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100-689: Ingermanland Governorate ( Ингерманла́ндская губе́рния , Ingermanlandskaya guberniya ) was created from the territories reconquered from the Swedish Empire in the Great Northern War . In 1704 prince Alexander Menshikov was appointed as its first governor, and in 1706 it was first Russian region designated as a Governorate . According to the Tsar Peter the Great 's edict as on December 29 [ O.S. December 18], 1708,

200-743: A Swedish minority in Estonia at least since the Middle Ages . During the Northern Crusades , in the 13th century, Swedish crusaders made a failed attempt to conquer Estonia. Instead, as a result of the crusades, Denmark conquered north Estonia, whereas the crusading knights from Germany established the State of the Teutonic Order which covered most parts of Latvia and southern Estonia (and after 1346, northern Estonia as well). With

300-516: A certain amount per annum should revert to the Crown. The same Riksdag decided that the king was not bound by any particular constitution , but only by law and statutes, and not even obligated to consult the Privy Council , but was to be regarded as a sovereign lord. The Privy Council changed its official title from Riksråd (council of state) to kungligt råd (royal council); a visible sign that

400-526: A couple of northern German provinces. After France intervened on the same side as Sweden, fortunes shifted again. As the war continued, the civilian and military death toll grew, and when it was over, it had led to severe depopulation in the German states. Although exact population estimates do not exist, historians estimate that the population of the Holy Roman Empire fell by one-third as a result of

500-516: A general European war. He achieved passage over the Belts and emerged triumphant, only to die of sheer exhaustion. Immediately after his death, a regency was appointed to govern Sweden during the minority of his only son and successor, Charles XI of Sweden , who was four years old. The regency council moved quickly to end the war with Sweden's numerous enemies, which now included the Tsardom of Russia ,

600-462: A personal dislike of the French king and developed a strong anti-French bias. The remainder of the reign of Charles XI is remarkable for a revolution, in which the government of Sweden was transformed to a semi-absolute monarchy. The king emerged from the war convinced that if Sweden were to retain its position as a great power, it needed to reform its whole economic system radically and circumscribe

700-487: A range of roughly 50 meters, and then to draw their swords before the battalion resumed their attack. The two foremost ranks then discharged at a range of roughly 20 meters before drawing their swords, and the charge began. At this range, the powerful muskets usually felled many enemy troops and was demoralising to them. Directly after the volley, the Swedes charged the enemy ranks with pikes , bayonets and sabres. Note that

800-461: A result of Sweden's intervention, Sweden helped secure religious liberty in Europe for Protestants, becoming a leading power of Continental Protestantism for 90 years. The elevation of Sweden to the rank of an imperial power required that it remain a military monarchy, armed for possible emergency. Sweden's poverty and sparse population meant the country was ill-suited for imperial status. However, in

900-499: A result of the continuous warfare and the transfer of the crown properties into private possession, the revenues of the Swedish state had diminished. To increase its revenues, the so-called reduction of the possessions of the nobility was carried out. The reduction of manorial lands was linked to another radical change — the formation of absolutist monarchy under Charles XI, which sought to strengthen central authority in all parts of

1000-641: A trend to set up respective estates in Sweden proper . The Great Reduction of 1680 put an end to these efforts of the nobility and required them to return estates once gained from the crown to the king. Serfdom, however, remained in force in the dominions acquired in the Holy Roman Empire and in Swedish Estonia , where a consequent application of the uniformity policy was hindered by the treaties by which they were gained. After its victories in

1100-801: A vote in the Imperial Diet and enabled it to "direct" the Lower Saxon Circle alternately with Brandenburg . France and Sweden, moreover, became joint guarantors of the treaty with the Holy Roman Emperor and were entrusted with carrying out its provisions, as enacted by the executive congress of Nuremberg in 1650. After the peaces of Brömsebro and Westphalia, Sweden was the third-largest area of control in Europe by land area, only surpassed by Russia and Spain. Sweden reached its largest territorial extent during this time under

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1200-410: A way of preventing Russia and Denmark from gaining potentially dangerous footholds close to Swedish-controlled Finland . The time of Swedish rule is sometimes colloquially referred to as the "good old Swedish times" ( Estonian : vana hea Rootsi aeg ). However, it remains unclear whether the contemporaneous Estonian -speaking population generally used that expression or whether it considered

1300-535: The Assembly of Nobility 59°57′00″N 30°19′00″E  /  59.9500°N 30.3167°E  / 59.9500; 30.3167 Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Age of Greatness ( Swedish : stormaktstiden ) was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of

1400-549: The Baltic region . During this period it also held territories on the North Sea and some overseas colonies , including New Sweden . 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 . After the death of Gustavus Adolphus in 1632, the empire was controlled for lengthy periods by part of

