Charles IX of Sweden
Encyclopedia
Charles IX of Sweden also Carl, (4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611) was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King
Gustav I of Sweden
and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud
, brother of Eric XIV
and John III of Sweden
, and uncle of Sigismund III Vasa
king of both Sweden and Poland
. By his father's will he got, by way of appanage
, the Duchy of Södermanland
, which included the provinces of Närke
and Värmland
; but he did not come into actual possession of them till after the fall of Eric and the succession to the throne of John in 1568.
The Swedish kings Eric XIV
(1560–68) and Charles IX (1604–1611) took their numbers according to a fictitious History of Sweden. This was actually the third Swedish king called Charles.
He came into the throne by championing the Protestant cause during the increasingly tense times of religious strife between competing sects of Christianity
, where forcible conversion was considered a "best course", a period where the Catholics were growing increasingly belligerent— which, in just over a decade, would break out as the Thirty Years' War
—as it had already caused the dynastic squabble rooted in religious freedom that deposed his nephew and brought him to rule as king of Sweden.
With his brother's
death in November of 1592, during the era which marked the start of the final chapter (dated 1648 by some) of both the Reformation
and Counter-reformation
, Charles, during the tense political times which prevailed, viewed the inheritance of the throne of Protestant Sweden by his devout Roman Catholic nephew and Habsburg
ally, Sigismund of Poland and Sweden with alarm, and several years of religious controversy and discord followed.
During the period, he along with the Swedish privy council ruled in Sigismund's name while he stayed in Poland. After various preliminaries, his nephew was forced to abdicate the throne to Charles IX as regent in 1595 by the Riksens ständer, which eventually kicked off nearly seven decades of sporadic warfare as the two lines of the divided House of Vasa
both continued to attempt to remake the union between the Polish and Swedish thrones with opposing counter-claims and dynastic wars.
It is also quite likely, that the dynastic outcome between Sweden and Poland's house of Vasa
was a factor which exacerbated and radicalized the later actions of Europe's Catholic princes in the German states such as the Edict of Restitution
, and so worsened European politics to the abandonment or prevention of settling events by diplomacy and compromise during the vast bloodletting that was the Thirty Years' war
.
against the unhappy king after his deposition. Charles's relations with John were always more or less strained. He had no sympathy with John's High-Church tendencies on the one hand, and he sturdily resisted all the king's endeavours to restrict his authority as Duke of Södermanland on the other. The nobility and the majority of the Riksdag of the Estates
supported John, however, in his endeavours to unify the realm, and Charles had consequently (1587) to resign his pretensions to autonomy within his duchy; but, steadfast Calvinist as he was, on the religious question he was immovable. The matter came to a crisis on the death of John III in 1592. The heir to the throne was John's eldest son, Sigismund of Sweden
, already king of Poland
and a devoted Catholic
. The fear lest Sigismund might re-catholicize the land alarmed the Protestant majority in Sweden—particularly the commoners and lower nobility, and Charles came forward as their champion, and also as the defender of the Vasa
dynasty against foreign interference.
It was due entirely to him that Sigismund as king-elect was forced to confirm the resolutions at the Uppsala Synod
in 1593, thereby recognizing the fact that Sweden was essentially a Lutheran
Protestant state. Under the agreement, Charles and the Swedish Privy Council shared power and ruled in Sigsmunds place since he resided in Poland. In the ensuing years 1593—1595, Charles's task was extraordinarily difficult. He had steadily to oppose Sigismund's reactionary tendencies and directives; he had also to curb the nobility which sought to increase their power at the expense of the absent king, which he did with cruel rigor.
Necessity compelled him to work with the clergy and people rather than the gentry; hence it was that the Riksens ständer (Riksdag) assumed under his regency government a power and an importance which it had never possessed before. In 1595, the Riksdag of Söderköping
elected Charles regent, and his attempt to force Klas Flemming, governor of Österland
(Finland of the day), to submit to his authority, rather than to that of the king, provoked a civil war. Charles sought to increase his power and the king attempted to manage the situation by diplomacy over several years, until fed up, Sigismund got permission from the Commonwealth's legislature to pursue the matters dividing his Swedish subjects, and invaded with a mercenary army.
