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Dominions of Sweden
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<h2 id="baltic-dominions">Baltic Dominions</h2> <p>Between 1561 and 1629 Sweden made conquests in the Eastern Baltic. All of them were lost in accordance with the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Nystad/oJCExY5v">Treaty of Nystad</a> in 1721, which concluded the <a href="/facts/Great_Northern_War/YVw3GjYw">Great Northern War</a>. </p> <h3>Estonia</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Swedish_Estonia/slxTtEF2">Swedish Estonia</a></p> <p><a href="/facts/Duchy_of_Estonia_(1561%25E2%2580%25931721)/zUoeVNxl">Estonia</a> placed itself under Swedish rule in 1561 to receive protection against <a href="/facts/Tsardom_of_Russia/m0scLsSq">Russia</a> and <a href="/facts/Poland/eXJ7fd0D">Poland</a> as the <a href="/facts/Livonian_Order/CBl9DIVY">Livonian Order</a> lost their foothold in the Baltic provinces. Territorially it represented the northern part of present-day Estonia. </p><p>The area was significantly populated by <a href="/facts/Estonian_Swedes/Y258RoTl">Estonian Swedes</a>, who inhabited <a href="/facts/Aiboland/Qa4I1gf0">the area</a> for centuries after Sweden lost control of it. After the <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">Soviet Union</a>'s <a href="/facts/Baltic_offensive/tzCcJ8Tl">Baltic offensive</a> and <a href="/facts/Occupation_of_the_Baltic_states_by_the_Soviet_Union_(1944)/NUG4Vn1w">re-occupation of Estonia</a> in 1944, nearly all the Estonian Swedes fled to Sweden proper. </p> <h3>Kexholm</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/County_of_Kexholm/mICrBNjU">County of Kexholm</a></p> <p><a href="/facts/County_of_Kexholm/mICrBNjU">Kexholm</a> was a sparsely inhabited part of <a href="/facts/Karelia/T5WUp69y">Karelia</a> on the Western and Northern shores of <a href="/facts/Lake_Ladoga/7pte777E">Lake Ladoga</a>, annexed by Sweden in 1605. At that time, most inhabitants were Finnish-speaking <a href="/facts/Eastern_Orthodox/5n20Akh5">Orthodox Christians</a>. During the 17th century, Lutheran persecution of Orthodox Christianity and an influx of <a href="/facts/Lutheran/L4pMlRcS">Lutheran</a> Finns from neighbouring province of <a href="/facts/Savonia_(historical_province)/VujGduD1">Savonia</a> converted most of the area into Lutheran faith. The Swedish law and the Swedish structure of local administration were used in the area which does not seem to have had any prior written legal tradition. Nowadays the county is divided between Finnish regions of <a href="/facts/North_Karelia/AkDbq5cK">North Karelia</a> and <a href="/facts/South_Karelia/2muUy7xa">South Karelia</a> and the Russian <a href="/facts/Republic_of_Karelia/ezHh8yJS">Republic of Karelia</a>. </p> <h3>Ingria</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Swedish_Ingria/cQVQK0JL">Swedish Ingria</a></p> <p>Russia ceded <a href="/facts/Ingria/19AopbJl">Ingria</a> and southern <a href="/facts/Finnish_Karelia/ElgJCIu1">Karelia</a> to Sweden in the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Stolbovo/QHdK2snb">Treaty of Stolbovo</a> in 1617, following the <a href="/facts/Ingrian_War/Jy0EFrKJ">Ingrian War</a>. A century later Russia reconquered the area, providing an opportunity for <a href="/facts/Peter_I_of_Russia/plNUAaWM">Peter the Great</a> to lay the foundations of his new capital, <a href="/facts/Saint_Petersburg/pNuCBxaM">Saint Petersburg</a>, in 1703. The area was then formally ceded in 1721 by the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Nystad/oJCExY5v">Treaty of Nystad</a>. </p> <h3>Riga</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/History_of_Riga/sScmxdtg">History of Riga</a></p> <p>The <a href="/facts/Hanseatic_League/oA756xvs">Hanseatic</a> city of <a href="/facts/Riga/PCWbJn2h">Riga</a> fell under Swedish control in the late 1620s. For the nearly hundred years that followed, Riga was the second largest city in the <a href="/facts/Swedish_Empire/BxlrttWF">Swedish Empire</a>, after <a href="/facts/Stockholm/sD74W4Pm">Stockholm</a>. </p> <h3>Livonia</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Swedish_Livonia/JXpzpY2S">Swedish Livonia</a></p> <p><a href="/facts/Livonia/GV0Kd6qw">Livonia</a> was conquered from the <a href="/facts/Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth/Tt0zAlQD">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a> by 1629 in the <a href="/facts/Polish-Swedish_War_(1625%25E2%2580%25931629)/Juck0NRs">Polish-Swedish