Sweden 1600-1700 essays

Sweden 1600-1700 essays In the period between 1600 and 1700, Sweden saw its fortunes rise and fall. It went from a sparsely populated medieval country to a great European power and finally ended up as a country with great influence within its own region . Some historians even call the 17th century the Swedish Great Power Period. There were both internal and external reasons for Swedens rise to power and eventual fall. Before 1612 Sweden was a country where most of the population were farmers, the country was threatened by Denmark, Swedens army and navy were very small, the country had no universities and very little trade with other countries. Gustavus Adolphus became king when he was only 17 and by the time he died in the battlefield in 1632, he had turned Sweden into a great power. In the middle of the 16th century, when the German Order State fell apart, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, and Poland fought for control over territories in the Baltic area. Sweden took control of the northern part of Estonia. This was the beginning of a very expansive foreign policy that even included settlements in America. During this time Sweden took advantage of the chaos in Russia, because of their Civil War. When a peace treaty was signed, new territories were added to the Finnish part of Sweden. Many countries were anxious to take control of the Baltic States because they wanted to have control of the important customs revenues from trading between Russia and Western Europe. King Gustav II Adolf realized that it would be very difficult to control the northern route so he concentrated on the Baltic Sea. When he was able to get control of the important harbor cities in Polish Prussia the new customs revenues were over 25% of the Swedish state income. There were also internal factors that helped Sweden become a great power: Sweden had a well managed economy, growing domestic iron and weapons industry, and a well governed state. The exter...