1500-734: The Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) , the infantry was almost entirely reliant on their firepower and saw very limited offensive use; but under the leadership of Johan Banér , who took command after the defeat at Nördlingen, the Gustavian brigade system was finally changed into the battalion system recognisable from the War of the Spanish Succession and the Great Northern War (the depth was lowered from six ranks to three or four when

1600-770: The Bible into Estonian and creating a court of appeal in Tartu . Repeated contacts between the inhabitants of present-day Sweden and Estonia began already during the Nordic Bronze Age and the first attested records of these contacts date from the Viking Age : For example, a runestone in Roslags-Bro Church in Sweden commemorates a man who was killed in Estonia during the 11th century. There has been

1700-533: The Duchy of Estonia was created from this territory. Following renewed wars between Poland and Sweden , the southern parts of present-day Estonia (then Livonia ) were incorporated into Sweden by the Treaty of Altmark in 1629. Sweden also conquered the island of Ösel ( Saaremaa ) from Denmark , and were thus in control of all of present-day Estonia. The time of Swedish rule came to an effective end in 1710, when all

1800-476: The Governorate of Vyborg ( Russian : Выборгская губерния ). From August 18, 1914 to January 26, 1924 it was named Petrograd Governorate , and during 1924–1927 — Leningrad Governorate . It was abolished on August 1, 1927 when modern Leningrad Oblast was created. The governorate was composed of eight counties ( uezds ) as of January 1, 1914. Follows the table: Served as chair of

1900-604: The Napoleonic Wars , and Finland was ceded to Russia in 1809 , marking the end of Sweden’s period as a great power. Sweden emerged as a great European power under Axel Oxenstierna and King Gustavus Adolphus . As a result of acquiring territories seized from Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , as well as its involvement in the Thirty Years' War , Sweden found itself transformed into

2000-497: The Ottoman Empire . Following the defeat at Poltava, Poland and Denmark re-entered the war, along with other countries wanting parts of the Swedish provinces. In the following years, most of them would fall, and Russia occupied the eastern half of Sweden (present-day Finland ). Despite these setbacks, Charles XII twice tried to invade Norway to force Denmark-Norway out of the war again. On 30 November 1718, King Charles XII

2100-605: The Peace of Travendal (1700) and the Treaty of Altranstädt (1706) , he would go on to lead a campaign in Russia that would end in a staggering defeat for the Swedes. The Russian victory at the Battle of Poltava put an end to Sweden's eastbound expansion, and by the time of Charles XII's death in 1718 the Empire had been severely diminished both territorially and militarily. The last traces of occupied continental territory vanished during

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2200-425: The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 granted Sweden territories as war reparations . Sweden demanded Silesia , Pomerania (which had been in its possession since the Treaty of Stettin (1630) , and a war indemnity of 20,000,000 Riksdaler . Through the efforts of Johan Oxenstierna and Johan Adler Salvius it obtained: These German possessions were to be held as fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire. This allowed Sweden

2300-814: The Spanish Netherlands . The anti-French faction prevailed; and in April 1668, Sweden acceded to the Triple Alliance , which ended the French acquisitions through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle . For the next four years, Sweden remained true to the Triple Alliance; but, in 1672, Louis XIV succeeded in isolating the Dutch Republic and regaining Sweden as an ally. By the Treaty of Stockholm on 14 April 1672, Sweden entered an agreement with

2400-487: The Swedish Baltic provinces capitulated to Russian troops during the end-stages of the Great Northern War . Russian hegemony was formalized in 1721. The reasons for Swedish involvement in Estonia were economic as well as political and military. The Swedish Crown was not least interested in getting a share of the profits from the rich trade with Russia. At the same time, assertions in Estonia can also be seen as

2500-546: The Swedish Empire . During the 17th century, Sweden attained large areas around the Baltic Sea . In 1629, Polish-controlled Livonia , including the southern parts of present-day Estonia, was conquered by Swedish forces, and in 1645 the island of Saaremaa (Ösel) was ceded by Denmark to Sweden as a part of the Peace Treaty of Brömsebro . While the surrender of northern Estonia to Sweden was seen as voluntary, Livonia

2600-515: The Thirty Years' War and the subsequent Peace of Westphalia Sweden was granted territories in northern Germany. Sweden reached the height of its power during the Second Northern War , when its primary adversary, Denmark–Norway , was neutralized by the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. Denmark–Norway was forced to give up a third of its territory to save the rest. Although the reign of Charles XII would see initial Swedish victories in

