobility selected his daughter Margaret, who was married to Svante Stensson Sture, Duke of Östergötland and son of the independence era her Sten Sture the Younger. This would spark a brief conflict known as the Sture War, as Denmark-Norway and a collection of German states supported Margaret's cousin, Ivar Alwin de la Marck. Although "Ivar III" managed to claim parts of Sweden for the next couple years, the Swedish nobility found a La Marck monarch untenable, and Ivar III would be ousted in 1576.
Footnotes[]
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