On September 20, , H. Freeman Matthews was appointed to be the first U. Ambassador to Sweden. Mathews presented his credentials on December 5, Following ratification by both countries, ratifications were exchanged at Paris on February 6, Menu Menu. Sweden - Countries. Recognition Swedish Recognition of the United States, In exchange they offered a certain amount of protection. Having their own navy the Hansa were able to sweep the Baltic Sea free of pirates.
The privileges obtained by the Hansa included assurances that only Hansa citizens would be allowed to trade from the ports where they were located. They sought agreement to be free of all customs and taxes. Exports from Sweden consisted of iron and copper. However, the Swedes began to resent the monopoly trading position of the Hansa mostly German citizens and to resent the income they felt they lost to the Hansa.
Consequently, when Gustav Vasa or Gustav I broke the monopoly power of the Hanseatic League he was regarded as a hero to the Swedish people. History now views Gustav I as the father of the modern Swedish nation.
The foundations laid by Gustav would take time to develop. Furthermore, when Sweden did develop, freed itself from the Hanseatic League and entered its golden era, the fact the peasantry had traditionally been free meant that more of the economic benefits flowed back to them rather than going to a feudal landowning class. This was not the case in other countries of Europe like Poland where the peasantry was still bound by serfdom and a strong feudalistic land owning system.
During the 17th century Sweden emerged as a European great power. Before the emergence of the Swedish Empire, Sweden was a very poor and scarcely populated country on the fringe of European civilization, with no significant power or reputation.
Sweden rose to prominence on a continental scale during the tenure of king Gustavus Adolphus, seizing territories from Russia and Poland—Lithuania in multiple conflicts, including the Thirty Years' War.
These German provinces excluded themselves from Swedish power one by one, leaving Sweden with only a few northern German territories: Swedish Pomerania, Bremen-Verden and Wismar. The Swedish armies may have destroyed up to 2, castles, 18, villages and 1, towns in Germany, one-third of all German towns. In the middle of the 17th century Sweden was the third largest country in Europe by land area, only surpassed by Russia and Spain.
Sweden reached its largest territorial extent under the rule of Charles X after the treaty of Roskilde in The foundation of Sweden's success during this period is credited to Gustav I's major changes on the Swedish economy in the 16th century, and his introduction of Protestantism.
In the 17th century, Sweden was engaged in many wars, for example with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with both sides competing for territories of today's Baltic states, with the disastrous Battle of Kircholm being one of the highlights. One-third of the Finnish population died in the devastating famine that struck the country in The Swedes conducted a series of invasions into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, known as the Deluge. After more than half a century of almost constant warfare, the Swedish economy had deteriorated.
It became the lifetime task of Charles' son, Charles XI, to rebuild the economy and refit the army. His legacy to his son, the coming ruler of Sweden Charles XII, was one of the finest arsenals in the world, a large standing army and a great fleet.
Sweden's largest threat at this time, Russia, had a larger army but was far behind in both equipment and training. After the Battle of Narva in , one of the first battles of the Great Northern War, the Russian army was so severely decimated that Sweden had an open chance to invade Russia. This gave Russia time to rebuild and modernize its army. After the success of invading Poland, Charles decided to make an invasion attempt of Russia which ended in a decisive Russian victory at the Battle of Poltava in After a long march exposed to Cossack raids, Russian Tsar Peter the Great's scorched-earth techniques and the cold Russian climate, the Swedes stood weakened with a shattered morale and enormously outnumbered against the Russian army at Poltava.
The defeat meant the beginning of the end for the Swedish Empire. In addition, the plague raging in East Central Europe devastated the Swedish dominons and reached Central Sweden in Charles XII attempted to invade Norway ; however, he was shot dead at Fredriksten fortress in The Swedes were not militarily defeated at Fredriksten, but the whole structure and organization of the Norwegian campaign fell apart with the king's death, and the army withdrew.