Technically Charles was, without doubt, guilty of high treason, and the considerable minority of all classes which adhered to Sigismund on his landing in Sweden in 1598 indisputably behaved like loyal subjects. In the events that followed, despite some initial successes, Sigismund lost the crucial Battle of Stångebro
, and was captured himself, as well as forced to deliver up certain Swedish noblemen who were named traitor by Charles and the Riksens ständer. With Sigismund defeated and sent packing, and as both an alien and a heretic to the majority of the Swedish nation, and his formal deposition by the Riksdag of the Estates
in 1599 was, in effect, a natural vindication and ex post facto legitimization of Charles's position all along, for the same session of the Riksens ständer named him as the ruler as regent.
Finally, the Riksdag at Linköping, 24 February 1600 declared that Sigismund abdicated the Swedish throne, that duke Charles was recognized as the sovereign. He was declared king as Karl IX (anglicized as Charles IX). Charles's short reign was one of uninterrupted warfare. The hostility of Poland and the breakup of Russia
involved him in two overseas contests for the possession of Livonia and Ingria, while his pretensions to claim Lappland brought upon him a war with Denmark
in the last year of his reign.
In all these struggles, he was more or less unsuccessful, owing partly to the fact that he and his forces had to oppose superior generals (e.g. Jan Karol Chodkiewicz
and Christian IV of Denmark
) and partly to sheer ill-luck. Compared with his foreign policy, the domestic policy of Charles IX was comparatively unimportant. It aimed at confirming and supplementing what had already been done during his regency. He did not officially become king until 22 March 1604. The first deed in which the title appears is dated 20 March 1604; but he was not crowned until 15 March 1607.
, 30 October 1611 when he was succeeded by his seventeen year old son Gustavus the Great, who'd participated in the wars. As a ruler, he is the link between his great father and his still greater son. He consolidated the work of Gustav I, the creation of a great Protestant state; he prepared the way for the erection of the Protestant empire of Gustavus Adolphus.
Swedish historians have been excusably indulgent to the father of their greatest ruler. Indisputably Charles was cruel, ungenerous and vindictive; yet he seems, at all hazards, strenuously to have endeavoured to do his duty during a period of political and religious transition, and, despite his violence and brutality, possessed many of the qualities of a wise and courageous statesman.
, Elector Palatinate (1539–1583) and Elisabeth of Hesse
(1539–1584). Their children were:
In 1592 he married his second wife Christina of Holstein-Gottorp
(1573–1625), daughter of Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp (1526–1586) and Christine of Hesse
(1543–1604) and first cousin of his previous wife. Their children were:
He also had a son with his mistress, Karin Nilsdotter:
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King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav I of Sweden, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known simply as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death....
and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud
Margaret Leijonhufvud
-Children:#John III , Duke of Finland, King of Sweden 1567-1592#Catherine , wife of Edzard II, Count of East Frisia#Cecilia , wife of Christopher II, Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern...
, brother of Eric XIV
Eric XIV of Sweden
-Family and descendants:Eric XIV had several relationships before his marriage. With Agda Persdotter he had four daughters:#Margareta Eriksdotter , married 1592 to Olov Simonsson, vicar of Horn....
and John III of Sweden
John III of Sweden
-Family:John married his first wife, Catherine Jagellonica of Poland , house of Jagiello, in Vilnius on 4 October 1562. In Sweden, she is known as Katarina Jagellonica. She was the sister of king Sigismund II Augustus of Poland...
, and uncle of Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, a monarch of the united Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1632, and King of Sweden from 1592 until he was deposed in 1599...
king of both Sweden and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. By his father's will he got, by way of appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
, the Duchy of Södermanland
Södermanland
', sometimes referred to under its Latin form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a historical province or landskap on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanland and Uppland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea.In Swedish, the province name is...
, which included the provinces of Närke
Närke
' is a Swedish traditional province, or landskap, situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the southwest, and Värmland to the northwest...
and Värmland
Värmland
' is a historical province or landskap in the west of middle Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland and Närke. It is also bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are Vermelandia and Wermelandia. Although the province's land originally was Götaland, the...
; but he did not come into actual possession of them till after the fall of Eric and the succession to the throne of John in 1568.
The Swedish kings Eric XIV
Eric XIV of Sweden
-Family and descendants:Eric XIV had several relationships before his marriage. With Agda Persdotter he had four daughters:#Margareta Eriksdotter , married 1592 to Olov Simonsson, vicar of Horn....
