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Sweden is nowadays known as a bit of a paradise. 400 years ago it was a frozen hellhole where the poor locals sustained themselves on bark bread. Yet somehow, this barbarian country of just a million inhabitants was able to smack in the teeth of its much larger neighbors, and make itself known on a global stage. There was a time when the fate of Europe rested in Swedish hands. But how? In this video we will explore the systems that enabled Sweden's explosive rise to power.

Sources:
War and the state in early modern Europe Jan Glete
Bondenöd och Stormaktsdröm Axel Strindberg
Trettioåriga Kriget L.E Wolke, G. Larsson, N.E Villstrand

0:00 Introduction
3:05 What Came Before
6:50 Gustav Vasa's Administration
8:48 Nobility during the Empire
11:30 The Church
13:14 Peasantry
15:21 The Navy
17:27 The Army
20:55 The King
22:55 The Parliament
25:42 The Industry
26:55 Rise of an Empire
28:50 Collapse
30:56 Conclusion
32:21 Outro

#sweden #history #swedishempire