He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp. His father died when he was four years old, so Charles was educated by his governors until his coronation at the age of seventeen. Soon afterward, he was forced out on military expeditions to secure the recently acquired dominions from Danish troops in the Scanian War. Having successfully fought off the Danes, he returned to Stockholm and engaged in correcting the country's neglected political, financial, and economic situation. He managed to sustain peace during the remaining 20 years of his reign. Changes in finance, commerce, national maritime and land armaments, judicial procedure, church government, and education emerged during this period.[3] Charles XI was succeeded by his only son Charles XII, who made use of the well-trained army in battles throughout Europe.
Though Charles was crowned as Charles XI, he was not the 11th king of Sweden of that name. His father's name (as the 10th) was due to his great-grandfather, King Charles IX of Sweden (1604–1611), having adopted his own numeral by using a mythological History of Sweden. That ancestor was actually the third King Charles.[4] The numbering tradition thus begun still continues, with the present king of Sweden being Carl XVI Gustaf.
Under guardian rule
Charles at the age of five, dressed as a Roman emperor. Painting by Ehrenstrahl.Miniature of Charles XI, Pierre Signac, c.1662
Charles was born in the Stockholm Palace Tre Kronor in November 1655. His father, Charles X of Sweden, had left Sweden in July that year to fight in the war against Poland. After several years of warfare, the king returned in the winter of 1659, gathered his family and the Riksdag of the Estates in Gothenburg. Here he beheld his four-year-old son for the first time. Only a few weeks later, in mid-January 1660, the king fell ill; one month later, he wrote his last will and died.[5]
Charles X Gustav's will and testament left the administration of the Swedish Empire during Charles XI's minority to a regency led by Queen Dowager Hedwig Eleonora as both formal regent and chair of a six-member Regency Council with two votes and a final say over the rest of the council.[6]Per Brahe was one member of the council.[7] In addition, Charles X Gustav left command of the army and a seat on the council to his younger brother, Adolph John I, Count Palatine of Kleeburg.[8] These provisions among others led to the remainder of the council immediately challenging the will. On 14 February, the day after King Charles X's death, Hedwig Eleonora sent a message to the council stating that she knew that they contested the will and that she demanded that it should be respected. The council answered that the will must first be discussed with the parliament, and at the following council in Stockholm on 13 May, the council tried to keep her from attending. The parliament questioned whether it would be good for her health or suitable for a widow to attend council, and that if not, it would be hard to keep sending a messenger to her quarters. Her reply that the council would be allowed to meet without her and only inform her when they considered it necessary was met with satisfaction from the council. Hedwig Eleonora's ostensible indifference to politics came as a great relief to the lords of the guardian government.[8]
His mother, Queen Hedvig Eleonora, remained the formal regent until Charles XI attained his majority on 18 December 1672, but she was careful not to embroil herself in political conflicts.[9] During his first appearances in parliament, Charles spoke to the government through her. He would whisper the questions he had in her ear, and she would ask them aloud and clearly for him.[10] As an adolescent, Charles devoted himself to sports, exercise, and his favourite pastime of bear-hunting. He appeared ignorant of the very rudiments of statecraft and almost illiterate. His main difficulties are now seen as evident signs of dyslexia, a disability that was poorly understood at the time.[11][12][13] According to many contemporary sources, the king was considered poorly educated and therefore not qualified to conduct himself effectively in foreign affairs.[14] Charles was dependent on his mother and advisors to interact with the foreign envoys since he had no foreign language skills apart from German and was ignorant of the world outside Sweden.[15]
Italian writer Lorenzo Magalotti visited Stockholm in 1674 and described the teenage Charles XI as "virtually afraid of everything, uneasy to talk to foreigners, and not daring to look anyone in the face". Another trait was a deep religious devotion: he was God-fearing, frequently prayed kneeling and attended sermons. Magalotti otherwise described the king's main pursuits as hunting, the upcoming war, and jokes.[16][17]
The situation in Europe was shaky during this time and Sweden was going through financial problems. Charles XI's guardians decided to negotiate an alliance with France in 1671. This would ensure that Sweden would not be isolated if there was a war, and that the national finances would improve thanks to French subsidies.[18] France directed its aggression against the Dutch in 1672, and by the spring of 1674, Sweden was forced to take part by directing forces towards Brandenburg, under the lead of Karl Gustav Wrangel.[19]