(1560–68) and Charles IX (1604–1611) took their numbers according to a fictitious History of Sweden. This was actually the third Swedish king called Charles.
He came into the throne by championing the Protestant cause during the increasingly tense times of religious strife between competing sects of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, where forcible conversion was considered a "best course", a period where the Catholics were growing increasingly belligerent— which, in just over a decade, would break out as the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
—as it had already caused the dynastic squabble rooted in religious freedom that deposed his nephew and brought him to rule as king of Sweden.
With his brother's
John III of Sweden
-Family:John married his first wife, Catherine Jagellonica of Poland , house of Jagiello, in Vilnius on 4 October 1562. In Sweden, she is known as Katarina Jagellonica. She was the sister of king Sigismund II Augustus of Poland...
death in November of 1592, during the era which marked the start of the final chapter (dated 1648 by some) of both the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
and Counter-reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
, Charles, during the tense political times which prevailed, viewed the inheritance of the throne of Protestant Sweden by his devout Roman Catholic nephew and Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
ally, Sigismund of Poland and Sweden with alarm, and several years of religious controversy and discord followed.
During the period, he along with the Swedish privy council ruled in Sigismund's name while he stayed in Poland. After various preliminaries, his nephew was forced to abdicate the throne to Charles IX as regent in 1595 by the Riksens ständer, which eventually kicked off nearly seven decades of sporadic warfare as the two lines of the divided House of Vasa
House of Vasa
The House of Vasa was the Royal House of Sweden 1523-1654 and of Poland 1587-1668. It originated from a noble family in Uppland of which several members had high offices during the 15th century....
both continued to attempt to remake the union between the Polish and Swedish thrones with opposing counter-claims and dynastic wars.
It is also quite likely, that the dynastic outcome between Sweden and Poland's house of Vasa
House of Vasa
The House of Vasa was the Royal House of Sweden 1523-1654 and of Poland 1587-1668. It originated from a noble family in Uppland of which several members had high offices during the 15th century....
was a factor which exacerbated and radicalized the later actions of Europe's Catholic princes in the German states such as the Edict of Restitution
Edict of Restitution
The Edict of Restitution, passed eleven years into the Thirty Years' Wars on March 6, 1629 following Catholic successes at arms, was a belated attempt by Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor to impose and restore the religious and territorial situations reached in the Peace of Augsburg...
, and so worsened European politics to the abandonment or prevention of settling events by diplomacy and compromise during the vast bloodletting that was the Thirty Years' war
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
.
Duke Charles
In 1568 he was the real leader of the rebellion against Eric XIV, but took no part in the designs of his brother John IIIJohn III of Sweden
-Family:John married his first wife, Catherine Jagellonica of Poland , house of Jagiello, in Vilnius on 4 October 1562. In Sweden, she is known as Katarina Jagellonica. She was the sister of king Sigismund II Augustus of Poland...
against the unhappy king after his deposition. Charles's relations with John were always more or less strained. He had no sympathy with John's High-Church tendencies on the one hand, and he sturdily resisted all the king's endeavours to restrict his authority as Duke of Södermanland on the other. The nobility and the majority of the Riksdag of the Estates
Riksdag of the Estates
The Riksdag of the Estates , was the name used for the Estates of the Swedish realm when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King...
supported John, however, in his endeavours to unify the realm, and Charles had consequently (1587) to resign his pretensions to autonomy within his duchy; but, steadfast Calvinist as he was, on the religious question he was immovable. The matter came to a crisis on the death of John III in 1592. The heir to the throne was John's eldest son, Sigismund of Sweden
Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, a monarch of the united Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1632, and King of Sweden from 1592 until he was deposed in 1599...
, already king of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and a devoted Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
. The fear lest Sigismund might re-catholicize the land alarmed the Protestant majority in Sweden—particularly the commoners and lower nobility, and Charles came forward as their champion, and also as the defender of the Vasa
House of Vasa
The House of Vasa was the Royal House of Sweden 1523-1654 and of Poland 1587-1668. It originated from a noble family in Uppland of which several members had high offices during the 15th century....
dynasty against foreign interference.
