Sweden History Early Origins & Recent History
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Sweden - Early Origins Recent History
Sweden Early History
Knowledge of the origins of human life in present day Scandinavia is very limited and often disputed. The earliest archeological evidence of human life in the region (found in Denmark) is dated around 9500BC and there is a school of thought that then inhabitants of Denmark migrated northwards into Sweden and Finland. See also Finland history.
Around 4200BC farming settlements were established in Southern Scandinavia and several graves dated between 3300 and 2000BC have been uncovered in southern Sweden The early settlements were probably populated by hunting migrants from the Urals and Europe. Some historians believe that these settlers eventually became 'traders or merchants' with a comfortable social status as graves dated up to 500BC have contained various goods in them indicating status.
Documentary evidence written by the Roman historian Tacitus in 98AD refers to the Suiones (who he described as living out of the sea) who he viewed as a threat to the Roman Empire. This reference is thought to be refer to the Svear inhabitants of Eastern Sweden. In the following five centuries the southern part of Sweden was occupied by several tribes including the Svear, Geats and Beowulf. The northern area was dominated by the Sami.
From the 6th century the Svear dominated the southern part of Sweden and Finland. Western Sweden was increasingly under the influence of viking tribes from Norway and Denmark. In the 13th century Finland became part of the Swedish Crown.
In 1397 Sweden with Denmark and Norway became part of the Kalmar Union together with Norway and Denmark under the jurisdiction of the Danish Crown. In 1523 under King Gust Vasa it became an independent country.
Swedish History From 1520
In 1520 the Danish King ruling Sweden ordered the massacre of Swedish nobles in what was described as the 'Stockholm Bloodbath'. These murders were the trigger for Swedish rebellion against Danish rule and in 1523 Sweden declared its independence led by Gustav Vasa who became King. He is often seen as been the father of the Swedish Nation. Under his rule Catholicism was replaced by Protestant Reformation.
By the 17th century Sweden had become the most powerful country in Northern Europe. It was economically stronger than its neighbours and its army though smaller than other states such as Russia was better equipped. In 1700 Sweden defeated the Russians in the Battle of Narva before embarking on a wider war with Russia in 1707. During this war they occupied half of Poland but the tactics of Peter the Great and the Russian winter resulted in Sweden suffering a major defeat in the 1709 Battle of Poltava. This battle, in which half the Swedish army was lost, was effectively the end of the Swedish Empire a point underlined in 1716 with a unsuccessful invasion of Norway.
Sweden Recent History
Following the Napoleonic Wars Norway was once again invaded by Sweden in 1814 and forced to remain part of Sweden until 1905. During WW1 & WW2 Sweden was officially a neutral country. During WW2 it was effectively cut off from the rest of Europe by blockades and has since had to withstand criticism for not joining the Allies in the war with Germany. It is recognised that towards the end of the war Sweden played a major role in offering humanitarian aid to refugees from Nazis occupied Europe. It was also a major player in getting aid to survivors of the concentration camps.
The policy of being a neutral country was maintained post war with Sweden not joining Nato. Similarly it did not join the European Union until the end of the cold war.