History of Sweden

The history of Sweden focuses on the nation past 1444, the point of divergence.

End of the Kalmar Union
Swedish history is the same as in real life until 1444. Despite Christopher III having been elected by Swedish nobles, they were infuriated at his lack of control and plotted to overthrow him. They got England and Lithuania's support, and soon declared independence on 1 April 1445. Gustav I Drake was chosen as the new king. The war ended in 1446 with a complete victory; the island of Gotland was also reclaimed during the war. During this time, Sweden entered into a royal marriage with Lithuania on 22 August 1445, and with England on the 23rd, though neither was to the King himself.

Domination of the Baltic
Sweden claimed Noteborg (then called Neva) as part of their natural borders on 25 December that year, which was then owned by Novgorod. Ingermanland was later claimed on 1 April 1447 (coincidentally two years after the initial declaration of independence). On 24 April 1447, while Muscovy invaded Novgorod, Sweden declared war on the former and sparked the Novgorod War. King Gustav I famously announced he would not increased contributions from the nobles of Sweden for their support, improving national stability. Unfortunately, just after that announcement, military spending crushed the national economy and the currency was debased multiple times which led to an increase in corruption. Peace was finally signed in 1450 and the claimed lands, as well as Ladoga and Veliky Novgorod (which was then renamed to Gustavstad), were ceded to Sweden.

A royal marriage took place between Sweden and Muscovy on 23 May 1449, and an alliance was nearly forged following the Novgorod War, but Muscovy claimed all the lands that Sweden took during the war and the alliance was called off. Instead, Poland was allied on 14 April, and a royal marriage on the 17th.

On 19 August 1451, Sweden claimed the province of Narva - then owned by the Livonian Order - as their own. Soon after, on 20 May 1454, the Estonian War broke out between the two nations. King Gustav I died on 8 March 1455 while besieging Reval, and was replaced by his wife Christina as Queen-Consort Regent. On 2 April 1457, the Treaty of Abo was signed, which granted Narva, Reval, Dorpat, Liefland, and Osel to Sweden. These lands were granted to the new Swedish fief of Estonia the next day.

Eclipsing Denmark
Christina's son Gustav II took over as King on 6 June 1461. In his first few years as king, he ordered the centralization of the Swedish government, which led to the development of Stockholm, Abo, Ostergotland, and Skaraborg. Foreseeing a Muscovite invasion of Novgorod, he declared war on the latter on 14 April 1465. Karelia, Kexholm, and Olonets were gained from the war, and Novgorod as a whole was vassalized.

Gustav II, being a military man like his father, considered declaring war on Denmark again to wrest Scania from their control as to get rid of the Sound Toll, but called it off initially due to the country falling behind in technology. The plan pushed through anyways, and the Conquest of Scania began. Though long and hard, the war was won on 1476, with all of Scania as well as Bohuslan being annexed.

There was a brief interbellum period, during which Gustav II developed the cities of Stockholm and Gustavstad and turned them into world-class cities, bringing the Renaissance to Sweden. Stockholm's residential areas were expanded to accommodate the growing population, while Gustavstad's trading posts were repaired and its influence over the area returned.

Gustav II then declared war on Riga on 14 May 1483, sparking the Rigan War. While an "easy" war, due to Riga's allies Hamburg and Lubeck being spread out everywhere, the war dragged on 5 years and led to the loss of more than 8,000 men, the majority of which was from a Swedish assault on Hamburg City. Following the war, even Gustav II recognized it was the time to focus inwards, as the country fell behind technologically.

Further Ambitions
On 27 September 1492, Gustav II's cousin John Casimir was elected the King of Poland, granting Sweden extra power. This man, however, had ambitions to take over Muscovy, and used his connections with the Swedish throne to declare the Tambov War. This war lasted 8 years and was the bloodiest war in Swedish history; it concluded with Sweden only gaining one province, Soroka, and even that was through Novgorod.

Despite the hesitation regarding the Tambov War, four years after it ended, the Dano-Swedish War was declared on Denmark. The war lasted 5 years and was ultimately successful, with Norway becoming a Swedish vassal. After this, Sweden was in a powerful position, but internally it was ravaged with conflicts. On 4 October 1514 the Great Noble Revolt took place, in which the disgruntled nobility sought to gain more privileges from Gustav II. It was ultimately crushed, but it did delay Gustav II's plans.

On 23 April 1516, Gustav II declared war on Muscovy and thus began the War of the Rivers against Muscovy. Despite being a formidable opponent before, Muscovy was a shadow of what it once was, and its forces were easily beaten. Two Muscovite Kings, Vasily III and Vasily IV, were slain during the war. The war ended on 7 August 1519 with the Treaty of Stockholm. Onega, Kholmogory, and Mezen were returned to Novgorod; Pskov was ceded to Estonia; lastly, Rzhev, Zubstov, and Moscow were ceded to Sweden. While the cessions were also tactical (the lands returned to Novgorod cut off Muscovy from the sea), the last three were certainly out of spite, as Moscow would be renamed to Nya Stockholm, while Rzhev and Zubstov were renamed Risjev and Drakestad respectively.

Gustav II died of old age on 27 November 1520. He was succeeded by his youngest brother Magnus, as Sigismund died before Gustav II had.

Revolts
Magnus IV, being the brother of Gustav II and not his son, had a very shaky claim to the throne. Some nobles argued that Gustav II had a bastard son who was secretly legitimized, but they had no evidence and all members of the court in Stockholm denied this. Nevertheless, the Duke of Elfsborg Simon Hahn revolted during Magnus IV's coronation to try and depose him, and possibly take the crown for himself. His forces were quickly defeated, and Hahn himself was captured and executed, but the nation's stability had been shaken and many more revolts soon followed. While they were all crushed, they left the army heavily weakened.

Two years after Simon Hahn's revolt, on 5 April 1522, Swedish nobles in Bergslagen and Ostergotland revolted to try to depose Magnus IV again. About a year after that on 2 March 1523, Novgorodian separatists rose up in Ladoga and Gustavstad. Eight months later, on 1 November 1523, Muscovite separatists rose up in Nya Stockholm (Moscow). These rebels joined other Muscovite separatists from Poland, leading to an overwhelming force of 43,000 separatists. These were narrowly defeated with a strategic sortie. Lastly, on 4 March 1525, Tverian separatists rose up in Drakestad; this revolt was much smaller compared to the ones preceding it and it was quickly put down.

During the time of the riots, Stockholm was once more expanded. Facilities were built in the surrounding islands, increasing the town's population exponentially.

The Recession
By the time the many revolts subsided, Sweden entered into what is known as The Recession, as the country rebuilt itself. Magnus IV, however, continued to look outward, and declared the Pomeranian War to establish a foothold in Germany. The war was successful, and the ports of Stralsund, Greifswald, and Stettin were seized. Magnus IV also entered into a strategic alliance with the emperor Bohemia to prevent them from attacking Sweden if the latter should invade the Holy Roman Empire once more. Shortly after this, on 4 August 1529, Magnus IV died unexpectedly.

His son Charles was still a minor at the time, so he was succeeded by his wife Anne I as Regent. She became the first York ruler of Sweden. During her brief rule she revoked noble control of Kalmar, Ostergotland, and Narke, setting the grounds for the Riksdag to be established by her son. Charles took over on 28 November 1536 and was crowned Charles I.