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History of Sweden

A Nordic welfare state that has not been at war since 1814. 4 eras, 800 CE to today.

Kingdom of Sweden, 800 CE–1521 Draft, not yet reviewed

Swedish pre-history ends around 800 AD, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. Scandinavia was formally Christianized by 1100 AD. The Kalmar Union between the Scandinavian countries was established in 1397 and lasted until King Gustav Vasa ended it upon seizing power during the Swedish War of Liberation, which concluded in 1523.

Seat of power: Uppsala

Rulers

Swedish Empire, 1611–1721 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Swedish Empire, called the Great Power Era in Sweden, was the period in the 17th and early 18th centuries when Sweden was a European great power with territorial control over much of the Baltic region. The beginning of the period is usually taken as the reign of Gustavus Adolphus, who ascended the throne in 1611, and its end as the loss of territories in 1721 following the Great Northern War. Sweden reached the height of its power during the Northern War of 1655–1660, when its primary adversary, Denmark–Norway, was neutralized by the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. Charles XII won early victories, but his campaign in Russia ended in a decisive defeat at the Battle of Poltava.

Seat of power: Stockholm

Rulers

Age of Liberty, 1718–1772 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Age of Liberty began with the adoption of the Instrument of Government in 1719 and ended with the Revolution of 1772, Gustav III of Sweden's self-coup. This shift of power from the monarch to parliament was a direct effect of the Great Northern War. All power was vested in the people as represented by the Riksdag, consisting of four distinct estates: nobles, priests, burgesses, and peasants. Suffrage under the parliamentary government was not universal.

Seat of power: Stockholm

Rulers

Sweden, 1772 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

As a reaction to the failed Great Northern War, a parliamentary system was introduced in 1719, followed by three different flavours of constitutional monarchy in 1772, 1789 and 1809, the latter granting several civil liberties. The eastern half of Sweden, present-day Finland, was lost to Imperial Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Sweden by military means forced Norway into a personal union, a union which lasted until 1905. Sweden joined the European Union in 1995, and in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, NATO in 2024.

Seat of power: Stockholm

Rulers

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.