2700-460: The Treaties of Nijmegen on 7 February and of St. Germain on 29 June 1679, Sweden received almost full restitution of its German territory. By the Treaty of Fontainebleau confirmed by the subsequent Peace of Lund on 2 September, Denmark–Norway was to return all the land it had captured to Sweden on 4 October 1679. While Sweden could never have gained these concessions alone, Charles XI formed

2800-516: The treaty of Oliva in 1660. Gustav II Adolph inherited the Polish war together with the Kalmar War against Denmark–Norway when Charles IX died in 1611. The war against Denmark–Norway was a terrible loss that forced Sweden to pay a ransom of 1 million silverdaler to regain Älvsborg (final payment, 1619). The Polish war was interrupted by a series of truces caused by Sweden's weakness along with

2900-425: The wheellock pistol as the primary weapon of the cavalry . Horsemen rode knee-by-knee in a tight formation. When in range, they switched to gallop and charged, and at a range of ten yards, shot both their pistols. A standard regiment numbered 250 simultaneous shots that would blast a hole in the enemy ranks. They then continued the charge with sabres ( värjor ), aiming to break the enemy formation. The infantry

3000-640: The "indelningsverk" — a system of military tenure in which national forces were bound to the soil. This tied to the "rust hail tenure", under which the tenants, instead of paying rent, were obliged to equip and maintain a cavalry soldier and horse; while the knekthållare supplied duly equipped foot soldiers. Soldiers were provided with holdings on which they lived in times of peace. Formerly, ordinary conscription had existed alongside this indelning, or distribution system, but it had proved inadequate as well as highly unpopular, and in 1682, Charles XI ended it in favor of an extended distribution system. The Swedish Royal Navy

3100-401: The Crown, and the burden of proof of ownership lay with the actual owner of the property, not the Crown. The amount of revenue accruing to the Crown from the whole "Reduktion" is impossible to estimate; but by these means, combined with careful management and rigid economy, Charles XI reduced the national debt by three quarters. Charles XI re-established on a broader basis the reorganization of

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3200-468: The Dutch system for fighting in caracole among the cavalry, with unfortunate results. His partially reformed army suffered a disastrous defeat at Kircholm against a Polish-Lithuanian army led by Jan Karol Chodkiewicz . Charles IX's revolt against his nephew Sigismund of Poland and subsequent rise to the throne of Sweden caused a dynastic struggle for the throne of Sweden that would not finally end until

3300-586: The Estates of 1655, the king proposed that noble holders of crown property should either: 1) pay an annual sum of 200,000 Riksdaler out of the lands they would receive, or 2) surrender a fourth of the property itself, worth approximately 800,000 Riksdaler. The nobility wished to avoid taxation and stipulated that 6 November 1632, the day of Gustavus Adolphus's death, should be the limit to which retrospective taxes could be collected, and that there should be no further restitution of alienated crown property. Against this,

3400-659: The Estonian-speaking population considered Swedish rule as characterised by the rule of law , and the lower classes were later recorded to have expressed a wish for a return to Swedish rule. Swedish reforms, some with lasting influence, also included the establishment of the University of Tartu (as well as other educational institutions such as the Gustav Adolf Grammar School ), staunchly promoting Lutheranism and providing translations of

3500-585: The French to protect its sphere of interest containing the Dutch Republic from hostile German claims in return for 400,000 Riksdaler per annum in peace and 600,000 in wartime. In 1674, Louis XIV called upon Sweden to invade the Electorate of Brandenburg . In May 1675, a Swedish army advanced into the Mark but was defeated on 18 June at Fehrbellin and retreated to Swedish Demmin . The Fehrbellin affair

3600-631: The Great Northern War put an end to Sweden's time as a great power. As a result of eighteen years of war, Sweden gained small and scattered possessions, but had secured control of three principal rivers in northern Germany—the Oder , the Elbe and the Weser —and gained toll-collection rights for those important commercial arteries, benefitting the Swedish economy. Two principal reasons for the small reparations were France 's envy and Queen Christina 's impatience. As

3700-515: The King and much of the Swedish army was shipped to the Baltic provinces, where Russian and Polish armies were laying siege to several towns. The Russian army was soundly defeated in the Battle of Narva , after which Charles took the army into Poland with the intent of dethroning the Polish king Augustus II . This took several years, but in 1706, with the Treaty of Altranstädt , he reached his goal. In

3800-619: The Livonian estates, Estonian aristocracy and towns had surrendered on condition that their privileges be retained. Unlike in Livonia, where Poland soon violated the agreement, Swedish kings kept their promises to the city of Tallinn and the local nobility. The landlords of north and west Estonia who formed the Estonian nobility were represented by its general assembly, convened regularly every third year ( Landtag ), and its executive body —