Forced to cede large areas of land in the Treaty of Nystad in , Sweden also lost its place as an empire and as the dominant state on the Baltic Sea. With Sweden's lost influence, Russia emerged as an empire and became one of Europe's dominant nations. As the war finally ended in , Sweden had lost an estimated , men, , of those from the area of present-day Sweden and 50, from the Finnish part of Sweden.
In the 18th century, Sweden did not have enough resources to maintain its territories outside Scandinavia, and most of them were lost, culminating with the loss of eastern Sweden to Russia which became the highly autonomous Grand Principality of Finland in Imperial Russia.
In interest of re-establishing Swedish dominance in the Baltic Sea, Sweden allied itself against its traditional ally and benefactor, France, in the Napoleonic Wars. Sweden's role in the Battle of Leipzig gave it the authority to force Denmark-Norway, an ally of France, to cede Norway to the King of Sweden on 14 January in exchange for northern German provinces, at the Treaty of Kiel. He launched a military campaign against Norway on 27 July , ending in the Convention of Moss, which forced Norway into a personal union with Sweden under the Swedish crown, which lasted until The campaign was the last war in which Sweden participated as a combatant.
Swedish troops partake in peace-keeping missions and currently have forces deployed in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Between and , the population in Sweden doubled. Nevertheless, Sweden remained poor, retaining a nearly entirely agricultural economy even as Denmark and Western European countries began to industrialize. Many looked towards America for a better life during this time.
It is believed that between and more than one million Swedes moved to the United States. In the early 20th century, more Swedes lived in Chicago than in Gothenburg Sweden's second largest city. Most Swedish immigrants moved to the Midwestern United States, with a large population in Minnesota, with a few others moving to other parts of the United States and Canada.
Despite the slow rate of industrialization into the 19th century, many important changes were taking place in the agrarian economy because of innovations and the large population growth. These innovations included government-sponsored programs of enclosure, aggressive exploitation of agricultural lands, and the introduction of new crops such as the potato. Because the Swedish peasantry had never been enserfed as elsewhere in Europe, the Swedish farming culture began to take on a critical role in the Swedish political process, which has continued through modern times with modern Agrarian party now called the Centre Party.
Between and , Sweden began developing the industrialized economy that exists today. Strong grassroots movements sprung up in Sweden during the latter half of the 19th century trade unions, temperance groups, and independent religious groups , creating a strong foundation of democratic principles.
These movements precipitated Sweden's migration into a modern parliamentary democracy, achieved by the time of World War I. As the Industrial Revolution progressed during the 20th century, people gradually began moving into cities to work in factories and became involved in socialist unions.
A communist revolution was avoided in , following the re-introduction of parliamentarism, and the country was democratized. Sweden was under German influence for much of the war, as ties to the rest of the world were cut off through blockades. The Swedish government felt that it was in no position to openly contest Germany, and therefore made some concessions.
Sweden also supplied steel and machined parts to Germany throughout the war. However, Sweden supported Norwegian resistance, and in helped rescue Danish Jews from deportation to concentration camps. Sweden also supported Finland in the Winter War and the Continuation War with volunteers and materiel.
Toward the end of the war, Sweden began to play a role in humanitarian efforts and many refugees, among them many Jews from Nazi-occupied Europe, were saved partly because of the Swedish involvement in rescue missions at the internment camps and partly because Sweden served as a haven for refugees, primarily from the Nordic countries and the Baltic states. The Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg and his colleagues may have saved up to , Hungarian Jews.
Nevertheless, internal and external critics have argued that Sweden could have done more to resist the Nazi war effort, even if risking occupation. Sweden was officially a neutral country and remained outside NATO or Warsaw pact membership during the cold war, but privately Sweden's leadership had strong ties with the United States and other western governments. Following the war, Sweden took advantage of an intact industrial base, social stability and its natural resources to expand its industry to supply the rebuilding of Europe.
