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facts about | sweden.se PHOTO: BENGT OLOF OLSSON/SCANPIX

Ale’s stones in Österlen on the southern coast of Sweden. The monument was likely erected around 600 AD.

History of Sweden: War, peace and progress

Fourteen thousand years ago, present-day Sweden was covered by a thick ice cap. As the ice retreated, humans came to Sweden. The first known dwelling place, found in southern Sweden, dates from around 12,000 BC.

From 8,000 BC to 6,000 BC, the coun- rivers that stretched deep into present- mid-16th century, this group, known try as a whole became populated by day Russia. The travelled as far as the , dominated people who lived by hunting, gathering as the Black and Caspian Seas, where Swedish trade, and many towns were and fishing, and who used simple stone they developed trading links with the founded as a result of lively commer- tools. Dwelling places and graves dating Byzantine and the Arab king- cial activity. However, the , from the Stone Age, lasting until about doms. Christianity first reached Sweden which reached Sweden in 1350, led to a 1,800 BC, are found today in increasing with a mission led by , who vis- long period of economic and population numbers. The Bronze Age was marked ited in the 9th century, but the country decline. in the Nordic region – especially in Den- was not converted to Christianity until mark but also in Sweden – by a high the 11th century. The level of culture, shown by the artefacts In 1389, the crowns of , Nor- found in graves. After 500 BC, such Founding of the kingdom way and Sweden were united under artefacts become increasingly rare as The various provinces of Sweden were the rule of the Danish Queen Margareta. iron came into more general use. Dur- absorbed around 1000 into a single unit, In 1397, the Kalmar Union was formed, ing the early Iron Age, the population of but the crown began to gain signifi- with the three Scandinavian countries Sweden became settled, and agriculture cant influence only during the late 13th under a single monarch. However, the came to form the basis of the economy century. In 1280 King Magnus Ladulås union (1397–1523) was scarred by in- and society. (1275–90) issued a statute authorizing ternal conflicts that culminated in the the establishment of a nobility and the ‘ Bloodbath’ in 1520, when Vikings and early Christians organization of society on the feudal 80 Swedish nobles were executed at The (800–1050 AD) was model. the instigation of the Danish union king, characterized by a significant expansion Kristian II. The act provoked a rebellion, of activity, in Sweden’s case largely to- The Hanseatic period which in 1521 led to the deposition of ward the east. Many Viking expeditions Trade grew during the 14th century, es- Kristian II and the seizure of power by a set off from Sweden to both plunder pecially with the German towns grouped Swedish nobleman, Gustav , who and trade along the Baltic coast and the under the leadership of Lübeck. By the was elected king of Sweden in 1523. „ facts about sweden | History of Sweden sweden.se

Famous Swedish PHOTO: NATIONALMUSEUM monarchs

GUSTAV II ADOLF (1611–1632) PHOTO: AKG-IMAGES/SCANPIX By intervening in the Thirty Years’ War, Gustav II Adolf came to as- sume great po- litical importance, and internation- ally is the best known of Sweden’s kings. Under his rule, Sweden be- came a leading military power. Gustav II Adolf was killed in 1632 at the Battle of Lützen. On the church green in Mora in 1520, Gustav Vasa urged residents of the town to take up arms and help free Sweden from Danish occupation.