3900-466: The Livonian estates. The Swedish authorities exercised a strict control over religious and intellectual life, arranging regular inspections, the so-called visitations, from the end of the 16th century and throughout the 17th century. The higher clergy — bishops or superintendents — visited congregation after congregation to inspect the religious beliefs of peasants and to root out the remnants of paganism or Catholicism . The first large scale visitation

4000-601: The Norwegian province of Trøndelag and the Danish island of Bornholm , which had been surrendered at Roskilde. Denmark–Norway was also compelled to recognize the independence of the dukes of Holstein-Gottorp . The Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658) was terminated by the Treaty of Cardis on 2 July 1661, through which the Tsar surrendered the Baltic provinces to Sweden — Ingria , Estonia and Kexholm . Thus, Sweden emerged from

4100-730: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, known as the Deluge . By the time of the Swedish Intervention in the Thirty Years' War in 1630, Gustav II Adolph had transformed the Swedish (Gustavian) army into an army in which the cavalry fought with aggressive shock tactics, closer to the Polish tactics than the Western European . The Caracole and heavy armor were mostly abandoned, and the saber replaced

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4200-486: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Electorate of Brandenburg and Denmark-Norway . The Peace of Oliva on 3 May 1660, put an end to the long feud with Poland . French mediation of this treaty also ended the quarrel between Sweden, the Holy Roman emperor and the elector of Brandenburg . This treaty confirmed both Sweden's possession of Livonia and the elector of Brandenburg's sovereignty over Prussia ; and

4300-576: The Swedish Empire between 1617 and 1721. Relative to the contemporary population of Finland, this was equivalent to over a million of them dying in 20th-century Finland. Throughout the Thirty Years' War, the infantry's shock ability was continuously improved. The static nature of the infantry that served well against the cavalry-dominated Polish-Lithuanian army was enhanced during the war to produce infantry capable of both providing devastating firepower and executing offensive maneuvers. Initially, at

4400-523: The areas of Harrien ( Harjumaa ) and Wierland ( Virumaa ), as well as the city of Reval ( Tallinn ) in June 1561 (and somewhat later Jerwen ( Järvamaa )) asked for and were granted protection by the Swedish king Eric XIV , leading to Swedish involvement in the Livonian War . At the conclusion of hostilities in 1583, Sweden was in control of the northern parts of modern Estonia and Dagö ( Hiiumaa island);

4500-562: The army but had effectively failed to do so. Charles IX, like most other rulers, had tried to implement the Dutch system into the army but with limited success. The lack of a strict organisation in the infantry caused the proportion of pikemen to musketeers to be far lower than the preferred ratio of 1 to 1. This, combined with the lack of funds to provide the soldiers with armour, caused the Swedish infantry to be dangerously lightly equipped and unable to deal with cavalry or heavier infantry in open terrain. Charles IX was, however, able to implement

4600-406: The bayonet was introduced at the end of the 17th century). Swedish tactics once again greatly diverged from the continental tactics during the second half of the 17th century. The continental tactics increasingly emphasized the firepower of the battalion, while the Swedish ( Carolean ) tactics almost exclusively relied on the shock factor as the infantry and cavalry charged the enemy. As the bayonet

4700-492: The centre of Livonia; after the capture of Riga in 1710 the Livonian and Estonian cities surrendered one after another. The war on Estonian territory ended with the capitulation of Tallinn in September 1710. As Russia considered the support of the local nobility to be essential in consolidating its power, the towns and the aristocrats achieved favourable terms of capitulation. The incorporation of Estonia and Livonia into Russia

4800-653: The centre of intense fighting between Swedes and Danes, with a large scale confrontation between the main armies near Lund in December 1676. After that, Scania was divided into Danish and Swedish enclaves centering around the main cities for the rest of the war. The remaining territories in Scania were mainly a no man's land where a fierce "little war" took place, with Swedish troops on the one side and Danish official and semi-official troops (freeshooters etc.) in conjunction with armed locals. Through homeland military successes of

4900-462: The college of magistrates ( Landratscollegium ). The Swedish monarchy was represented by the lord lieutenant, later governor , and the area was governed with the help of the nobility. Crown properties consisted of the lands formerly owned by the Livonian Order , monasteries and bishops, and deserted manorial estates; part of the lands that had been deserted in the war came under the control of

5000-450: The continent, was lost on 5 November. A defensive alliance with John III of Poland was rendered inoperative on 4 August 1677, by the annihilation of Sweden's sea-power; the Battle of Öland , 17 June 1676; the Battle of Fehmarn , June 1677, and most notable on 1–2 July the Battle of Køge Bay . The difficulties concerning the Polish king continued. The Scanian provinces (Scania, Halland and Blegind/ Blekinge ), once eastern Denmark, became

