Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna was a Swedish statesman and Count of Södermöre. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of King Gustavus Adolphus and then Queen Christina, for whom he was at first regent.
During the 17th century, despite having scarcely more than 1 million inhabitants, Sweden emerged to have greater foreign influence, after winning wars against Denmark–Norway, the Holy Roman Empire, Russia, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Its contributions during the Thirty Years' War under Gustavus Adolphus helped determine the political, as well as the religious, balance of power in Europe.
Field Marshal and Count Jacob Pontusson De la Gardie was a statesman and a soldier of the Swedish Empire, and a Marshal from 1620 onward.
Stanisław Koniecpolski was a Polish military commander, regarded as one of the most talented and capable in the history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was also a magnate, a royal official (starosta), a castellan, a member of the Polish nobility (szlachta), and the voivode (governor) of Sandomierz from 1625 until his death. He led many successful military campaigns against rebelling Cossacks and invading Tatars. From 1618 he held the rank of Field Crown Hetman before becoming the Grand Crown Hetman, the military commander second only to the King, in 1632.
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy was the navy of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The Treaty of Stuhmsdorf, or Sztumska Wieś, was a treaty signed on 12 September 1635 between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Swedish Empire in the village of Stuhmsdorf, Poland, just south of Stuhm (Sztum).
The six-year Truce of Altmark was signed on 16 (O.S.)/26 (N.S.) September 1629 in the village of Altmark, in Poland,by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden, with helped by Richelieu's envoy Charnacé ending the Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629)，and freeing Gustavus to enter the Thirty Years' War.
The Polish–Swedish War of 1626–1629 was the fourth stage in a series of conflicts between Sweden and Poland fought in the 17th century. It began in 1626 and ended four years later with the Truce of Altmark and later at Stuhmsdorf with the Treaty of Stuhmsdorf.
The Battle of Trzciana took place on 25 June 1629 and was one of the battles of the Polish-Swedish War (1626–1629) or Second Swedish-Polish War. The Polish forces were led by Crown Field Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski and imperial troops under Hans Georg von Arnim-Boitzenburg, sent by Emperor Ferdinand II to aid Sigismund III, met with troops commanded by Swedish King Gustav II Adolf, who supported the Protestant Lutherans of Germany and northern Europe. Gustav Adolf was almost killed or captured twice. Fighting in Prussia continued after the battle into July and August and ended with stalemate and finally a truce accepted by Sigismund III.
Per Stålhammar was a Swedish military officer and soldier under the rule of Gustavus Adolphus, Christina, Charles X, and Charles XI. Stålhammar was born in Angved in Svenarum Parish, Småland, Sweden as Per Jönsson. He grew up on a small farm which his father, Jöns Gudmundsson, leased from the crown. Stålhammar's mother was Karin Pedersdotter.
Ļaudona is a village in Ļaudona Parish, Madona Municipality in the Vidzeme region of Latvia. The Ļaudona Parish of the former Madona District was merged into the municipality (novads) of Madona in 2009.
The Polish–Swedish War (1617–1618) was a phase of the longer Polish–Swedish War of 1600–1629. It continued the war of 1600–1611 and was an attempt by Sweden to take Polish pressure off Russia. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was then also fighting Tartars and the Ottoman Empire. Russia and Sweden were at that stage allied, prior to the Ingrian War, part of Russia's Time of Troubles. The 1617–1618 war's cause was a dispute over Livonia and Estonia, and a dispute between Sigismund III Vasa and Gustavus Adolphus over the Swedish throne.
The Treaty of Stettin or Alliance of Stettin was the legal framework for the occupation of the Duchy of Pomerania by the Swedish Empire during the Thirty Years' War. Concluded on 25 August (O.S.) or 4 September 1630 (N.S.), it was predated to 10 July (O.S.) or 20 July 1630 (N.S.), the date of the Swedish Landing. Sweden assumed military control, and used the Pomeranian bridgehead for campaigns into Central and Southern Germany. After the death of the last Pomeranian duke in 1637, forces of the Holy Roman Empire invaded Pomerania to enforce Brandenburg's claims on succession, but they were defeated by Sweden in the ensuing battles. Some of the Pomeranian nobility had changed sides and supported Brandenburg. By the end of the war, the treaty was superseded by the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the subsequent Treaty of Stettin (1653), when Pomerania was partitioned into a western, Swedish part, and an eastern, Brandenburgian part.
The Swedish Empire or the Age of Greatness was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region. The beginning of the period is usually taken as the reign of Gustavus Adolphus, who ascended the throne in 1611, and its end as the loss of territories in 1721 following the Great Northern War.
The Treaty of Bärwalde, signed on 23 January 1631, was an agreement by France to provide Sweden financial support, following its intervention in the Thirty Years' War.
Arka Noego was a war pinnace in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy that played an important role in two naval battles of the Polish–Swedish War (1626–29). Small, fast and lightly armed when compared to the impressive man-of-war galleons of the Swedish Navy, excellent leadership, a fine crew and aggressive marines combined to bring the Arka Noego into parity with her larger opponents. Major roles in two impressive victories followed in the fall of 1627.
Gustavus Adolphus, also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 to 1632, and is credited with the rise of Sweden as a great European power. During his reign, Sweden became one of the primary military forces in Europe during the Thirty Years' War, helping to determine the political and religious balance of power in Europe. He was formally and posthumously given the name Gustavus Adolphus the Great by the Riksdag of the Estates in 1634.
Estonia under Swedish rule (1561–1710) signifies the period of time when large parts of the country, and after 1645, entire present-day Estonia, were under Swedish rule. In the wake of the breakup of the State of the Teutonic Order, the Baltic German local nobility in the areas of Harrien (Harjumaa) and Wierland (Virumaa), as well as the city of Reval (Tallinn) in June 1561 asked for and were granted protection by the Swedish king Eric XIV, leading to Swedish involvement in the Livonian War. At the conclusion of hostilities in 1583, Sweden was in control of the northern parts of modern Estonia and Dagö ; the Duchy of Estonia was created from this territory. Following renewed wars between Poland and Sweden, the southern parts of present-day Estonia were incorporated into Sweden by the Treaty of Altmark in 1629. Sweden also conquered the island of Ösel (Saaremaa) from Denmark, and were thus in control of all of present-day Estonia.
Events from the year 1641 in Sweden
The Prussian campaign (1626–1629) was a Swedish invasion of Ducal Prussia during the Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629). Despite initial success, the campaign became a war of attrition and was inconclusive. Around 30,000 or more died on the Swedish side.