During most of the post-war era, the country was governed by the Swedish Social Democratic Party largely in cooperation with trade unions and industry. The government actively pursued an internationally competitive manufacturing sector of primarily large corporations.
Sweden, like countries around the globe, entered a period of economic decline and upheaval following the oil embargoes of —74 and — In the s pillars of Swedish industry were massively restructured. Eventually government began to spend over half of the country's gross domestic product.
Sweden GDP per capita ranking declined during this time. A bursting real estate bubble caused by inadequate controls on lending combined with an international recession and a policy switch from anti-unemployment policies to anti-inflationary policies resulted in a fiscal crisis in the early s.
The response of the government was to cut spending and institute a multitude of reforms to improve Sweden's competitiveness, among them reducing the welfare state and privatizing public services and goods. Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January Sweden remains non-aligned militarily, although it participates in some joint military exercises with NATO and some other countries, in addition to extensive cooperation with other European countries in the area of defence technology and defence industry.
Among others, Swedish companies export weapons that are used by the American military in Iraq. Sweden also has a long history of participating in international military operations, including most recently, Afghanistan, where Swedish troops are under NATO command, and in EU sponsored peacekeeping operations in UN protectorate Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Cyprus.
Sweden held the chair of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December Situated in Northern Europe, Sweden lies west of the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia, providing a long coastline, and forms the eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula.
To the west is the Scandinavian mountain chain Skanderna , a range that separates Sweden from Norway. Finland is located to its northeast.
At , km 2 , sq mi , Sweden is the 55th largest country in the world, the 4th largest country entirely in Europe, and the largest in Northern Europe. The highest point is Kebnekaise at 2, m 6, ft above sea level. Sweden has 25 provinces or landskap landscapes , based on culture, geography and history. While these provinces serve no political or administrative purpose, they play an important role in people's self-identity.
Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, with increasing forest coverage northward. Most of Sweden has a temperate climate, despite its northern latitude, with four distinct seasons and mild temperatures throughout the year. The country can be divided into three types of climate; the southernmost part has an oceanic climate, the central part has a humid continental climate and the northernmost part has a subarctic climate.
However, Sweden is much warmer and drier than other places at a similar latitude, and even somewhat farther south, mainly because of the Gulf Stream. For example, central and southern Sweden has much warmer winters than many parts of Russia, Canada, and the northern United States. Because of its high latitude, the length of daylight varies greatly. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets for part of each summer, and it never rises for part of each winter.
In the capital, Stockholm, daylight lasts for more than 18 hours in late June but only around 6 hours in late December. Sweden receives between 1, to 1, hours of sunshine annually. Temperatures vary greatly from north to south. On average, most of Sweden receives between and mm 20 and 31 in of precipitation each year, making it considerably drier than the global average. The southwestern part of the country receives more precipitation, between and mm 39 and 47 in , and some mountain areas in the north are estimated to receive up to mm 79 in.
Despite northerly locations, southern and central Sweden may have almost no snow in some winters. Sweden is a constitutional monarchy, in which King Carl XVI Gustaf is head of state, but royal power has long been limited to official and ceremonial functions.
The Economist Intelligence Unit, while acknowledging that democracy is difficult to measure, listed Sweden in fourth place in in its index of democracy assessing countries. The nation's legislative body is the riksdag Swedish Parliament , with members, which chooses the Prime Minister.
Parliamentary elections are held every four years, on the third Sunday of September. The main responsibility of the County Administrative Board is to coordinate the development of the county in line with goals set in national politics. In each county there is also a County Council or landsting which is a policy-making assembly elected by the residents of the county.
Each county further divides into a number of municipalities or kommuner , with a total of municipalities in Municipal government in Sweden is similar to city commission government and cabinet-style council government. These have traditionally been a subdivision of the Church of Sweden but still have importance as districts for census and elections.