5100-424: The councilors were no longer the king's colleagues, but rather his servants. Thus, Sweden had become an absolute monarchy but enacted the right of the Swedish people, in parliament , to be consulted on all important matters. The Riksdag, completely overshadowed by the Crown, did little more than register the royal decrees during the reign of Charles XI of Sweden ; but it continued to exist as an essential part of

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5200-471: The decline of the Teutonic Order and its state, Swedish political ambitions returned to Estonia. The future King John III had already as Grand Duke of Finland in the 1550s ambitions to establish Swedish rule in Estonia, but was held back by his father, Gustav Vasa . It was not until 1561 that the local nobility asked the new king, Eric XIV , to intervene in the ongoing Livonian War and protect

5300-438: The economic and political spheres, and later attempts of the crown to curb this power met with strong resistance. That central authority complied for such a long time was due to the continuous wars, which made it important to preserve the loyalty of the local aristocracy. The conquest of the Duchy of Estonia was the starting point of a policy of expansion for Sweden, which would lead to a period in Swedish history referred to as

5400-491: The empire and promoted strong links between the mainland and the overseas provinces. In 1680, the Swedish Riksdag declared the so-called Great Reduction. While former reductions had not spread to Estonia and Livonia, this decision extended to these areas as well. All holdings which had gone into private possession since the beginning of Swedish rule were to be reduced. This requirement met with fierce opposition from

5500-408: The financial extravagance of Christina. However, his own desire for military glory may have caused problems for his country. In three days, he persuaded the Swedish estates of the potential of his attack on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . However, when he left Stockholm for Warsaw on 10 July 1654, he gained more personal glory than advantage for his country. The Polish-Swedish War expanded into

5600-443: The finest arsenals in the world. After Charles XI's death, the throne was inherited by his underage son, Charles XII . After a brief regency, he was declared to be of age to rule. Three years later, in 1700, Denmark–Norway, Poland and Russia, the countries that had lost the most territory to Sweden, jointly declared war. Denmark–Norway was soon forced to peace after a joint intervention of Swedish, English and Dutch armies, whereafter

5700-544: The foremost model of many later Swedish kings . At the time Finns were an essential part of the Swedish military. Roughly 2/5 of the infantry and 3/7 of the cavalry in the army were from Finland . They served in their own units which used Finnish as their main language. Commands were also given in Finnish. The Finnish cavalry in the Swedish army was called Hakkapeliitat after their battle cry " Hakkaa päälle! ". Approximately 110,000 soldiers from Finland died serving

5800-481: The government. Moreover, this transfer of authority was a voluntary act. The people, knowing the king to be their ally, trusted and cooperated with him. The Riksdag of 1682 declared that the king was empowered to bestow fiefs and take them back again, making the king the disposer of his subjects' temporal property. Presently, this new principle of autocracy was extended to the king's legislative authority, when on 9 December 1682, all four estates not only confirmed that

5900-473: The governorate was renamed St. Petersburg Governorate after the newly founded city of Saint Petersburg , and in 1721 the former Swedish Duchy of Ingria , and parts of the County of Kexholm and the County of Viborg and Nyslott were formally ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Nystad . After the Treaty of Åbo in 1743, the parts of Kexholm and Viborg were joined with new territorial gains from Sweden into

6000-600: The great German rivers lay within Swedish territory, which also included two-thirds of Lake Ladoga and one-half of Lake Peipus . Stockholm , the capital, lay in the very centre of the empire, whose second greatest city was Riga , on the other side of the sea. This empire contained about a quarter of the population of modern Sweden, at only 2,500,000 people, or about 2.3 people per square kilometer. However, Sweden's expansion had been possible partly due to turmoil and weakness in countries in its vicinity, and when they became more stable, they began to look for chances to regain what

6100-399: The high nobility , such as the Oxenstierna family, acting as regents for minor monarchs. The interests of the high nobility contrasted with the uniformity policy (i.e., upholding the traditional equality in status of the Swedish estates favoured by the kings and peasantry). In territories acquired during the periods of de facto noble rule, serfdom was not abolished, and there was also

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6200-481: The king held the legislative powers enjoyed by his predecessors, but even gave him the right of interpreting and amending the common law. The recovery of the alienated crown lands occupied Charles XI for the rest of his life. He created a commission, which was ultimately converted into a permanent department of state. It acted on the principle that the titles of all private landed estates might be called in question, because at some time or other they must have belonged to

6300-454: The king of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth renounced to all claims to the Swedish crown. The treaty compelled Denmark–Norway to reopen direct negotiations with Sweden. Eventually, under the Treaty of Copenhagen on 27 May 1660, Sweden kept the three formerly Danish Scanian provinces and the formerly Norwegian Bohuslän province, which Denmark-Norway had surrendered by the Treaty of Roskilde two years previously; but Sweden had to relinquish

