Political unions involving Sweden
Encyclopedia
Sweden
has for political and dynastic reasons been in union with other kingdoms and princely states, ostensibly personal union
s.
. In 1332 when the King of Denmark Christopher II died as a "king without a country" after he had pawned Denmark piece by piece, King Magnus took advantage of his neighbour's distress, redeeming the pawn for the eastern Danish provinces for a huge amount of silver, and thus also became king of Skåneland
. The union of these three countries lasted until 1343 when Magnus preemptively let his son Haakon
, succeed him to the Norwegian throne, though he would still rule as regent
during his son's minority, which ended in 1355, when Haakon came of age. In 1360 the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag
reconquered Skåneland. The Swedish kingdom
at this time included Skåneland (1332-1360), Sweden and Finland
, while the Norwegian kingdom included Greenland
, Iceland
, and the Faroe
, Shetland
and Orkney Islands
.
n kingdoms of Sweden, Norway and Denmark
were united in the Kalmar Union
, a personal union agreed upon in the Swedish city of Kalmar
. After only a few decades the relationship between Sweden and the leading power Denmark had deteriorated into open conflict. The period until the dissolution in 1521 was marked by the constant strife between Sweden and Denmark. The union was sometimes made defunct by Sweden electing a monarch separate from the union king, and on one occasion Sweden and Norway were even de facto united in a personal union in opposition to the union monarch.
succeeded his father John III of Sweden
to the Swedish throne, but in 1587 he had also been elected king of Poland-Lithuania
making him the monarch of both nations. Sigismund, who was a Roman Catholic failed however to gain support in Lutheran
Sweden, and was eventually deposed and succeeded by his uncle Charles IX
in Sweden 1599.
abdicated and was succeeded by her cousin Charles X, duke of Pfalz-Zweibrücken. Sweden and Zweibrücken were also united under Charles XI
and Charles XII
, until the death of the latter in 1718, at which point he was succeeded by his sister Ulrike Eleonora on the Swedish throne, but not in his German
Duchy.
had acceded to the Swedish throne when his wife, Ulrike Eleonora, abdicated in his favour in 1721. In 1730 he was also in line of succession to the duchy of Hesse-Kassel
, which resulted in a personal union that lasted until his death in 1751.
in 1814 the king of Denmark-Norway ceded Norway to the king of Sweden, an event which likely would have resulted in a full political union between Sweden and Norway. The treaty however never came into force, as Norway
adopted a constitution
and declared independence. Sweden, which would not accept this outcome, went to war and forced Norway into accepting a personal union with Sweden. The two kingdoms had full inner autonomy and separate institutions, sharing only the monarch and the foreign policy, which was conducted by the Swedish foreign office. The new Bernadotte
dynasty could just as well be termed Norwegian until the dissolution of the union in 1905.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
has for political and dynastic reasons been in union with other kingdoms and princely states, ostensibly personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
s.
Norway (I) and Skåneland
In 1319 the infant Magnus Eriksson was crowned as king of both Sweden and NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. In 1332 when the King of Denmark Christopher II died as a "king without a country" after he had pawned Denmark piece by piece, King Magnus took advantage of his neighbour's distress, redeeming the pawn for the eastern Danish provinces for a huge amount of silver, and thus also became king of Skåneland
Skåneland
Skåneland or Skånelandene are terms used in historical contexts in Scandinavia to describe the area on the southern and south-western part of the Scandinavian peninsula, which under the Treaty of Roskilde was transferred from Denmark to Sweden. It corresponds to the provinces of Blekinge,...
. The union of these three countries lasted until 1343 when Magnus preemptively let his son Haakon
Haakon IV of Norway
Haakon Haakonarson , also called Haakon the Old, was king of Norway from 1217 to 1263. Under his rule, medieval Norway reached its peak....
, succeed him to the Norwegian throne, though he would still rule as regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
during his son's minority, which ended in 1355, when Haakon came of age. In 1360 the Danish king Valdemar Atterdag
Valdemar IV of Denmark
Valdemar IV of Denmark or Waldemar ; , was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375.-Ascension to the throne:...
reconquered Skåneland. The Swedish kingdom
Lands of Sweden
The lands of Sweden are three traditional parts, essentially three collectives of provinces, in Sweden. These "lands" have no administrative function, and there is no official designation for this subdivision level...
at this time included Skåneland (1332-1360), Sweden and Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, while the Norwegian kingdom included Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, and the Faroe
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
, Shetland
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
and Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands
Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...
.