KRISTINA

PHOTO: NATIONALMUSEUM „ The Vasa period as present-day Sweden and . (1632–1654) The foundations of the Swedish state During the , Sweden Excepting the were laid during the reign of Gustav Vasa surrendered Finland to Russia. As com- short caretaker (1523–60). The church was nationalized, pensation, the French marshal Jean Bap- government of tiste Bernadotte, who had been elected Queen Ulrika its estates confiscated by the crown, and Eleonora 1719- the Protestant was intro- heir to the Swedish throne in 1810, suc- 20, Kristina is duced. Power was concentrated in the ceeded in obtaining Norway, which was the only female hands of the king and hereditary monar- forced into a union with Sweden in 1814. monarch of the modern Swedish chy came into force in 1544. This union was peacefully dissolved in kingdom. She succeeded Gustav II 1905 after many internal disputes. Adolf in 1632, just before her sixth birthday, and ruled for 22 years. The Kristina abdicated in 1654, convert- Since the dissolution of the Kalmar 18th/19th century Sweden ing to Catholicism and settling in Union, Swedish foreign policy had been After the death of the warrior king Rome, and was succeeded by her aimed at gaining dominion over the Bal- Karl XII in 1718 and Sweden’s defeat in cousin, Karl Gustav. When he died the , the Swedish in 1660, she travelled to Sweden in tic Sea, leading to repeated wars with the hope of reclaiming the throne. Denmark from the 1560s onward. After parliament () and council were Her claim was rejected by parlia- Sweden intervened in 1630 with great strong enough to introduce a new con- ment, however, and Kristina re- success in the Thirty Years’ War on the stitution that abolished royal absolutism turned to Rome. side of the German Protestants, and and put power in the hands of parlia- ment. Gustav II Adolf became one of ’s most powerful monarchs, Sweden de- Eighteenth-century Sweden was char- GUSTAV III feated Denmark in the two wars of 1643- acterized by rapid cultural development, PHOTO: NATIONALMUSEUM (1771–1792) 45 and 1657–58. Finland, provinces in partly through close contact with . Usually called northern and the present-day Overseas trade was hard hit by the Na- the Theatre King, Baltic republics also belonged to Swe- poleonic Wars, which led to general stag- Gustav III was a den, and after the nation and economic crisis in Sweden keen patron of the in 1648 and the Peace of Roskilde with during the early 19th century. In the late arts, and founded 19th century, 90 per cent of the people the first opera Denmark in 1658, Sweden was a great in Stockholm in power in northern Europe. The country still earned their livelihoods from agricul- 1782, the Swedish Academy and even founded a short-lived colony in ture. the Royal Academy of Music. His what is now Delaware in . One consequence was emigration, reign was not popular with the high However, Sweden had a largely agrarian mainly to North America. From the mid- nobility, however, and opposition 19th century to 1930, about 1.5 million culminated in a conspiracy in 1792, economy and lacked the resources to when he was shot at a masked ball maintain its position as a great power in emigrated, out of a population held at the opera. He died shortly the long run. of 3.5 million in 1850 and slightly more after. After its defeat in the Great Northern than 6 million in 1930. War (1700–21) against the combined Industry did not begin to grow until the forces of Denmark, Poland and Russia, 1890s, although it then developed rapidly Sweden lost most of its provinces on between 1900 and 1930 and transformed the other side of the and was Sweden into one of Europe’s leading in- reduced essentially to the same frontiers dustrial nations after World War II. n 2 | facts about sweden | History of Sweden sweden.se PHOTO: LEIF ENGBERG/SCANPIX WELL-KNOWN FIGURES IN HISTORY

SAINT BRIDGET (1303–73) PHOTO: HISTORISKA MUSEET After being wid- owed, Bridget (Birgitta in Swed- ish) made her way to Rome, where she was to live the rest of her life. She undertook several pilgrimages, including to Jerusa- lem. Bridget was known for her ‘heavenly revelations’, visions and prophetic messages, which she relayed to and princes. Bridget was canonized in 1491 and since 2000 has been considered one of Europe’s patron saints.

On September 3, 1967, Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the ALFRED NOBEL road to the right. The result was chaos in the streets. (1833–96) PHOTO: NOBELMUSEET The inventor, chemist and benefactor re- The 20th century – ceived his first patent in 1863 for a method for han- a century of reforms dling nitro-glyc- erine by mixing it with black pow- Late 19th-century Sweden was marked by the emergence of der and lighting the mixture with strong popular movements that included the free churches, a fuse. Nobel went on to produce dynamite and other explosives. the temperance and women’s movements, and above all The Nobel Prizes were a bequest the labour movement. from Nobel for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or The labour movement, whose growth Swedish state. At the same time, medicine, literature and peace. kept pace with industrialization in the late there were calls for a modernization of 19th century, was reformist in outlook af- the 1809 constitution. A new Instrument DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD ter the turn of the 20th century. of Government was adopted in 1974,

PHOTO: UN The first Social Democrats entered stating that all public power is derived (1905–61) government in 1917. Universal suffrage from the people, who are to select the An economist was introduced for men in 1909 and for members of parliament in free elections. and government women in 1921. Plans for a The monarch is still the head of state, but official, Ham- were drawn up during the 1930s after the in name only. In 1979, an amendment marskjöld was appointed UN Social Democrats rose to power, and put to the order of succession gave male secretary-gen- into effect after World War II. and female heirs an equal claim to the eral in 1953. He throne. Accordingly, Crown Princess Vic- quickly became associated with The post-war era toria is next in line to the throne, not her the strategy of ‘quiet diplomacy’, During World War II, a coalition of Swe- younger brother, Carl Philip. which in 1955 resulted in the re- lease of American prisoners of den’s four ‘democratic’ parties (excluding war in China. En route to a meet- the Communists) formed the govern- Foreign policy ing during the Congo crisis, Ham- ment. After the war ended, a purely So- Since a short war against Norway in marskjöld died in a plane crash in cial Democratic government resumed 1814 in conjunction with the creation northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). office under . Under of the union, Sweden has not been in- The same year, he was posthu- mously awarded the Nobel Peace Social Democratic leadership, but in volved in any war. Since , Prize. close cooperation with the other demo- Sweden has pursued a policy of nona- cratic parties, a series of reforms were lignment in peacetime and neutrality in carried out in the 1940s and 1950s that wartime, basing its security on a strong together laid the foundations of the national defence. Nonetheless, Sweden „ 3 | facts about sweden | History of Sweden sweden.se

