745 



SWEDEN. 



SWEDEN. 



718 



1852 amounted to 7304, carrying 313,693 lasts ; the departures num- 

 bered 6749 vessels, measuring 342,643 lasts. The imports were valued 

 at 29,049,000 crowns ; the exports at 27,658,000 crowns. The foreign 

 trade extends to most countries in Europe and America. The chief 

 imports are brought from the following countries, which are named in 

 order of the values: the Hanse Towns, Great Britain, Brazil, Norway, 

 Russia, Denmark, United States, East Indies and Australia, Prussia, 

 and the West Indies. The best customers for Swedish exports are 

 Great Britain, Denmark, the Hanse Towns, France, Prussia, United 

 State;, Russia, and Portugal. 



The Swedish navy in 1854 numbered 10 ships of the line, 8 frigates, 

 8 brigs, 6 schooners, 8 vessels armed with mortars, 22 transports, 256 

 gun-boats, and 12 steamers. 



In the Fame year the army numbered an aggregate of 144,013 men, 

 exclusive of officers, composed of the Vaerfvade, amounting to 7692 

 men, enrolled by voluntary enlistment for six years; the Gothland 

 militia, 7621, who serve only in the island ; -the Indelta (a sort of 

 militia, who receive, partly from the crowu and partly from the landed 

 proprietors, an annual payment in money or in kind, betides a house 

 and come land), 33,405 ; and 95,295 men raised by conscription, every 

 Swede between 20 and 25 years of age being bound to serve. 



The principal articles of export from Sweden are iron and timber. 

 Norway takes a considerable quantity of iron, and sends fish in return. 

 Stockholm receives from Finland three fourths of the fire-wood which 

 it consumes, the northern provinces not being able to supply the 

 article either so cheap or so good. Finland also exports to Stockholm 

 meat, butter, cheese, bacon, flour, hides, pitch, and tar. Other articles 

 of export are copper, cobalt, alum, tar, pitch, hemp, oil, paper, tree- 

 bark, tobacco and snuff, bricks, furs, some linens, vessels, and some 

 minor articles. The chief articles of import are sugar, coffee, salt, 

 fish, hide*, cotton-twist, cotton in wool, woollen stuffs, linens, cottons, 

 wine and brandy, wool, dye-stuffs, raisins, almonds, pepper, cinnamon, 

 arrack and rum, butter, bacon, tobacco, soap, traiu-oil, ginger, 

 lacquered ware, tea, tallow, potashes, and oiL 



Education. Sweden has two universities, Upsala and Lund. The 

 average annual attendance at the former ii about 1000 students; at 

 the latter, between 400 and 500. There are besides, 12 cyinnasia for 

 higher instruction, preparatory to the universities; 41 btrdoms skola, 

 or grammar schools ; and 40 apologist schools, where the common 

 brandies are taught, with, in some instances, French and German. 

 For elementary education, the law of 1842 commanded the erection 

 of a school in each commune or parish. Owing to the sparseness of 

 the population thU w.is found to be in many instances impracticable ; 

 in such cases however the communes are divided into district!, each of 

 which is visited in turn by ambulatory schoolmasters. Schoolmasters 

 are trained by government and paid by the communes in kind. In 

 1850 there were 2107 stationary and 1351 ambulatory schoolmasters. 

 Of the masters, 218 were clergymen and 690 church clerks. In that 

 year, 143,528 children were receiving instruction in the stationary 

 schools, 126,178 in ambulatory schools, 128,996 were instructed at 

 home. 6223 in the secondary school* above named, and 17,465 

 in private schools, making a total of 422,388 altogether under 

 instruction. It is a general practice in Sweden for parents, especially 

 those who live in the country, to instruct their children in the long 

 winter evenings. 



Hittory. The early history of Sweden is known chiefly from the 

 Sagas, or chronicles, which present little more than a confused mass 

 of fables and heroic legends. According to these, the first dynasty of 

 kings was that of the Ynglings (so called from the third of their 

 number, Freyer-Yngve, a grandson of Odin), who reigned from the 

 arrival of Odin in the north, an event variously fixed at from B.C. 50 

 to A.O. 250, till about JLD. 630, when the last of these princes, Olaf 

 Tnetelia, was expelled by Ivar Vidfadme, a Danish king of the race 

 of the SkioldunzH, another branch of the progeny of Odin. The 

 thrones of Sweden and Denmark continued for some time united 

 under the descendant* of Ivar, till at the death (794) of the famous 

 pirate-king Ragnar Lodbrok, who fell ill an expedition ngainst the 

 Engliah coasts, Sweden again became a separate kingdom under his 

 second son, Kiorn Ironside. Under Biorn II., grandson of Biorn 

 Ironside, Christianity was first introduced in Scandinavia; but the 

 mass of the people still adhered to paganism, and Erik, who reigned 

 943-1001, perished in a popular revolt provoked by his demolition of 

 the heathen temples. His son Olaf however (1001-26) formally 

 established the Christian faith. The male descendants of Biorn Iron- 

 side failing upon the death of King Edmund Slemme, who fell in 

 battle against the Goths of Gothland, a fresh dynasty was founded 

 (1056) by Stenkill, under whom the Swedes and Goths were for the 

 first time united. On the death of Inge II., the Swedes conferred the 

 royal dignity on a private individual named Sverker (1129-50) ; while 

 to obviate the discontent of the Goths, who supported the claims of 

 Erik, a descendant by females of the house of Stenkill, it was agreed 

 that Erik should succeed Sverker, and that the representatives of the 

 two families should in future reign alternately. The reign of St. Erik 

 (1155-61) WM signalised by the final conquest and conversion of the 

 Fins, and by the compilation of an excellent code of laws; but 

 after his death the strange arrangements above mentioned gave rise, 

 as might have been foreseen, to endless dissensions and civil wars. 