It was due entirely to him that Sigismund as king-elect was forced to confirm the resolutions at the Uppsala Synod
Uppsala Synod
The Uppsala Synod in 1593 was the most important synod of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. Sweden had gone through its Protestant Reformation and broken with Roman Catholicism in the 1520s, but an official confession of faith had never been declared....
in 1593, thereby recognizing the fact that Sweden was essentially a Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
Protestant state. Under the agreement, Charles and the Swedish Privy Council shared power and ruled in Sigsmunds place since he resided in Poland. In the ensuing years 1593—1595, Charles's task was extraordinarily difficult. He had steadily to oppose Sigismund's reactionary tendencies and directives; he had also to curb the nobility which sought to increase their power at the expense of the absent king, which he did with cruel rigor.
Necessity compelled him to work with the clergy and people rather than the gentry; hence it was that the Riksens ständer (Riksdag) assumed under his regency government a power and an importance which it had never possessed before. In 1595, the Riksdag of Söderköping
Söderköping
Söderköping is a locality and the seat of Söderköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,951 inhabitants in 2005. Söderköping is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a city...
elected Charles regent, and his attempt to force Klas Flemming, governor of Österland
Österland
Österland or Österlanden , one of the four traditional lands of Sweden, was a medieval term used for the southern part of Finland. It gradually fell out of use by the 15th century...
(Finland of the day), to submit to his authority, rather than to that of the king, provoked a civil war. Charles sought to increase his power and the king attempted to manage the situation by diplomacy over several years, until fed up, Sigismund got permission from the Commonwealth's legislature to pursue the matters dividing his Swedish subjects, and invaded with a mercenary army.
Technically Charles was, without doubt, guilty of high treason, and the considerable minority of all classes which adhered to Sigismund on his landing in Sweden in 1598 indisputably behaved like loyal subjects. In the events that followed, despite some initial successes, Sigismund lost the crucial Battle of Stångebro
Battle of Stångebro
The Battle of Stångebro or Battle of Linköping took place at Linköping, Sweden on September 25, 1598, and effectively ended the personal union between Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, that had only existed since 1592...
, and was captured himself, as well as forced to deliver up certain Swedish noblemen who were named traitor by Charles and the Riksens ständer. With Sigismund defeated and sent packing, and as both an alien and a heretic to the majority of the Swedish nation, and his formal deposition by the Riksdag of the Estates
Riksdag of the Estates
The Riksdag of the Estates , was the name used for the Estates of the Swedish realm when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King...
in 1599 was, in effect, a natural vindication and ex post facto legitimization of Charles's position all along, for the same session of the Riksens ständer named him as the ruler as regent.
King Charles IX
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
involved him in two overseas contests for the possession of Livonia and Ingria, while his pretensions to claim Lappland brought upon him a war with Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in the last year of his reign.
In all these struggles, he was more or less unsuccessful, owing partly to the fact that he and his forces had to oppose superior generals (e.g. Jan Karol Chodkiewicz
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz was a famous Lithuanian military commander and one of the most prominent noblemen of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.-Biography:...
and Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV of Denmark
Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects...
) and partly to sheer ill-luck. Compared with his foreign policy, the domestic policy of Charles IX was comparatively unimportant. It aimed at confirming and supplementing what had already been done during his regency. He did not officially become king until 22 March 1604. The first deed in which the title appears is dated 20 March 1604; but he was not crowned until 15 March 1607.
Colored legacy
Four and a half years later Charles IX died at NyköpingNyköping
Nyköping is a locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 32,427 inhabitants in 2005. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County.- History :...
, 30 October 1611 when he was succeeded by his seventeen year old son Gustavus the Great, who'd participated in the wars. As a ruler, he is the link between his great father and his still greater son. He consolidated the work of Gustav I, the creation of a great Protestant state; he prepared the way for the erection of the Protestant empire of Gustavus Adolphus.
Swedish historians have been excusably indulgent to the father of their greatest ruler. Indisputably Charles was cruel, ungenerous and vindictive; yet he seems, at all hazards, strenuously to have endeavoured to do his duty during a period of political and religious transition, and, despite his violence and brutality, possessed many of the qualities of a wise and courageous statesman.
Ancestors
Children
He married, firstly, Anna Marie of Palatinate-Simmern (1561–1589), daughter of Louis VILouis VI, Elector Palatine
In the history of the Holy Roman Empire, Louis VI, Elector Palatine was an Elector from the Palatinate-Simmern branch of the house of Wittelsbach. He was the first-born son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine and Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach...