Denmark was an ally of the HabsburgHoly Roman Empire, and it was evident that Sweden was on the verge of yet another war with that country. A remedy was attempted by chancellor Nils Brahe, who traveled to Copenhagen in the spring of 1675 to try to get the Danish princess Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark engaged to the Swedish king. In mid-June 1675, the engagement was officially proclaimed. However, when news arrived of the Swedish defeat at the Battle of Fehrbellin, Danish king Christian V declared war on Sweden that September.[20]
The Swedish Privy Council continued its internal feuds, and the king was forced to rule without them.[21] The 20-year-old king was inexperienced and considered ill-served amidst what has been called the anarchy in the nation. He dedicated autumn in his newly formed camp in Scania to arm the Swedish nation for battle in the Scanian War. The Swedish soldiers in Scania were outnumbered and out-equipped by the Danes. In May 1676, they invaded Scania, taking Landskrona and Helsingborg, then proceeding through Bohuslän towards Halmstad. The King had to grow up quickly. He suddenly found himself alone and under great pressure.[3][22]
Victory at the Battle of Halmstad (17 August 1676), when Charles and his commander-in-chiefSimon Grundel-Helmfelt defeated a Danish division, was the king's first glimmer of good luck. Charles continued south through Scania, arriving on the tableland of the flooded Kävlinge River– near Lund– on 11 November. The Danish army commanded by Christian V was positioned on the other side. It was impossible to cross the river and Charles had to wait for weeks until it froze over. This finally happened on 4 December and Charles launched a surprise attack on the Danish forces to fight the Battle of Lund.[3] This was one of the bloodiest engagements of its time. Of the over 20,000 combatants, about 8,000 perished on the battlefield.[3][23][24] All the Swedish commanders showed ability, but the chief glory of the day was attributed to Charles XI and his fighting spirit. The battle proved to be a decisive one for the rule of the Scanian lands and it has been described as the most significant event for Charles' personality. Charles commemorated this date the rest of his life.[25][26]
In the following year, 13,000 men led by Charles routed 12,000 Danes at the Battle of Landskrona. This proved to be the last pitched battle of the war since, in September 1678, Christian V evacuated his army back to Zealand. In 1679, Louis XIV of France dictated the terms of a general pacification, and Charles XI, who is said to have bitterly resented "the insufferable tutelage" of the French king, was forced at last to acquiesce to a peace that managed to leave his empire practically intact.[3] Peace was made with Denmark in the treaties of Fontainebleau (1679) and Lund, and with Brandenburg in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1679).[citation needed]
Post-war actions
Equestrian portrait of Charles XI.
Charles devoted the rest of his life to avoiding further warfare by gaining larger independence in foreign affairs, while he also promoted economic stabilization and a reorganization of the military. His remaining 20 years on the throne were the longest peacetime of the Swedish Empire (1611–1718).[27]
In the early years, he was assisted by the man who had become his trusted prime-minister, Johan Göransson Gyllenstierna (1635–1680). Some sources say the king was basically dependent on Gyllenstierna.[28] His sudden death in 1680 opened up the road to the monarch, and many men tried to get close to the king to take Gyllenstierna's place.[29]
Sweden's weak economy had suffered during the war and was now in a deep crisis. Charles assembled the Riksdag of the Estates in October 1680. The assembly has been described as one of the most important held by the Riksdag of the Estates.[30] Here, the king finally pushed through the reduction ordeal, something that had been discussed in the Riksdag since 1650. It meant that any land or object previously owned by the crown and lent or given away– including counties, baronies and lordships– could be recovered. It affected many prominent members of the nobility, some of whom were ruined by it. One of them was the former guardian and Lord Chief JusticeMagnus De La Gardie, who, among many other Estates, had to return the extravagant 248-room Läckö Castle.[31] The reduction process involved the examination of every title deed in the kingdom, including the dominions, and it resulted in a complete readjustment of the nation's finances.[3][32][33]
Greycoat
According to Swedish legend, Charles XI travelled around the country dressed as a farmer or simple traveller. In the legend he is referred to as the Greycoat (Swedish: Gråkappan).[34] This was done to discover and identify corruption and oppression against the populace. There are many stories about him arriving in villages looking for corrupt church officials and punishing them. One anecdote tells of him visiting one village with a church in splendid condition and the priest living in poverty. Continuing, the King found in the next village a church in disrepair and a priest living lavishly. The King solved the situation by switching the priests, giving the poor priest the lavish living condition and a church the King was certain he would rebuild. Always followed by a military cortège, Charles toured the country more than other Swedish kings during this era and was famous for the speed at which he travelled, setting many records. The stories of the Greycoat were published in a book by Arvid August Afzelius in the middle of the 19th century.[35][36]