There are older historical divisions, primarily the twenty-five provinces and three lands, which still retain cultural significance. The actual age of the kingdom of Sweden is unknown.
In the first case, Sweden was first mentioned as having one single ruler in the year 98 by Tacitus, but it is almost impossible to know for how long it had been this way. These events are often described as the consolidation of Sweden, although substantial areas were conquered and incorporated later. Earlier kings, for which no reliable historical sources exist, can be read about in mythical kings of Sweden and semi-legendary kings of Sweden.
Many of these kings are only mentioned in various saga and blend with Norse mythology. Up until the beginning of the s, all laws in Sweden were introduced with the words, "We, the king of Sweden, of the Goths and Wends".
This title was used up until The term riksdag was used for the first time in the s, although the first meeting where representatives of different social groups were called to discuss and determine affairs affecting the country as a whole took place as early as , in the town of Arboga.
During the assemblies of and , under King Gustav Vasa, representatives of all four estates of the realm clergy, nobility, townsmen and peasants were called on to participate for the first time. The monarchy became hereditary in Executive power was historically shared between the King and a noble Privy Council until , followed by the King's autocratic rule initiated by the common estates of the Parliament.
As a reaction to the failed Great Northern War, a parliamentary system was introduced in , followed by three different flavours of constitutional monarchy in , and , the latter granting several civil liberties. The monarch remains as the formal, but merely symbolic, head of state with ceremonial duties. The Riksdag of the Estates consisted of two chambers. In Sweden became a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament, with the First Chamber indirectly elected by local governments, and the Second Chamber directly elected in national elections every four years.
In the parliament became unicameral. Legislative power was symbolically shared between king and parliament until Swedish taxation is controlled by the Parliament of Sweden riksdagen. Sweden is currently leading the EU in statistics measuring equality in the political system and equality in the education system. The Global Gender Gap Report ranked Sweden as the number one country in terms of gender equality.
Constitutionally, the member riksdag Parliament holds supreme authority in modern Sweden. The riksdag is responsible for choosing the prime minister, who then appoints the government department heads cabinet ministers.
One consequence was emigration, mainly to North America. From the midth century to , about 1. After being widowed, Bridget Birgitta in Swedish moved to Rome. In , she was canonised.
In , she was proclaimed a patron saint of Europe. Inventor, chemist and benefactor Alfred Nobel received his patent for dynamite in When he died, he had a total of patents. The Nobel Prizes were a bequest from Nobel for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. In , he tragically died in a plane crash.
Shortly after, he was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The labour movement, whose growth kept pace with industrialisation in the late 19th century, was reformist in outlook after the turn of the 20th century. The first Social Democrats entered government in Universal suffrage was introduced for men in and for women in Plans for a welfare state were drawn up during the s after the Social Democrats rose to power, and put into effect after World War II.
Under Social Democratic leadership, but in close co-operation with the other democratic parties, a series of reforms were carried out in the s and s that together laid the foundations of the Swedish welfare state. At the same time, there were calls for a modernization of the constitution. A new Instrument of Government was adopted in , stating that all public power is derived from the people, who are to select the members of parliament in free elections.
The monarch is still the head of state, but in name only. In , an amendment to the order of succession gave male and female heirs an equal claim to the throne. Accordingly, Crown Princess Victoria is next in line to the throne, not her younger brother, Carl Philip. Since a short war against Norway in in conjunction with the creation of the union, Sweden has not been involved in any war. Since World War I, Sweden has pursued a policy of non-alignment in peacetime and neutrality in wartime, basing its security on a strong national defense.
The first UN operation involving Swedish troops took place in Suez in Since , Sweden has also co-operated with Nato under the Partnership for Peace. Through these organisations, Sweden has been involved in numerous international peacekeeping missions. Sweden joined the EU on January 1, The economic crisis of the early s broke the long hegemony of the Social Democrats. Since , power has changed hands more often. Share with your friends.
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