War</a>. By the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Oliva/nIEGegdu">Treaty of Oliva</a> between the Commonwealth and Sweden in 1660 following the <a href="/facts/Northern_Wars/KAjXRQKz">Northern Wars</a> the <a href="/facts/House_of_Vasa/6hGaHExz">Polish-Lithuanian king</a> renounced all claims to the Swedish throne and Livonia was formally ceded to Sweden. Swedish Livonia represents the southern part of present-day Estonia and the northern part of present-day <a href="/facts/Latvia/y2PSa8lx">Latvia</a> (<a href="/facts/Vidzeme/V55xymwR">Vidzeme</a> region). </p> <h3>Lithuania</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Swedish_Lithuania/7YBYVaud">Swedish Lithuania</a></p> <p>During the <a href="/facts/Second_Northern_War/cNEbljaC">Second Northern War</a>, <a href="/facts/Lithuanian_nobility/WeW9eKqM">Lithuanian nobility</a> signed a <a href="/facts/Union_of_K%25C4%2597dainiai/FH7d0Pv0">series of acts</a> with the Swedish Empire and became its <a href="/facts/Protectorate/TEBGopb9">protectorate</a> in 1655 with King <a href="/facts/Charles_X_Gustav_of_Sweden/LHJabKxp">Charles X Gustav</a> serving as its <a href="/facts/List_of_Lithuanian_monarchs/MLswfAu9">Grand Duke</a>. However, following Sweden's defeat at the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Prostki/vW4Rw2VC">Battle of Prostki</a> and weak military presence in the region, the protectorate fell in 1657 and Lithuania was once again reincorporated into the <a href="/facts/Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth/Tt0zAlQD">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a>. </p> <h3>Ösel</h3> <p>By the <a href="/facts/Second_Treaty_of_Br%25C3%25B6msebro_(1645)/YP6SaeLR">Treaty of Brömsebro</a> (1645), following the <a href="/facts/Torstenson_War/m7wjMMEq">Torstenson War</a>, <a href="/facts/Denmark-Norway/1BByzm5P">Denmark-Norway</a> ceded <a href="/facts/J%25C3%25A4mtland/aUWS9VgD">Jämtland</a>, <a href="/facts/H%25C3%25A4rjedalen/SBjeLg1U">Härjedalen</a>, <a href="/facts/%25C3%2584lvdalen_Municipality/bkbIQ3dP">Idre & Särna</a>, <a href="/facts/Gotland/ocBHJEQK">Gotland</a>, <a href="/facts/Halland/ydIctnQu">Halland</a> and <a href="/facts/Saaremaa/UWMqkdRL">Ösel</a> to Sweden. Ösel and <a href="/facts/Hiiumaa/LgvNY6Cc">Dagö</a>, islands off the coast of <a href="/facts/Estonia/PVjB16TI">Estonia</a>, were ceded to Russia in 1721 by the Treaty of Nystad. The other territories remained part of Sweden. </p> <h2 id="scanian-dominion">Scanian Dominion</h2> <p>By the peace treaties of <a href="/facts/Second_Treaty_of_Br%25C3%25B6msebro_(1645)/YP6SaeLR">Brömsebro</a> (1645) and <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Roskilde/y9UYoklF">Roskilde</a> (1658) the <a href="/facts/Realm_of_Sweden/AMaU39GT">Realm of Sweden</a> expanded to the south. <a href="/facts/Blekinge/dJgDHHhe">Blekinge</a>, <a href="/facts/Bohusl%25C3%25A4n/hqefIHBa">Bohuslän</a> (of Norway), <a href="/facts/Halland/ydIctnQu">Halland</a> and <a href="/facts/Scania/rKQGu0hG">Scania</a> were ceded by <a href="/facts/Denmark/KVtykzsw">Denmark</a> in the latter and then successfully defended in the <a href="/facts/Scanian_War/8q3MgJlt">Scanian War</a> (1675–1679). According to the peace treaties the provinces were to retain its old laws and privileges, and was initially administered as a dominion. A gradual process of incorporation was successfully concluded in 1721. </p> <h2 id="continental-dominions">Continental Dominions</h2> <p>Through its minor <a href="/facts/List_of_states_in_the_Holy_Roman_Empire/yNgV4zlK">German principalities</a>, the Swedish kings in their roles as princes and dukes, or <i><a href="/facts/F%25C3%25BCrst/J0otLfup">Reichsfürsten</a></i>, of the <a href="/facts/Holy_Roman_Empire/6mdobnXN">Holy Roman Empire</a> with <a href="/facts/Imperial_immediacy/9AUKKuz7">Imperial immediacy</a> took part in the German <a href="/facts/Reichstag_(Holy_Roman_Empire)/hH5SclMv">diets</a> from 1648 until the <a href="/facts/Dissolution_of_the_Holy_Roman_Empire/Bghw8y6e">dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire</a> in 1806. </p> <h3>Bremen and Verden</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Bremen-Verden/sqXh6HIf">Bremen-Verden</a></p> <p>Following the <a href="/facts/Thirty_Years%2527_War/7bgcxoxf">Thirty Years' War</a>, the <a href="/facts/Peace_of_Westphalia/numMwwD7">Peace of Westphalia</a> in 1648 assigned to Sweden the two <a href="/facts/Bishopric/Uts2PByI">bishoprics</a> of <a