Warrior kings of Sweden: the rise of an empire in the sisteenth and seventeenth centuries

For a hundred years, Sweden was the international military power of Northern Europe, in control of the entire Baltic region and among the first to colonize in Africa and America. But the history of Sweden, Finland, the Baltic States, Poland, and Prussia is largely neglected in American classrooms and scholarship. This book fills a large void in European history as it is generally presented to the American student and reader. This narrative covers Sweden's Age of Greatness (1632-1718) and the warrior-kings who governed that age. It chronologically describes the political and religious events of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and reveals how these events produced the climate for European global expansion, including the exploration and colonization of the New World. The story traces history through the reigns of Sweden's ambitious rulers, beginning with the presumably Swedish Goths who ravaged the Roman Empire in the 2nd century CE and continuing through the end of the empire in the early eighteenth century. A thorough epilogue documents the cultural flowering in the arts and sciences that commenced in the Age of Greatness and continued to blossom in the centuries that followed. This final section of the book pays special attention to the personalities that drove Sweden's far-reaching cultural progress. This Narrative Covers Sweden's Age Of Greatness (1632-1718), Warrior-kings Who Governed, Chronologically Describes Political And Religious Events Of The Sixteenth And Seventeenth Centuries, And Reveals How These Events Produced The Climate For European Global Expansion. It Traces History Through Sweden's Rulers And Documents Cultural Flowering In Arts And Sciences And Personalities That Drove Sweden's Cultural Progress--provided By Publisher. First Kings Of A United Sweden -- The Kalmar Union -- Gustav Vasa's Rise To Power And Swedish Independence -- King Gustav I -- War Debt And The Reformation -- Succession And Civil War -- Erik Xiv And The First Northern War -- King Johan Iii And The End Of The First Northern War -- A Swedish Prince On The Polish Throne And The Second Northern War -- Sigismund Iii And Wars In The North -- Karl Ix And The Second Polish War -- Gustav Adolf's Rise To Power -- Gustav Builds His Army -- Gustav Extends Swedish Power In Livonia And Prussia -- Gustav Enters Germany And The Thirty Years' War -- Gustav's Court On The Rhine And The Battle Of Lützen -- Oxenstierna Takes Control And Prosecutes The War In Germany -- War With Denmark As The Thirty Years' War Winds Down -- Queen Christina And The Athens Of The North -- Karl X -- The Swedish Empire At Its Height -- Sweden's Colonies And New Sweden In America -- Karl Xi And The Scanian War -- Karl Xii And The Great Northern War -- Karl Xii And War In Poland -- Karl Xii's Russian Campaign -- The End Of Empire. Gary Dean Peterson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 285-287) And Index.