Scandinavia 1648 CE

What is happening in Scandinavia in 1648CE

The Union of Kalmar between Denmark, Sweden and Norway, was characterised by repeated conflict. Eventually this Union was ended when Gustavus Vasa was elected king of Sweden in 1523. Norway remained united to Denmark.

In the following decades all the Scandinavian nations became protestant. The Swedish and Danish kings seized all the Church lands and this strengthened the wealth and power of the crown. Under their charismatic king, Gustavus Adolphus (reigned 1611-32), and largely as a result of their victories in the Thirty Years War, the Swedes won important territories in the east, and on the southern shores of the Baltic. Just as importantly, the reign of Gustavus Adolphus – and the policies of his great minister, Oxenstierna – saw sweeping reforms that have greatly strengthened the nation’s power. The army, navy, civil service, local government, law courts and education have all been overhauled, making Sweden the most efficiently run country in Europe.

Denmark, meanwhile, has benefited from the strong and effective rule of one of her most popular kings, Christian IV (1588-1648). He has paid great attention to the economy, carried out many centralizing reforms, endowed his capital with many beautiful buildings and founded several important new towns (including the later city of Oslo). He has also given Norway much greater autonomy. His foreign policy has been disastrous, however, drawing on his country the wrath of virtually all his neighbours, leading to two major invasions by hostile armies.

Next map, Scandinavia in 1789