href="/facts/Bremen-Verden/sqXh6HIf">Bremen-Verden</a>, with the <a href="/facts/Exclave/AFKB4LW6">exclave</a> of <a href="/facts/Wildeshausen/3ksuxMPp">Wildeshausen</a>. All of them were ceded to <a href="/facts/Hanover/yghHUDI4">Hanover</a> in the peace treaty of 1719. </p> <h3>Pomerania</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Swedish_Pomerania/qQyLpIAt">Swedish Pomerania</a></p> <p>By the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 Sweden received <a href="/facts/Swedish_Pomerania/qQyLpIAt">Swedish Pomerania</a>, situated along the German <a href="/facts/Baltic_Sea/jbQJGLQX">Baltic Sea</a> coast. The whole <a href="/facts/Duchy_of_Pomerania/wC2hUdWP">Duchy of Pomerania</a> was under Swedish control already since the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Stettin_(1630)/fF75P8zo">Treaty of Stettin (1630)</a>, and in the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Stettin_(1653)/Pp1bR3JN">Treaty of Stettin (1653)</a> Sweden and <a href="/facts/Brandenburg/H5dok80K">Brandenburg</a> agreed on the final terms of the partition of the duchy, with Sweden keeping the western part (<a href="/facts/Western_Pomerania/XgSNHlax">Western Pomerania</a>, Vorpommern) including <a href="/facts/Stettin/BCmb6DUv">Stettin</a>. In 1720 the southern parts of Swedish Pomerania with the town of <a href="/facts/Stettin/BCmb6DUv">Stettin</a> and the islands of <a href="/facts/Usedom/D5agJLd8">Usedom</a> and <a href="/facts/Wollin/jXEFh9Lr">Wollin</a> were ceded to the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Prussia/x796l7vx">Kingdom of Prussia</a>, following the <a href="/facts/Great_Northern_War/YVw3GjYw">Great Northern War</a>. The capital was moved to <a href="/facts/Greifswald/BLuvVmTo">Greifswald</a>. In 1814 the remainder, with the town of <a href="/facts/Stralsund/mM7dP8x5">Stralsund</a> and the island of <a href="/facts/R%25C3%25BCgen/nws4DHlR">Rügen</a> was ceded to Denmark, which in exchange ceded <a href="/facts/Norway/wlDRKRTR">Norway</a> to the king of Sweden under the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Kiel/D2En3bWz">Treaty of Kiel</a>, which followed on <a href="/facts/War_of_the_Sixth_Coalition/xkzRjQzv">War of the Sixth Coalition</a>. However the treaty of Kiel never came into force: instead sovereignty of Western Pomerania passed to Kingdom of Prussia, which already held the eastern parts and merged them into the <a href="/facts/Province_of_Pomerania_(1815%25E2%2580%25931945)/wAjSXMaC">Province of Pomerania</a>. Norway declared its independence, but was forced after a short war into a personal <a href="/facts/Unions_of_Sweden/EaK0kKuc">Union with Sweden</a>. </p> <h3>Wismar</h3> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Swedish_Wismar/Qf6LHeE5">Swedish Wismar</a></p> <p>Sweden received the German town of <a href="/facts/Wismar/a63cfTeS">Wismar</a> with the surrounding countryside in the Peace of Westphalia (1648). In 1803 Wismar was pawned, in exchange for a loan, and control was handed over to <a href="/facts/Mecklenburg/6zNswlcY">Mecklenburg</a>. The loan defaulted in 1903, but Sweden rescinded its right to regain control of the German exclave and thereby nominally received its present territorial constitution. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Provinces_of_Sweden/JCkLfKdh">Provinces of Sweden</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Political_unions_involving_Sweden/EaK0kKuc">Political unions involving Sweden</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_wars_involving_Sweden/Eu1ygYAX">List of wars involving Sweden</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Possessions_of_Sweden/eNGP27lv">Possessions of Sweden</a></li></ul> <ul><li>Huntley Hayes, Carlton Joseph (1953). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=icVWAAAAMAAJ"><i>Modern Europe to 1870</i></a>. pp. 233 SWEDISH DOMINIONS IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.</li> <li>Roberts, Michael (1984). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Px4gekq8pCcC"><i>The Swedish Imperial Experience 1560–1718</i></a>. Cambridge University Press. pp. 10 Swedish dominions. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-521-27889-8.</li> <li>Cooper (1979). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=gbU8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA408"><i>The New Cambridge Modern History</i></a>. CUP Archive. pp. 408 Swedish dominions. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-521-29713-4.</li></ul>