Swedish History

Sweden, the largest country in Scandinavia, is a very interesting country. Its history and government are very complex. It has been around for a very long time.

Sweden has had a long history. It started way back with the Vikings. The Vikings were sea savvy peoples of Scandinavia. They are most associated with big, burly robbers but in fact they were mostly just farmers. The trips they took, unlike modern belief that they were looting expeditions, were just trading trips. Unfortunately there were a lot of the trips that ended in looting. Swedish Vikings were more associated with the eastern countries for trade purposes such as Russia. Some believe that the name Russia came from a Swedish Viking name "Ruser". The Swedish state started taking form when small chiefdoms were formed during the Viking period. A chiefdom is a small area ruled by a chief. Over time 2 main "tribes" were Göter and Svear. These tribes eventually became individual states and then merged into the country we know today, Sweden.

After the Vikings, Sweden had a very rocky period politically. Powerful families fought for the King position. Due to the fact that Sweden did not have a succession of royalty, the aristocrats voted for the Kings, powerful families could fight over the throne. Although they had a monarchy, the aristocrats had more power. The King relied on the wealthier families for political support. Then it got more complicated. In 1397, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark formed a union and called it the Kalmar Union. They did this to balance the power that Germany's Hanseatic League had. The countries all agreed to elect a common king from Denmark. This created a new tension between Sweden and Denmark. This struggle was later resolved. It is believed that then Sweden went into a political Anarchy. The constant power struggle between the powerful families and King Kristian II caused conflict. This ended in ,"The Bloodbath of Stockholm" in 1520. "The Bloodbath of Stockholm" was a horrendous event in which 100 Swedish nobles were executed. When this was over Gustav Vasa became king in 1521.

During the reign of Gustav Vasa, he made many changes. He made the tax system much better. Before, a group of farms would form a "tax unit". Gustav Vasa changed it to where each farm payed taxes individually. Some people rebelled but the King handled these rebellions. The most important change Gustav made was religious. He reformed the national church from Catholic, to Protestant.

Sweden became a power state during the 17th century. This happened because of many reasons. One of these is the fight over the Baltic Sea territories. Sweden took control of Northern Estonia in that fight. Sweden then took advantage of the Russian Civil War and participated in the war. The end result was a peace treaty. The peace treaty was helpful because it added new territory to the Finnish part of Sweden. The growth to a great power was made possible by a successful economy, strong industries, and an increasing population.

The period of great power was still in focus and a constant warring state was also hailed in. This led to involvement in the 30 Years war by King Gustav II Adolf in 1630. They only entered the war because the German Emperor's influence was increasing and the Swedes were threatened. During the Swedish Intervention in the 30 Years war, two of the most famous battles were the Battle at Breitenfelt and the Battle of Lützen. During the Battle at Breitenfelt the Swedes won an amazing victory despite the odds. At the Battle of Lützen, the King Gustav II Adolf was killed, although the Swedish troops still won. At the height of Sweden's great power period, Sweden's territories grew to include Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and regions of northern Germany. The end of the power period started with the Great Nordic War. The attacks on other countries by King Karl XII proved to be disastrous and when he was killed in the trenches in Norway, this led to the end of the great power period.

After the end of the great power period, the Council of Aristocrats pretty much took over. In 1772, the new king, Gustav III, reformed the country to an almost full on monarchy. King Gustav soon was murdered and King Gustav IV Adolf was dethroned shortly after they lost their Finnish territory to Russia in a war. The parliament then created a constitution that allowed the King, the parliament, and the courts to have equal power. This didn't change until 1974.

In the late 1800's, Sweden started seeing change. Their Parliament was now two-chambered, and people could vote, but with restrictions. Such as only the upper class could vote but this still broadened the field. In 1907, the Social Democrats won the 2nd-chamber election. They wanted to speed up the process to become a full Democracy. The Social Democrats and the Liberals agreed on the agenda and worked toward reform. Into the 1900's the Swedish people became more literate. With their expanding knowledge, they started to form groups and organizations. This was called the Revivalist movement.

During the 20th century many things happened to the Swedes. During both WWI and WWII Sweden stayed neutral and although they were neutral, they still were affected by the repercussions. Their economy also had a Depression in the 1930's, but in the later 30's they experienced an industrial boom.

Sweden has had a very long, hard, and yet prosperous history. From the Vikings, to WWII they have been a complex country filled with many different ideas yet one solution. The Sweden we know today.