6400-449: The lands of Harjumaa , Virumaa and the city of Tallinn in exchange for overlord-ship. The Livonian War , in which Sweden now became involved, would last to 1583 (concluded by the Treaty of Plussa ). For Sweden, it resulted in Sweden keeping the territory that had in 1561 sought Swedish protection, and additionally in the capture of the city of Narva . The name of Livonia , formerly denoting all of present-day Estonia and Latvia ,

6500-451: The latter half of the 17th century, the major difference between the Swedish army and those common on the continent was the relative lack of firepower and the use of pikes and sabres. Sweden and Russia were the only countries at the time using pikes. In contemporary Europe, infantry were equipped with a musket, while in the Swedish army, every third man had a pike. The pikemen were normally deployed four men deep with musketeers of equal depth on

6600-446: The leader of Protestantism . During the Thirty Years' War, Sweden managed to conquer approximately half of the member states of the Holy Roman Empire . The fortunes of war would shift back and forth several times. After its defeat in the Battle of Nördlingen (1634) , confidence in Sweden among the Swedish-controlled German states was damaged, and several of the provinces refused further Swedish military support, leaving Sweden with only

6700-442: The local aristocracy. For administration, these lands were divided into fiefdoms , subdivided into crown manors headed by bailiffs. The Swedish kings generously gave lands into private possession — in reward both for merit and for service. For that reason most of Estonian lands were in private ownership by the end of the 16th century, and the owners were mostly Baltic Germans. The Baltic German nobility gained extensive power in both

6800-404: The local nobility. The local upper classes saw this decision by the Swedish Riksdag — taken without the approval of the local Landtags — as a violation of their rights, as the dual government of state and aristocracy which had functioned so far; in the understanding of the Livonian nobility the overseas provinces were linked to Sweden through a union. In the Duchy of Estonia, where land ownership

6900-441: The meantime, Russia had managed to take possession of several towns by the Baltic Sea. Instead of trying to retake these, Charles chose to march directly on Moscow, but due to extreme weather, difficulties with his supply lines and the Russian scorched earth strategy, he was forced to turn towards Ukraine . In 1709, the Swedish army was defeated and captured in the Battle of Poltava ; Charles managed to escape south to Bender in

7000-466: The middle of the 17th century, with France as a firm ally, the incompatibility between its powers and its pretensions was not so obvious. A major reason why Sweden could be so successful in wars with such a scarce number of soldiers was its advanced military tactics. Sweden was able to reform its military tactics continuously throughout the period. Prior to Gustavus Adolphus's reforms, both his father, Charles IX, and his uncle Erik XIV had tried to reform

7100-460: The over-taxed lower estates protested, and the Diet had to be suspended. The king intervened, not to quell the commons, as the senate insisted, but to compel the nobility to give way. He proposed a special committee to investigate the matter before the meeting of the next Riksdag and that a proportional contribution should be levied on all classes in the meantime. Both groups accepted this arrangement. Charles X Gustav had done his best to recover from

7200-462: The people and the nobility. Primarily a soldier, he directed his ambition towards military glory; but he was also an unusually sharp-sighted politician. While placing great emphasis on military strength, he also understood that domestic unity was necessary for a powerful foreign policy. The most pressing domestic question was the reduction , or restitution of alienated crown lands. At the Riksdag of

7300-549: The pikes were used as an offensive weapon: in close combat, they had the advantage over their foes' weapons thanks to their range. After the bayonet was introduced in the Carolean army (1700–1706), the final volley was delayed until the soldiers were inside bayonet range. Every infantry battalion had grenadiers attached. They supported the infantry attack by lobbing grenades from the flanks. They also formed units of their own. They were otherwise equipped like infantry. Thus, in

7400-642: The power of the aristocracy. Charles XI felt that he could do it now that he had allies in the lower orders to support him. The Riksdag of Stockholm, October 1680, began a new era of Swedish history. On the motion of the Estate of Peasants, the question of the recovery of the alienated crown lands was brought before the Riksdag, and a resolution of the Diet directed that all countships , baronies , domains, manors and other estates producing an annual rent of more than

7500-448: The rule of Charles X Gustav (1654–1660) after the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658. For the moment, Sweden held a tenuous position of leadership. Careful statesmanship might mean permanent dominion on the Baltic shore, but left little room for mistakes. The extravagance of Gustavus Adolphus's two immediate successors, Christina and Charles X Gustav , caused great difficulties for the new empire. Christina's financial extravagance brought

