Civilopedia
This is a combination of part of the Wikipedia entry for Sweden and part of Sweden's civilopedia in the Middle Ages conquest.
#RACE_SWEDEN
^The Swedish are $LINK<militaristic and seafaring=GCON_Strengths>. They start the game with
$LINK<warrior code=TECH_Warrior_Code> and $LINK<pottery=TECH_Pottery> and build
$LINK<longships=PRTO_Longship> instead of $LINK<galleys=PRTO_Galley> and $LINK<caravels=PRTO_Caravel>.
^
^Conclusive archaeological evidence exists that the area now comprising Sweden was settled during the Stone Age, as the inland ice of the last ice age receded. The earliest inhabitants are thought to have been hunters and gatherers,
living primarily off what the sea (later called the Baltic Sea) could offer.
^
^Some evidence supports the theory that southern Sweden was densely populated during the Bronze Age, as remains of large trading communities from this period have been found.
^
^Sweden as a name was originally a plural form of Swede and is a so-called "back-formation", from Old English Sweoðeod (Suiones).
^
^Medieval Sweden was much more a motley collection of Viking provinces and personal domains than a coherent nation. Individual Swedish chiefs
were often extremely opportunistic, expanding deep into Russia and dominating trade along the great Russian rivers (particularly with the Muslims, whose
own expansion enabled them to control the southern ends of these rivers). Swedish warships preyed constantly on coastal territories along the
Baltic and in England, and occasionally came to fight with the other Viking nations. In the 12th century C.E., they even fought a war against the
Hanseatic League towns in northern Germany (which, surprisingly, they lost). Around this time Sweden became Christianized through the efforts of
Frankish missionaries and monks, abandoning the traditional Norse pantheon they had worshipped for centuries before.
^
^Sweden became feudal around 1245, when religious reforms led to the creation of a formal taxation authority and the church's right to crown the
Swedish king. After a civil war, in which both Denmark and Norway intervened, the balance of power swung once again away from the church and back to the nobles,
who favored the old tradition of electing their kings rather than having them named by divine authorities.
#DESC_RACE_SWEDEN
^The nobles enshrined this in a new legal code that would bind all Swedish provinces, and also made the first attempt at forming a national trade policy (so as to improve and enrich the commercial relationship Sweden had with
the Hanseatic League).
^
^Around 1362 C.E. the Swedish nobles, disgusted with the Swedish king Magnus' military setbacks and attempts to rein in their influence, persuaded an exiled duke
named Albert to rally his support and attack Sweden. Their plan was to back Albert and then dominate him from behind the throne. Albert had other ideas, and once Magnus was
overthrown, he ruthlessly exerted his will on the nobles who had supported him. They tried to resist, but eventually had to appeal to Norway and Denmark, ruled by the amazing
Queen Regent Margaret. She saw an opportunity to forge an empire for her son, in whose stead she already ruled two Viking nations, and defeated Albert in battle in
1389. Grinding guerrilla warfare persisted for almost a decade, until Margaret's forces were finally victorious and her nephew, Erik, was crowned king of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. This
dynastic union created a Viking empire that would last two hundred years.
^
^The 17th century saw the rise of Sweden as one of the great powers in Europe, due to successful participation, initiated by King Gustavus Adolphus, in the Thirty Years' War. This position would crumble in the 18th century when Russia took the reins of northern Europe in the Great Northern War, and eventually in 1809, splitting off the eastern half of Sweden, thereby creating Finland as a Russian Grand Duchy.
^
^Recent Swedish history has been peaceful, the last war being the Campaign against Norway 1814 establishing a Sweden-dominated personal union with Norway. The union was peacefully dissolved in 1905, despite some sabre-rattling. Sweden remained a neutral country during World War I and World War II (with a small exception for the Winter War). It continued to stay non-aligned during the Cold War and is today not a member of any military alliance but has participated in NATO military training.
^
^The first ceremony to award the Nobel Prize was held at the Old Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm in 1901; beginning in 1902, the prizes have been formally awarded by the King of Sweden.
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- wonderfull work indeed.
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