Learn more „ joined the League of Nations in 1920 • 1994 A minority government led by Social and the in 1946. The Democrat Ingvar Carlsson. In 1996, Carls- THE SHIP THAT SURFACED first UN operation involving Swedish son stepped down and was replaced by AFTER 300 YEARS troops took place in Suez in 1956. Since his finance minister, Göran Persson, who 1994, Sweden has also cooperated with remained prime minister for 10 years. The battleship Vasa was commis- sioned by King Gustav II Adolf in Nato under the Partnership for Peace. • 2006 The emerged as 1625. On August 10, 1628, the Vasa Through these organizations, Sweden the main victor. Together with the Centre weighed anchor in Stockholm, but has been involved in numerous interna- Party, the Liberal Party and the Christian its maiden voyage ended in disaster. tional peacekeeping missions. Democrats, it formed a coalition govern- The Vasa sank after only 20 minutes. ment headed by Prime Minister Fredrik After a lengthy search, the ship was rediscovered in 1956 and salvaged New governments Reinfeldt. in 1961. Today the Vasa, by far the The economic crisis of the early 1970s • 2010 Although the Moderate Party best preserved example of ship broke the long hegemony of the So- achieved its best election result yet, Rein- construction and naval warfare of cial Democrats. Since 1976, power has feldt had to retain his coalition partners to that era, can be seen at the Vasa changed hands more often. stay in office. For the first time in history, Museum in Stockholm. • 1976 Non-socialist coalition govern- there were eight parties in the Riksdag, ment under the leadership of Centre including an extreme right-wing party for MEMENTOS IN STONE Party chairman Thorbjörn Fälldin. the first time. • 1982 Social Democratic Party, with There are more than 2,500 rune as prime minister. Sweden and the EU presidency stones in Sweden, with messages dating from the 5th century to the The murder of Olof Palme on 28 Sweden joined the EU on 1 January 1995. mid-12th century, making them the February 1986, came as a shock to In a national referendum in 2003, a majority oldest preserved Swedish docu- the Swedish people, who had been of the country’s voters voted not to join the ments. Relatives often had stones spared such political violence for al- . erected in memory of a dead family most 200 years. Palme’s successor as The government sees Sweden’s role in member, many of them alongside roads, bridges or meeting places prime minister was Ingvar Carlsson. the EU as important for the country’s future. where they could be seen and read • 1991 Non-socialist coalition govern- Sweden has held the EU presidency twice: by many. ment, with Moderate Party leader Carl 1 January–30 June 2001, and 30 June– Bildt as prime minister. 31 December 2009. n

THE SÁMI IN SWEDEN The first document to mention the Useful links Sámi was written almost 2,000 years ago. Inland parts of upper are known to have been www.center.kva.se Centre for History of Science inhabited even longer, however – www.ekohist.su.se Department of Economic History, Stockholm University for close to 10,000 years. The Sámi www.hist.lu.se Department of History, have had to fight for their rights, and www.historicalstatistics.org Portal for Historical Statistics were recognized by the Riksdag as an indigenous people first in 1977. www.historiska.se The National Historical Museum In 1993 the Sámi Parliament was www.hist.uu.se Department of History, University established as both a democrati- www.levandehistoria.se The Living History Forum cally elected body and a national ad- ministrative authority. There are an www.raa.se The Swedish National Heritage Board estimated 20,000 Sámi in Sweden, www.riksbank.se Sweden’s central bank about 2,500 of whom earn their liv- www.royalcourt.se The Swedish Royal Court ing from reindeer husbandry. www.samer.se Sami information centre www.skansen.se Skansen open-air museum www.statsvet.su.se Department of Political Science, Stockholm University www.tacitus.nu Historical atlas

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