, Elector Palatinate (1539–1583) and Elisabeth of Hesse
Elisabeth of Hesse
Elisabeth of Hesse was a German noblewoman.She was a daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse and Christine of Saxony, daughter of George, Duke of Saxony.On 8 July 1560 she married Louis VI, Elector Palatine...
(1539–1584). Their children were:
- Margareta Elisabeth (1580–1585)
- Elisabeth Sabina (1582–1585)
- Louis (1583–1583)
- Catherine (1584–1638), married a prince of the Palatinate ZweibrückenZweibrückenZweibrücken is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.- Name :Zweibrücken appears in Latin texts as Geminus Pons and Bipontum, in French texts as Deux-Ponts. The name derives from Middle High German Zweinbrücken...
, becoming mother of Charles X Gustav. - Gustav (1587–1587)
- Maria (1588–1589)
In 1592 he married his second wife Christina of Holstein-Gottorp
Christina of Holstein-Gottorp
Christina of Holstein-Gottorp was a Queen Consort of Sweden as consort of king Charles IX of Sweden, mother of king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and a Regent of Sweden.-Biography:...
(1573–1625), daughter of Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp (1526–1586) and Christine of Hesse
Christine of Hesse
Christine of Hesse-Kassel was Duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp as the spouse of Duke Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp. She exerted some political influence as a widow in 1586.- Biography :...
(1543–1604) and first cousin of his previous wife. Their children were:
- Christina (1593–1594)
- Gustavus Adolphus of SwedenGustavus Adolphus of SwedenGustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
(Gustav II Adolf) (1594–1632) - Maria ElizabethPrincess Maria Elizabeth of SwedenPrincess Maria Elizabeth of Sweden, , was a Swedish princess, daughter of king Charles IX of Sweden and Christina of Holstein-Gottorp, and by marriage duchess of Ostrogothia....
(1596–1618), married her first cousin Duke John, youngest son of John III of SwedenJohn III of Sweden-Family:John married his first wife, Catherine Jagellonica of Poland , house of Jagiello, in Vilnius on 4 October 1562. In Sweden, she is known as Katarina Jagellonica. She was the sister of king Sigismund II Augustus of Poland... - Charles PhilipCharles Philip, Duke of SödermanlandPrince Charles Philip of Sweden, Duke of Södermanland, was a Swedish prince, Duke of Södermanland, Närke and Värmland...
(1601–1622)
He also had a son with his mistress, Karin Nilsdotter:
- Carl Carlsson GyllenhielmCarl Carlsson GyllenhielmBaron Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm was a Swedish soldier and politician. He was appointed Field Marshal in 1616, Privy Councilor in 1617, Governor General of Ingria in 1617 and Lord High Admiral in 1620. He was an illegitimate son of Duke Carl, later King Charles IX of Sweden, and Karin Nilsdotter,...
(1574–1650), Field Marshal
See also
- History of SwedenHistory of SwedenModern Sweden started out of the Kalmar Union formed in 1397 and by the unification of the country by King Gustav Vasa in the 16th century. In the 17th century Sweden expanded its territories to form the Swedish empire. Most of these conquered territories had to be given up during the 18th century...
— Rise of Sweden as a Great PowerRise of Sweden as a Great PowerDuring the 17th century, despite having scarcely more than 1 million inhabitants, Sweden emerged to have greater foreign influence, after winning wars against Denmark–Norway, The Holy Roman Empire, Russia, and The Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania... - Battle of KircholmBattle of KircholmThe Battle of Kircholm was one of the major battles in the Polish-Swedish War of 1600-1611. The battle was decided in 20 minutes by the devastating charge of Polish-Lithuanian cavalry, the Winged Hussars...
- Battle of StångebroBattle of StångebroThe Battle of Stångebro or Battle of Linköping took place at Linköping, Sweden on September 25, 1598, and effectively ended the personal union between Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, that had only existed since 1592...
- Kings of KvenlandKings of Kvenland-Icelandic sagas:Despite the fact that the legendary title "King of Kvenland" appears widely used in various contexts, it is mentioned only once in sagas: Faravid in Egil's saga is directly said to be the "King of Kvenland"...
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