7600-466: The sides. The pike was used to repulse cavalry and to break the enemy lines as they charged. Swedish Estonia Estonia under Swedish rule (1561–1710) signifies the period of time when large parts of the country, and after 1645, entire present-day Estonia , were under Swedish rule. In the wake of the breakup of the State of the Teutonic Order , the Baltic German local nobility in

7700-422: The state to the verge of bankruptcy, and the financial difficulties caused public unrest before her abdication. The Swedish people feared that the external, artificial greatness of their country might be purchased with the loss of their civil and political liberties. The Swedish people looked to a new king to address the problem of too much power vested in the nobility. Charles X Gustav was a strong arbiter between

7800-464: The surrounding states for its lack of defence of Protestantism. Charles X Gustav's attempt to gain the favour of Brandenburg by dividing Poland not only reversed his original policy, but also created a new southern rival almost as dangerous as Denmark–Norway in the west. In 1660, after five years of warfare, Sweden had obtained peace and the opportunity to organize and develop the new vast realm. The fifteen-year regency that followed Charles X Gustav

7900-405: The time of Swedish rule to be significantly better than that of earlier foreign rulers. Especially during the later part of the Swedish rule of Estonia, Swedish authorities, however, enact a number of reforms, which were aimed at lessening the influence of the local German-speaking aristocracy to the benefit of the local Estonian-speaking peasantry. In the light of that, some evidence suggests that

8000-538: The unwillingness of the Polish nobility to fight a war considered only to be in Sigismund III's personal interest. The costly peace with Denmark and Poland–Lithuania's inability to mount a seaborne attack on the Swedish mainland gave time for Gustavus Adolphus to reform his armies. The continuation of the Polish war in 1625–1629 ended with a ceasefire in Stary Targ ( Truce of Altmark ) on 26 September 1629 that

8100-430: The war not only a military power, but also one of the largest states of Europe, possessing more than twice as much territory as modern Sweden. The land area of Sweden was 1,100,000 km . While modern Sweden is bounded by the Baltic, during the 17th century the Baltic formed a bond between various widely dispersed dominions . All the islands in the Baltic, except the Danish group, belonged to Sweden. The estuaries of all

8200-530: The war. Sweden founded overseas colonies , principally in the New World. New Sweden was founded in the valley of the Delaware River in 1638, and Sweden later laid claim to a number of Caribbean islands. A string of Swedish forts and trading posts was constructed along the coast of West Africa as well, but these were not designed for Swedish settlers. At the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War,

8300-454: The whole Russia was split into eight Governorates. In the same year Ingermanland Governorate was further expanded to encompass the regions of Pskov, Novgorod and other towns of Western Russia. As with the rest of the governorates, neither the borders nor internal subdivisions of Ingermanland Governorate were defined; instead, the territory was defined as a set of cities and the lands adjacent to those cities. By another edict on June 3, 1710,

8400-523: The young Swedish king and the diplomatic activity of Louis XIV, a peace congress began sessions at Nijmegen in March 1677. In the beginning of April 1678, the French king dictated the terms of a peace. One of his chief conditions was the complete restitution of Sweden, as he needed a strong Swedish ally. However, Charles XI refused to go along with ceding territories to its enemies, which led the French king to negotiate on behalf of Sweden without its consent. By

8500-606: Was a mere skirmish , with actual casualties numbering fewer than 600 men, but it made Sweden appear vulnerable and enabled neighbouring countries to attack in the Scanian War . At this point, the empire began to crumble. In 1675, Swedish Pomerania and the Duchy of Bremen were taken by the Brandenburgers, Austrians , and Danes. In December 1677, the elector of Brandenburg captured Stettin . Stralsund fell on 15 October 1678. Greifswald , Sweden's last possession on

8600-649: Was carried out by Johannes Rudbeckius . Gustavus Adolphus also, through the aid of governor Johan Skytte , instituted the court of appeal in Tartu and the University of Tartu. However, the successors to Gustavus Adolphus ceded more rights to the Livonian aristocracy. This was partly caused by the fact that the state had surrendered its economic and political power by transferring most crown properties to private hands (mostly Swedish high aristocracy for their merits). The Livonian nobility had won recognition by 1647: it too

8700-411: Was entirely remodeled; and, the recent war having demonstrated the unsuitability of Stockholm as a naval station, the construction of a new arsenal was begun at Karlskrona . After seventeen years of financial difficulties, the twofold enterprise was completed. At the death of Charles XI, Sweden could boast of a fleet of forty-three three-deckers, manned by 11,000 men and armed with 2,648 guns, and one of