Absolutism
Portrait in Samuel von Pufendorf: De rebus a Carolo Gustavo, 1696
Another important decision made during the assembly was that of the Swedish Privy Council. Since 1634, it had been mandatory for the king to take advice from the council. During the Scanian War, the members of the council were engaged in internal feuds, and the king more or less ruled without listening to their advice. At the 1680 assembly, he asked the Estates whether he was still bound to the council, to which the Estates responded with his desired reply: "he was not bound by anyone other than himself" ("envälde"), and thereby the absolute monarchy was formally established in Sweden.[37] The Riksdag of the Estates confirmed his power in 1693 by officially proclaiming that the king was the sole ruler of Sweden.[38]
Military restructuring
In the 1682 assembly of the Riksdag of the Estates, the king put forth his suggestion for military reform, whereby each of the lands of Sweden were to have 1,200 soldiers at the ready, at all times, and two farms were to provide accommodations for one soldier. His soldiers were known as Caroleans, trained to be skilled and preferring to attack rather than defend. Savagery and looting were strictly forbidden. Soldier huts around the country were the most visible part of the new Swedish allotment system. However, Charles also modernized the military techniques and worked to improve the skills and knowledge of the officers by sending them abroad to study.[39][40]
Charles XI was initially enthusiastic about warfare and combat and he was often portrayed as the soldier-King. In the years after the Scanian War however, during which he personally engaged in the fighting and saw the devastation of war, he would later come to view that war was something better to be avoided if possible. With the recent war in mind he wanted to strengthen the armed forces for a defensive war which he knew would come sooner or later.[41]
The Swedish navy suffered major defeats against Danish-Dutch forces in the Scanian War, revealing deficiencies in organization and supply, and disadvantages in basing the fleet at Stockholm. The navy was bolstered with the founding of an ice-free base at Karlskrona in 1680 which became the mainstay of future naval operations. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[39][40]
Assimilation of the newest territories
Development of the Swedish Empire in Early Modern Europe (1560–1815)
Charles believed it was very important to assimilate the new Swedish territories of Scania, Blekinge, Halland, in southern Sweden; Bohuslän in western Sweden and Jämtland, in northern Sweden, and the island of Gotland. Some assimilation policies included: the ban of all books written in Danish or Norwegian, thus breaking the promise made at the Treaty of Roskilde; the use of Swedish language in the conduct of sermons; and all new priests and teachers having to come from Sweden.[42][43]
The king had seen bitter resentment from the Scanian peasants during the Scanian War and was particularly tough on that province. The guerrilla Snapphane movement, in northern Scania, had attacked his soldiers and stolen his money. They also had strong support from the local villages. Charles remained suspicious of the Scanian inhabitants throughout his life. He did not allow soldiers from Scania in his Scanian regiment: the 1,200 soldiers that were to be stationed there had to be recruited from more northern provinces. He also advocated rough treatment of the inhabitants and the first Governor-General of Scania, his trusted aide Johan Gyllenstierna (governor-general 1679–1680), was notably brutal in his treatment of the locals. The rule of Rutger von Ascheberg (governor-general 1680–1693), proved more lenient.[42][43]
The assimilation was not as strongly implemented in the German dominions of Swedish Pomerania, Bremen-Verden, and the Baltic dominions (Estonia and Livonia). In Germany, Charles found himself being opposed by the Estates there. He was also bound by the law of the German emperor and the peace treaty. In the Baltic, the power structure was completely different, with a German-descended nobility that used serfs, something that Charles abhorred and wanted to abolish but was unable to. Finally, Kexholm and Ingria were sparsely populated and not of great interest.[42][43]
Church
Charles was a devoted LutheranChristian. In February 1686, a church law was put forth on his initiative. The church order declared that the king was ruler of the Church in the same way that he ruled the country and God ruled the world. Attending sermons on Sunday was made obligatory and ordinary people found walking during that time risked arrest. Three years later, he declared it obligatory for all commoners to learn to read a catechism written by archbishop Olov Svebilius and then-bishop Haqvin Spegel so that they would understand the "magnificence of God".[44][45]
Charles encouraged the production of a hymnal (Psalmbok) to be printed and distributed to the churches (completed 1693), and a new printed version of the Bible that was completed in 1703 and named after his successor: Charles XII Bible.[44][45]
