Sweden
The Kingdom of Sweden under the Vasa dynasty, its Lutheran Reformation and its rise as a Baltic power.
Category: States/Places
- 1611 – January 20, 1613Denmark and Sweden fight the Kalmar War for control of the Baltic
In 1611 Christian IV of Denmark-Norway attacks Sweden at the start of the Kalmar War. The Treaty of Knäred on 20 January 1613 forces Sweden to pay a heavy indemnity, but Sweden keeps its territory, bar Älvsborg.
- October 30, 1611Gustavus Adolphus becomes King of Sweden at sixteen
On 30 October 1611 Gustavus Adolphus becomes King of Sweden on his father Charles IX's death, aged sixteen, in the middle of the Kalmar War. He is declared of age in January 1612 and reorganises Swedish government and army.
- May 13, 1628 – August 4, 1628Stralsund resists Wallenstein with Danish and Swedish help
From 13 May to 4 August 1628 Stralsund holds out against Wallenstein. On 23 June it signs a twenty-year alliance with Gustavus Adolphus, who sends troops. It is Wallenstein's first setback and Sweden's foothold in the Empire.
- September 26, 1629Sweden and Poland sign the Truce of Altmark, freeing Gustavus Adolphus for Germany
On 26 September 1629, with French mediation, Sweden and Poland-Lithuania agree a six-year truce. Sweden keeps Livonia and the revenue from Polish ports, which funds its entry into the Thirty Years' War in 1630.
- July 6, 1630Gustavus Adolphus lands on Usedom and brings Sweden into the war
On 6 July 1630 (26 June Old Style) Gustavus Adolphus lands his army on Usedom, off Pomerania, and Sweden enters the war. Sources differ on the force, from about 4,000 to 13,000 men. He occupies Pomerania under the Treaty of Stettin.
- January 23, 1631France agrees to finance Sweden in the Treaty of Bärwalde
On 23 January 1631 Richelieu's France agrees to pay Sweden 400,000 Reichstaler a year, and Sweden to keep an army of 36,000 in Germany. Gustavus Adolphus must respect Catholic worship and Bavaria's neutrality. Richelieu fights the Habsburgs by proxy.
- September 17, 1631Gustavus Adolphus and Saxony defeat Tilly at Breitenfeld
On 17 September 1631 the Swedish-Saxon army defeats Tilly's Imperial-League army near Leipzig. The Saxons break early but the Swedes counterattack. It is the Protestants' first major victory and opens southern Germany to Sweden.
- April 15, 1632Gustavus Adolphus crosses the Lech at Rain and Tilly is mortally wounded
On 15 April 1632 Gustavus Adolphus defeats the Catholic League at Rain on the Lech. Tilly's thigh is shattered and he dies two weeks later. Maximilian of Bavaria retreats, leaving Bavaria open to Swedish invasion.
- May 17, 1632Gustavus Adolphus enters Munich
On 17 May 1632 Gustavus Adolphus's army enters Munich, capital of Maximilian of Bavaria, the leader of the Catholic League. Bavaria is widely pillaged. The Swedes then advance on Nuremberg.
- November 16, 1632Gustavus Adolphus is killed at the Battle of Lützen
On 16 November 1632 (6 November Old Style) Gustavus Adolphus is killed leading a cavalry charge at Lützen. The Swedes hold the field against Wallenstein, who withdraws to Bohemia, but Sweden loses its king and the war goes on.
- April 1633Sweden and the German circles form the Heilbronn League
In April 1633 Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna forms the Heilbronn League with the Swabian, Franconian and Rhenish circles to continue the war after Gustavus Adolphus's death. Sources give 23 or 27 April. Members pay under a third of what they pledge.
- September 5, 1634 – September 6, 1634Imperial and Spanish forces crush the Swedes at Nördlingen
On 5–6 September 1634 an Imperial-Spanish army routs the Swedish-German army of Horn and Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar at Nördlingen. Some 12,000 to 14,000 are killed or captured. Swedish power in southern Germany ends, and France soon enters the war.
- April 30, 1635France and Sweden sign the Treaty of Compiègne
Richelieu and Oxenstierna ally France and Sweden against the Habsburgs, renewing Bärwalde's subsidies, with no separate peace. The date is Old Style (30 April); Sweden delays ratification until France declares war on Spain.
- October 4, 1636Swedes defeat the Imperial-Saxon army at Wittstock
On 4 October 1636 Banér and Leslie rout Hatzfeldt's Imperial and Saxon army, which loses all its artillery. It restores Swedish prestige, but Brandenburg allies with the emperor.
- December 1641Hamburg preliminaries open the road to the Westphalian congress
In December 1641 Sweden, France and the empire negotiate a preliminary peace at Hamburg, which sets the way for the talks at Münster and Osnabrück. The page gives no day.
- November 2, 1642Torstensson defeats the Imperial army at Breitenfeld
On 2 November 1642 Torstensson's Swedes defeat Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and Piccolomini, who lose all 46 guns. Sweden gains Leipzig, but Saxony still does not make peace.
- c. 1644 – 1648Peace congress meets at Münster and Osnabrück
From about 1644 delegations meet in Münster and Osnabrück, Catholic and Lutheran cities, with no exact opening date. 109 delegations take part and talks run until 1648 while fighting continues.
- March 6, 1645Swedes destroy the Imperial army at Jankau
On 6 March 1645 Torstensson defeats Hatzfeldt, who is captured, at Jankau in Bohemia. Hunger and exhaustion stop the Swedes from exploiting it, and they leave Bohemia by February 1646.
- August 13, 1645Denmark yields territory to Sweden at Brömsebro
On 13 August 1645 Denmark–Norway cedes Gotland, Ösel, Jämtland, Härjedalen and (for 30 years) Halland. It ends the Torstenson War and confirms Sweden's dominance in the Baltic.
- March 14, 1647France, Sweden and Bavaria sign the Truce of Ulm
On 14 March 1647 Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria accepts a truce with France and Sweden and drops his alliance with Ferdinand III. He breaks it on 14 September, returning to the emperor.
- May 17, 1648Franco-Swedish army wins at Zusmarshausen
On 17 May 1648 Wrangel and Turenne defeat the Imperial-Bavarian army, killing Melander. Montecuccoli's rearguard saves it from destruction. It is the last major battle on German soil, and Bavaria is plundered.
- October 24, 1648Sweden gains Western Pomerania, Wismar, Bremen and Verden
At Osnabrück Sweden receives an indemnity of five million thalers, Western Pomerania, Wismar and the prince-bishoprics of Bremen and Verden as hereditary fiefs, with seats in the Imperial Diet.