8800-453: Was in favour of the Swedes, to whom Poland ceded the larger part of Livonia together with its important port of Riga . The Swedes also got the right to tax Poland's trade on the Baltic (3.5% on the value of goods), and kept control of many of the cities in Royal and Ducal Prussia (including Piława ( Pillau ), Memel and Elbląg (Elbing). The Swedes later conducted a series of invasions into

8900-453: Was introduced, the pike was discarded in all armies except the Swedish and Russian by 1700. In the Swedish army tactics of that time, retreat was never covered, and they were obliged to attack or fight where they stood. This was a military doctrine that (with the advantage of hindsight) might have proven a bit rash. The infantry shock attack operated as follows. The two rear ranks of musketeers were ordered to shoot when "you could not miss,"

9000-439: Was lost. Sweden had now won considerable political influence, which was lessened by the loss of moral prestige. On Charles X Gustav 's accession in 1655, Sweden's neighbours may have become allies; however, territorial loss combined with the loss of religious liberty lessened their ties to Sweden. At Charles X Gustav's death, five years later, Sweden had not only damaged its newly claimed territories but also had become hated by

9100-452: Was meanwhile employed in a defensive manner, relying on their superior firepower to break enemy attacks. Smaller musketeer detachments (~200 men) were used during the Polish war to support the cavalry against the superior Polish-Lithuanian cavalry. Gustavus Adolphus earned the title "father of modern warfare" because of his revolutionary tactics during the Thirty Years' War, which later inspired other nations and became standard tactics. He became

9200-487: Was more clearly determined and there were more manors passed on according to an ancient inheritance law, the 1680 reduction went quite peacefully. The reduction was also followed by other reforms. The tenants of manors were no longer allowed to beat farmers; peasants could sue the tenants, even appeal to the king himself. It was forbidden to sell peasants without land, to send them away from their lands or to take over their lands. The status of Estonian peasants on crown manors

9300-461: Was mortally wounded during the siege of Fredriksten Fortress in Fredrikshald, today's Halden . With his death, Swedish war efforts mostly came to a halt, although Russia continued to harass the civilian population of the Swedish coastal areas until the concluding Treaty of Nystad was finally signed in 1721. Sweden would remain a regional power of varying success until the 19th century, but

9400-403: Was not yet comparable to free peasants in Sweden, but it was much better than the status of peasants on private lands. Charles XI announced his intention to abolish serfdom in Estonian crown manors when the reduction started, as serfdom was peculiar to the Baltic provinces. The reforms carried out in Estonia under Charles XI did not have a long-lasting effect; in reality only Swedish church law

9500-433: Was noted for sloth and carelessness leading to a general neglect of business. Additionally, government corruption led Sweden to be hired by foreign powers. This "subsidy policy" dates from the Treaty of Fontainebleau of 1661, through which Sweden, in exchange for a considerable sum of money, supported the French candidate for the Polish throne. Sweden was torn between Louis XIV of France and his adversaries in plans to control

9600-432: Was now applied to Polish-controlled south Estonia and Latvia; while "Estonia" began to denote the Swedish controlled areas of north and west Estonia. It was not until the early 20th century that the term "Estonia" began to be used to signify all the lands where Estonian-speaking people lived. Sweden started to reorganise the government in the new duchy only after the conclusion of the peace treaty with Russia in 1583. Like

9700-472: Was now represented in a regional Landtag and an executive Landratscollegium . The Landtag was convened every three years and the policies discussed with the central authority. The aristocracy of Estonia, Livonia and Ösel (Saaremaa) had no representation in the Swedish Diet ( Riksdag ) . The reign of King Charles XI (1672–1697) brought drastic changes to Sweden's policy in its overseas provinces. As

9800-452: Was put into practice. In 1697 Charles XI died of cancer and his son Charles XII acceded to the throne and in 1700 the Great Northern War broke out. By 1699 an anti-Swedish alliance had been formed by Poland, Denmark and Russia. The war, which lasted to 1721 and in which one of the major Swedish victories was fought in Estonia, the Battle of Narva , ultimately proved disastrous to Sweden. In 1709, Russian forces had begun to lay siege to Riga ,

9900-480: Was regarded as an occupied territory. King Gustavus Adolphus (1611–1632) consequently only partly restored the privileges of the Livonian aristocracy, lost during the Polish years. Led by the governor-general, a strong central authority was developed and Swedish laws instituted. Much of the local aristocracy had also fled during the war, and instead members of the Swedish nobility moved to seize possession of many of

10000-457: Was unable to manoeuvre through the situation it faced. The administration was internally divided and hindered by the lack of unity and talent among its statesmen. The two major rivals were the military-aristocratic party headed by Magnus de la Gardie and the party of peace and economy led by Johan Gyllenstierna . The aristocratic group prevailed and brought with it a decline of morality which made it notorious to its neighbours. The administration

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