On 6 May 1680, Charles married Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark (1656–1693), daughter of King Frederick III of Denmark (1609–1670). He had previously been engaged to his cousin, Juliana of Hesse-Eschwege, but the engagement was broken after a scandal. Charles and Ulrika were engaged in 1675 in an attempt to smooth over longstanding hostilities, but the Scanian War soon broke out. During the war, Ulrika Eleonora gained a reputation for loyalty to her future home country by exhibiting kindness to Swedish prisoners: she pawned her jewelry, even her engagement ring, to care for the Swedish prisoners of war. Her personal merits and continued charitable acts throughout her tenure endeared her to the Swedish people and eased some of the difficulties brought on by her Danish background.[46] In the peace negotiations between Sweden and Denmark in 1679, the marriage between her and Charles XI was on the agenda, and ratified on 26 September 1679. They married at Skottorp on 6 May 1680 in a hasty ceremony, as Charles prioritized government work over private matters, even a marriage ceremony.[citation needed]
Charles and Ulrika Eleonora were very different. He enjoyed hunting and riding, while she enjoyed reading and art, and is best remembered for her great charitable activity. She was also limited by ill-health and numerous pregnancies. Charles was very active and busy and while Charles was away inspecting his troops or pursuing his pastimes, she was often lonely and sad. The marriage itself, however, is considered a success, with the King and Queen being very fond of each other. As queen, Ulrika Eleonora had little political involvement and was placed in the shadow of her mother-in-law. During "The Great Reversion" to the crown of counties, baronies and large lordships from the nobility, Ulrika tried to speak on the behalf of the people whose property was confiscated by the crown. But the king told her that the reason he had married her was not because he wanted her political advice. Instead, she helped people whose property had been confiscated by secretly compensating them economically from her own budget. However Charles XI's confidence in her grew over time: in 1690, he named her future Regent, should his son succeed him still a minor. Instead Ulrika Eleonora predeceased him by almost four years. At the time of her death she was personally supporting 17,000 people.[47]
It is said that on his death bed, Charles XI admitted to his mother that he hadn't been happy since Ulrika Eleonora's death.[48]
Charles XI's family with his sister-in-law and her son (his future son-in-law), 1690s
The marriage produced seven children, of whom only three outlived Charles:[49]
Charles XII (1682–1718), who succeeded him to the throne; he had no issue
Gustav (1683–1685)
Ulric (1684–1685)
Frederick (1685–1685)
Charles Gustav (1686–1687)
Ulrika Eleonora ("the younger", 1688–1741), who succeeded her brother on the Swedish throne; no issue
Ulrika Eleonora (the elder) was sickly, and the many child births eventually broke her. When she became seriously ill, in 1693, Charles finally dedicated his time and care to her. Her death in July that year shook him deeply and he never fully recovered.[3][48] Her infant son Ulric (1684–1685) had been given Ulriksdal Palace, which was renamed for him (Ulric's Dale).[50]
Charles XI had complained of stomach pains since 1694. In the summer of 1696, he asked his doctors for an opinion on the pain as it had continuously become worse, but they had no viable cure or treatment for it. He continued to perform his duties as usual, but, in February 1697, the pains became too severe for him to cope and he returned to Stockholm where the doctors discovered he had a large, hard lump in his stomach. At this point there was little the doctors could do except alleviate the King's pain as best they could. Charles XI died on 5 April 1697, at the age of 41. An autopsy showed that the King had developed cancer and that it had spread through his entire abdominal cavity.[51]
Charles XI has sometimes been described in Sweden as the greatest of all the Swedish kings, except for Gustavus II Adolphus, unduly eclipsed by his father and his son.[3] In the first half of the 20th century, the view of him changed and he was regarded as dependent, uncertain, and easily influenced by others.[52] In the most recent book, Rystad's biography from 2003, the king is again characterized as a strong-willed shaper of Sweden through economic reforms and achievement of financial and military stability and strength.[53]
Charles XI was commemorated on the previous 500-kronor bill. His portrait is taken from one of Ehrenstrahl's paintings, possibly the one displayed on this page. The king is pictured on the bill since the Bank of Sweden was founded in 1668, during Charles' reign.[54]
The fortified town of Carlsburg near Bremen, at the site of modern Bremerhaven, was named after Charles XI. The Swedish town of Karlskrona, built during his reign to host the primary navy base in southern Sweden, which it remains to this day, is also named after him.[citation needed]
Charles's Church in Tallinn, Estonia, is dedicated to Charles XI.[citation needed] The recognition of his sores and corpse didn't show the incorruptibility that medieval hagiographers believed to be a sign of Christian sainthood. In 1697 the same belief caused Charles's subjects to ask if "God had put the illness inside the king...to punish the people or Charles." Two years later, the course of events that highlighted the crisis was of the absolutism itself.[55]
↑ This article uses the Julian calendar, which was used in Sweden until 1700 (see Swedish calendar for more information). In the Gregorian calendar, Charles was born 4 December 1655 and died 15 April 1697.
