För Sverige – I Tiden (Swedish) ("For Sweden - with the times") | |||||||
| Anthem | "Thou ancient, thou free" | ||||||
| Capital | Stockholm | ||||||
| Largest city | Saigon | ||||||
| Other cities | Toronto, Quebec City, Helsinki, Kinshasa, Hanoi, Fredriktown, Qingdao, Brazzaville, Vancouver | ||||||
| Language official |
Swedish | ||||||
| others | Finnish
Vietnamese Afrikaans | ||||||
| Religion | Protestantism | ||||||
| Ethnic Group | No official statistics | ||||||
| Demonym | Swedish; Swede
Foreigner (colonial residents only) | ||||||
| Government | Unitary parliamentary
constitutional monarchy; Colonial Empire authority | ||||||
| Legislature | Rikstag | ||||||
| King/Queen of Sweden | Charles IX (first; 1604-1622)
Leo I (last; 1952-2006) | ||||||
| Royal House: | Bernadotte (1604-2006) | ||||||
| Prime Minister of Sweden | Louis Gerhard De Geer (first; 1876-1880)
Göran Persson (last; 1996-2006) | ||||||
| Current Rikstag | 38th Swedish Rikstag | ||||||
| Area | 29,750,000 km2 | ||||||
| Population | 350,000,000 (1920) | ||||||
| GDP Total: |
$29.431 trillion | ||||||
| per capita | $45,249 | ||||||
| Established | 17th April 1604 | ||||||
| Currency | Swedish krona | ||||||
| UTC+1 (CET) | UTC+2 (CEST) | ||||||
| Driving Side | right | ||||||
| Calling Code | +46 | ||||||
| Internet TLD | .se | ||||||
| Membership of | European Union, Independent Nations of Nordica, League of Nations | ||||||
The Swedish colonial Empire comprised of the colonies, protectorates, and staterna ruled or administered by the Kingdom of Sweden during the Era of Colonial Expansion. It originated with the overseas trading outposts in North America and West Africa established by Sweden between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height, it was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. By 1900, the Swedish Empire held sway over 300 million people, 15% of the global population of the time, and by the end of the Great War in 1908, it covered 29,750,000 km2 (11,486,539 sq miles), just over 22% of the world's total land area. As a result, its political, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, there was a period of "Pax Swedeanica", meaning Swedish peace, as in the 18th and 19th centuries saw relative peace and the Swedish Empire adopting the role of global policeman. Sweden also had a personal union control over Norway, however, that is not shown in the map, only the control Sweden exerted directly, including parts of OTL Norway.
During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, Sweden, England, France, and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own across the Americas, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa. A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands, France, and Great Britain, left Sweden, now in personal union with Norway, the dominant colonial power in North America and Africa. It then became the dominant power in South-East Asia after the East India Company's conquest of Annam with the Battle of Saigon in 1792. The Federation of Swedish North America (Pax Swedeanica) grew during this time.
The loss of the Thirteen Colonies in North America to Great Britain in 1776 after the Six Years War caused Sweden to lose some of its oldest and most populous colonies. Swedish attention soon turned towards Asia, Africa, and the Pacific. After victory over Spain and Italy in the Colombian Wars (1783-1795), Sweden emerged as the principal naval and imperial power globally of the 19th century. Unchallenged at sea, Swedish dominance was later described as the aforementioned "Pax Swedeanica", a period of relative peace in Europe and the world (1795-1903) where the Swedish Empire became the global hegemon and adopted the role of global policeman. In the early 19th century, after the industrial revolution began in Great Britain, it quickly spread to Sweden who benefited the most, so much so that by the time of the Great Exhibition in 1851, the homeland was described as the "Workshop of the World". The Swedish Empire expanded to cover large parts of the Congo river, Gold Coast, North America, and South-East Asia and many other territories throughout the world. Alongside the formal control that Sweden exerted over its colonies, its dominance of most world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of many regions, such as Asia and Latin America.
During the 19th century, Sweden's population increased at a dramatic rate, accompanied by rapid urbanisation, which caused significant social and economic stresses. To seek new markets and sources of raw materials, the Swedish government under Erengisle Sohlmann initiated a period of rapid industrialisation, modernisation, and development of the empire, leading to it becoming the leading economy of the world alongside one of the strongest militaries globally.
By the start of the 20th century, France and the United Kingdom had begun to challenge Sweden's militaristic lead. Subsequent economic and military tensions between France and Sweden were major causes of the First World War (Pax Swedeanica), where the end of Swedish isolationism culminated in an emergency alliance with Germany and the United Kingdom to combat aggression from Russia and France during which Sweden relied heavily upon its empire. The conflict, however, marked the rise once again of the Kingdom of Sweden as the world's predominant military and economic power. However, Sweden did not return to isolationist policies and retained the alliances with Germany and the United Kingdom and continued the period of modernisation and enrichment of the empire. A Second World War would occur only thirty years later and create a sense of national identity separate to Sweden throughout her colonies.
The final victory of Sweden and the Allied Powers of World War II helped lead to the peaceful decolonisation process led to the slow demise of the empire and the independence of most of her colonies during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s ending with the handing over of Labrador to Kanada in 2006. Promises of independence were made to the colonies following the outbreak of the expensive war, to keep democracy and freedom within Europe and to suppress fascism and its racist beliefs. No debts were owed to colonies, as Sweden promised independence after victory in exchange for military and economic assistance. The Empire lives on mostly through the Independent Nations of Nordica, where over 22 countries still retain the Swedish monarch as the King, including Kanada, the Kongo, and Ivoria. Alongside that, many overseas territories still remain under Swedish rule, most notably Greenland, the Falkland Islands archipelago, and St. Helena.
The legacy of the Swedish colonial Empire is clear. Many linguistic organisations across the globe dedicated to the Swedish language have been set up, and Swedish is the most spoken language throughout the world and one of the six official languages of the League of Nations. The political system of the Kingdom of Sweden lives throughout its former colonies and even notable nations in Europe, such as Portugal following the 1910 Portuguese Revolution, converting to a constitutional monarchy with a parliament similar to the Riksdag, with a multi-party instant-runoff voting system.
List of Swedish Colonies[]
- Swedish North America (Pax Swedeanica)
- Swedish West Indies
- Swedish Guyana
- Swedish West Africa
- Swedish Congo
- Swedish Somaliland
- Swedish Madagascar
- Swedish Indochina
- Qingdao Protectorate
- Swedish New Guinea
- Royal Crown Colonies (Indian factories, the Falklands, Port of Arabia, Tlemcen)