Kalmar Union
In 1397 the three ScandinaviaScandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n kingdoms of Sweden, Norway and 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...
were united in the Kalmar Union
Kalmar Union
The Kalmar Union is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway , and Sweden under a single monarch, though intermittently and with a population...
, a personal union agreed upon in the Swedish city of Kalmar
Kalmar
Kalmar is a city in Småland in the south-east of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 62,767 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of 233,776 inhabitants .From the thirteenth to the...
. After only a few decades the relationship between Sweden and the leading power Denmark had deteriorated into open conflict. The period until the dissolution in 1521 was marked by the constant strife between Sweden and Denmark. The union was sometimes made defunct by Sweden electing a monarch separate from the union king, and on one occasion Sweden and Norway were even de facto united in a personal union in opposition to the union monarch.
Poland-Lithuania
In 1592 SigismundSigismund 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...
succeeded his father 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...
to the Swedish throne, but in 1587 he had also been elected king of Poland-Lithuania
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
making him the monarch of both nations. Sigismund, who was a Roman Catholic failed however to gain support in Lutheran
Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden is the largest Christian church in Sweden. The church professes the Lutheran faith and is a member of the Porvoo Communion. With 6,589,769 baptized members, it is the largest Lutheran church in the world, although combined, there are more Lutherans in the member churches of...
Sweden, and was eventually deposed and succeeded by his uncle Charles IX
Charles IX of Sweden
Charles IX of Sweden also Carl, 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...
in Sweden 1599.
Pfalz-Zweibrücken
In 1654 the reigning queen Christina of SwedenChristina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
abdicated and was succeeded by her cousin Charles X, duke of Pfalz-Zweibrücken. Sweden and Zweibrücken were also united under Charles XI
Charles XI of Sweden
Charles XI also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period in Swedish history known as the Swedish empire ....
and Charles XII
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
, until the death of the latter in 1718, at which point he was succeeded by his sister Ulrike Eleonora on the Swedish throne, but not in his German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Duchy.
Hesse-Kassel
Frederick I of SwedenFrederick I of Sweden
Frederick I, , was a prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and a King of Sweden from 1720 until his death and also Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1730...
had acceded to the Swedish throne when his wife, Ulrike Eleonora, abdicated in his favour in 1721. In 1730 he was also in line of succession to the duchy of Hesse-Kassel
Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...
, which resulted in a personal union that lasted until his death in 1751.
Norway (II)
By the Treaty of KielTreaty of Kiel
The Treaty of Kiel or Peace of Kiel was concluded between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Sweden on one side and the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway on the other side on 14 January 1814 in Kiel...
in 1814 the king of Denmark-Norway ceded Norway to the king of Sweden, an event which likely would have resulted in a full political union between Sweden and Norway. The treaty however never came into force, as Norway
Norway in 1814
1814 was a pivotal year in the history of Norway. It started with Norway in a union with the Kingdom of Denmark subject to a naval blockade being ceded to the king of Sweden. In May a constitutional convention declared Norway an independent kingdom. By the end of the year the Norwegian parliament...
adopted a constitution
Constitution of Norway
The Constitution of Norway was first adopted on May 16, 1814 by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll , then signed and dated May 17...
and declared independence. Sweden, which would not accept this outcome, went to war and forced Norway into accepting a personal union with Sweden. The two kingdoms had full inner autonomy and separate institutions, sharing only the monarch and the foreign policy, which was conducted by the Swedish foreign office. The new Bernadotte
Bernadotte
The House of Bernadotte, the current royal house of Sweden, has reigned since 1818. Between 1818 and 1905, it was also the royal house of the Norway...
dynasty could just as well be termed Norwegian until the dissolution of the union in 1905.
European Union
In 1995 Sweden joined the European Union after holding a referendum on the matter. The European Union at present (2008) constitutes 27 European states. The organisation is a political union where each state is technically allowed to conduct their own foreign policy (though a loose joint policy is in place).Table
| Year | Unions | Lasted | |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... | – | Antiquity Classical antiquity Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world... |
| 1319 | Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... | 24 years | |
| 1343 | – | 54 years | |
| 1397 | 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... and Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... | 124 years | |
| 1521 | – | 71 years | |
| 1592 | Poland-Lithuania Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century... | 7 years | |
| 1599 | – | 55 years | |
| 1654 | Pfalz-Zweibrücken | 64 years | |
| 1718 | – | 12 years | |
| 1730 | Hesse-Kassel Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the... | 21 years | |
| 1751 | – | 63 years | |
| 1814 | Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... | 91 years | |
| 1905 | – | 90 years | |
| 1995 | European Union European Union The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958... | 15+ years | |
External links
- History of Sweden - Maps depicting the territorial evolution of Sweden