↑ Åberg (1958) gives examples: he would start with the last letter when reading words, and would spell faton instead of afton, etc.
↑ Upton, Anthony F. (1998). Charles XI and Swedish Absolutism, 1660–1697. Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN0-521-57390-4, p. 91: "There was a widespread contemporary impression that the king was poorly qualified and ineffective in foreign affairs [...] The Danish minister, M. Scheel, reported to his king how Charles XI seemed embarrassed by questions, kept his eyes down and was taciturn [...] The French diplomat, Jean Antoine de Mesmes, comte d'Avaux, described him as 'a prince with few natural talents', so obsessed with getting money out of his subjects that he 'does not concern himself much with foreign affairs'. The Dane, Jens Juel, made a similar comment."
Frederick I was King of Sweden from 1720 until his death, having been prince consort of Sweden from 1718 to 1720, and was also Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1730. He ascended the throne following the death of his brother-in-law absolutist Charles XII in the Great Northern War, and the abdication of his wife, Charles's sister and successor Ulrika Eleonora, after she had to relinquish most powers to the Riksdag of the Estates and thus chose to abdicate. His powerless reign and lack of legitimate heirs of his own saw his family's elimination from the line of succession after the parliamentary government dominated by pro-revanchist Hat Party politicians ventured into a war with Russia, which ended in defeat and the Russian tsarina Elizabeth getting Adolf Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp instated following the death of the king. Whilst being the only Swedish monarch called Frederick, he was Frederick I of Hesse-Kassel and thus Frederick I also of Sweden, though other Swedish monarchs with non-repeating names had not been enumerated.
Ulrika Eleonora or Ulrica Eleanor, known as Ulrika Eleonora the Younger, reigned as Queen of Sweden from 5 December 1718 until her abdication on 29 February 1720 in favour of her husband Frederick. Following her husband's accession as King Frederick I, Ulrika Eleonora served as his queen consort until her death in 1741.
Charles X Gustav, also Carl X Gustav, was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. After his father's death he also succeeded him as Pfalzgraf. He was married to Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, who bore his son and successor, Charles XI. Charles X Gustav was the second Wittelsbach king of Sweden after the childless king Christopher of Bavaria (1441–1448) and he was the first king of the Swedish Caroline era, which had its peak during the end of the reign of his son, Charles XI. He led Sweden during the Second Northern War, enlarging the Swedish Empire. By his predecessor Christina, he was considered de facto Duke of Eyland (Öland), before ascending to the Swedish throne. From 1655 to 1657, he was also Grand Duke of Lithuania.
The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden, by law a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. There have been kings in what now is the Kingdom of Sweden for more than a millennium. Originally an elective monarchy, it became a hereditary monarchy in the 16th century during the reign of Gustav Vasa, though virtually all monarchs before that belonged to a limited and small number of political families which are considered to be the royal dynasties of Sweden.
Count Arvid Bernhard Horn af Ekebyholm was a Swedish general, diplomat and politician, a member of the noble Horn family. He served twice as president of the privy council chancellery and was one of the leading figures of the Swedish Age of Liberty.
The Instrument of Government of 1634 was a document describing the form and operation of the Swedish government, retrospectively regarded as the country's first constitution, although it was not intended to function as such. It was composed by the Lord High Chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna, and was adopted by the Riksdag of the Estates on 29 July 1634. It was rendered void when the Riksdag repudiated it in 1680.
Count Rutger von Ascheberg, also known as Roger von Ascheberg was a Swedish soldier, officer and civil servant who served as Lieutenant General in 1670, General in 1674, Field Marshal in 1678, Governor General of the Scanian provinces, in 1680, and Royal Councilor in 1681.
Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark was Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Charles XI. She is often admired for her generosity and charity.
Hedvig Sophia Augusta of Sweden, Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp, was the eldest child of Charles XI of Sweden and Ulrike Eleonore of Denmark. She was heiress presumptive to the Swedish throne from her birth until that of her brother one year later and again from the start of his reign as King of Sweden, in 1697, until her death and the regent of the duchy of Holstein-Gottorp for her minor son from 1702 to 1708. Some sources refer to her as Sofia.
