Swedish Empire

Rare card · No. 40535

The Swedish Empire, referred to in Sweden as the Great Power Era (Swedish: stormaktstiden), was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region. During this period, it also held territories on the North Sea including overseas colonies, such as 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 the high nobility, such as the Oxenstierna family, acting as regents for under-aged monarchs. After its victories in 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 Northern War of 1655...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Original: Odengatan Vector: Kjoonlee, Public domain