The Battle of Lund, part of the Scanian War, was fought on December 4, 1676, in an area north of the city of Lund in Scania in southern Sweden, between the invading Danish army and the army of Charles XI of Sweden. The Danish had an army of about 13,000 under the personal command of 31-year-old King Christian V of Denmark, aided by General Carl von Arensdorff. The Swedish army, which numbered about 8,000, was commanded by Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt and the 21-year-old Swedish king Charles XI. It is one of the bloodiest battles in percent of casualties on both sides ever fought in Scandinavia.
Charles Frederick, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp was a Prince of Sweden and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp and an important member of European royalty. His dynasty, the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, were a cadet branch of the ancient House of Oldenburg, which at that time was ruling Denmark-Norway. His mother was a sister of Charles XII of Sweden. Charles Frederick married a daughter of Peter the Great and became the father of the future Peter III of Russia. As such, he is the progenitor of the Russian imperial house of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov and the patrilineal ancestor of all Russian emperors starting with Peter III, except for Catherine II.
Jens Juel was a Danish diplomat and statesman of great influence at the Danish-Norwegian court. He was created Baron and granted Juellinge in 1672 and also established Juellund in 1694. He was the brother of Admiral Niels Juel.
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp was Queen of Sweden from 1654 until 1660 as the wife of King Charles X Gustav. She served as regent during the minority of her son, King Charles XI, from 1660 until 1672, and during the minority of her grandson, King Charles XII, in 1697. She also represented Charles XII during his absence in the Great Northern War from 1700 until the regency of her granddaughter Ulrika Eleonora in 1713. Hedwig Eleonora was described as a dominant personality, and was regarded as the de facto first lady of the royal court for 61 years, from 1654 until her death.
The Battle of Halmstad, also known as the Battle at Fyllebro, was fought on August 17, 1676, at Fyllebro, approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) southeast of the town of Halmstad in the province of Halland in southwest Sweden. It was the last battle in Halland between Denmark and Sweden.
The Battle of Helsingborg was the last major engagement of the Great Northern War to take place on Swedish soil. It resulted in a decisive victory of a Swedish force of 14,000 men under the command of Magnus Stenbock against a Danish force of equal strength under the command of Jørgen Rantzau, ensuring that Denmark's final effort to regain the Scanian territories that it had lost to Sweden in 1658 failed. The battle was fought on 10 March 1710 in the province of Scania, just outside the city of Helsingborg, and directly on the Ringstorp heights just north-east of the city.
The Peace of Lund, signed on 16 September (O.S.) / 26 September 1679, was the final peace treaty between Denmark–Norway and the Swedish Empire in the Scanian War.
Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie was a Swedish statesman and military man. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1647 and came to be the holder of three of the five offices counted as the Great Officers of the Realm, namely Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Chancellor and Lord High Steward. He also served as Governor-General in the Swedish dominion of Livonia.
Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck (1637–1723), was a Swedish countess and landowner.
Events from the year 1675 in Sweden
The 1719 Instrument of Government adopted on 21 February 1719 by the Riksdag of the Estates, was the constitution of the Kingdom of Sweden from 1719 to 1720. Although only in force for a few months, it has great significance in Swedish history, as its promulgation marked the end of the country's first period of absolutism (1680-1719) and the beginning of the period of constitutional monarchy and parliamentary government traditionally known as the Age of Liberty.
References
Åberg, Alf: Karl XI, Wahlström & Widstrand 1958 (reprinted by ScandBook, Falun 1994, ISBN91-46-16623-8 )
Granlund, Lis (2004). "Queen Hedwig Eleonora of Sweden: Dowager, Builder, and Collector". In Campbell Orr, Clarissa (ed.). Queenship in Europe 1660–1815: The Role of the Consort. Cambridge University Press. pp.56–76. ISBN0-521-81422-7.
Lindqvist, Herman: Historien om Sverige
Roberts, Michael. "Charles XI" History 50:169 (1965): 160–192.
Rystad, Göran: Karl XI / En biografi, AiT Falun AB 2001. ISBN91-89442-27-X
Upton, Anthony F. Charles XI and Swedish Absolutism, 1660–1697. Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN0-521-57390-4.
1Also prince of Norway 2Also prince of Poland and Lithuania 3Lost his title due to an unequal marriage 4Not Swedish prince by birth, but created prince of Sweden
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