 The alternate succession waj however adhered to through the reign of 



Charles. With Erik Erikson (1222-50), sumamed LaBspe, or tho 

 Stammerer, expired the male line of St. Erik, as that of Sverker had 

 done with John. 



Waldemar, a minor of the Folkungar family, and a nephew of Erik 

 Lajspe by the sister's side, was raised to the vacant throne by election 

 of the states. Waldemar was dethroned (1276) by his brother Magnus 

 Ladtilxs, a wise and politic monarch ; but the reign of his son Birgcr 

 (1290-1319) was again a scene of fraternal discord, ending in his depo- 

 sition hi favour of his infant nephew Magnus Sraek (1319-63), who 

 also succeeded in right of his mother to the crown of Norway. The 

 long reign of this weak and perfidious prince was a series of domestic 

 treasons and disastrous and civil wars. He was deposed by the Diet 

 in 1343, and his son Erik XII. substituted ; and, though restored on 

 the death of Erik in 1359, he was soon finally displaced by his sister's 

 son, Albert of Mecklenburg (1363-89). But the rule of Albert was as 

 unpopular oa that of his predecessor ; and he was overthrown and 

 made prisoner (1389) by Margaret, queen of Norway and Denmark. 



This remarkable princess formed the three realms of Sweden, 

 Denmark, and Norway, into a confederate monarchy by the Union of 

 Calmar (1397), the three crowns being declared iudissolubly united, 

 though the internal administration of each kingdom continued inde- 

 pendent and separate. Margaret was succeeded by her grand-nephew 

 Erik of Pomerania (1413-39), but his tyranny irritated the Swedes, 

 who expelled the Danes in 1433. For nearly a century the Danish 

 kings struggled to effect the subjugation of Sweden. Finally, 

 Christian IL, aided by the powerful family of Trolle, defeated and 

 slew Sten Sture II. at Bagesund, and massacred at Stockholm (1520) 

 94 prelates, senators, and nobles of the opposite party. The Swedes 

 now flew to arms under Gustavus Erikson Vasa, the son of one of the 

 victims ; and the expulsion of the Danes (Christian being opportunely 

 dethroned at the same time in Denmark) was followed by the unani- 

 mous proclamation of Gustavus as King of the Swedes and Goths. 

 Thus ended the Union of Calmar. 



The Lutheran doctrines were introduced in 1522 by Olatis Petri, 

 and in 1528 the Confession of Augsburg was solemnly adopted as the 

 standard of faith by the king and people at the diet of Westcriis. 

 Under Gustavus the country attained a degree of affluence and pro- 

 sperity hitherto unknown, and was raised from the condition of a 

 semi-barbarous and dependent territory to the rank of a considerable 

 state. But Erik XIV. (1560-8), son and successor of the great Qua- 

 Uvus, was a gloomy and cruel tyrant He became insane from 

 remorse for the slaughter of the Sture fuinily (1567), and was deposed 

 in favour of hU brother John III. (1568-92), who confined Erik in a 

 dungeon, and at length (1577) put him to death. The rule of John 

 was at first prosperous ; but the attempts which ho made to restore 

 Catholicism gave rise to religious disputes which occupied a great part 

 of his reign. John was succeeded by his son Sigismund (1592-1604), 

 who bad in 1587 been elected king of Poland in right of his mother : 

 but his open profession of Catholicism speedily alienated the Swedes, 

 a civil war commenced, which continued till 1604, the king being 

 supported by Polish troops. At length the diet of Norrkoping for- 

 mally prohibited the obnoxious faith, and raised the duke of Suder- 

 mania to the throne as Charles IX. (1 604-11) in the place of his nephew. 

 From this revolution arose the Swede-Polish war of succession, which 

 continued almost without intermission for sixty years (1600-60). 

 Charles IX. was succeeded by his son, the famous Gustavus Adolphus 

 (1611-32). The first acts of his reign were directed to tho improve- 

 ments of his kingdom, in which he was aided by his illustrious minister 

 Oxcnsliern. By the peace of Stolbova (1617), concluded under the 

 mediation of England, Russia ceded all her remaining territory on the 

 Baltic ; and the king, heading his army against the Poles, took RkM 

 (1621), and subdued Livonia and Polish Prussia, which were ceded to 

 Sweden (1629) by the truce of Altmark. His arms were now turned 

 towards Germany, where the success of Austria in the Thirty Years' 

 War seemed to threaten Protestantism with annihilation ; and being 

 chosen captain-general of the Protestant league, he landed iu Pomer- 

 ania June 1630: his campaigns and victories occupied him till his 

 fall in the moment of triumph at the battle of Lutzen (November 6, 

 1632). 



Christina (1632-54), the daughter of Gustavus Adolphus, succeeded 

 at the age of six yeais, under tho guardianship of Oxcnsticrn, who 

 administered the kingdom with consummate ability. A war with 

 Denmark (1643-45) terminated to the advantage of Sweden by the 

 peace of Bromsebro; and at the general peace of Westphalia (1648), 

 Sweden received Pomerania, Rugen, Bremen, &c., with the annexed 

 rights as a state of the empire : acquisitions which elevated her to 

 the rank of a first-rate power. In 1654 Christina abdicated the crown 

 in favour of her cousin, the Count Palatine of Deux-Ponts, retired to 

 France, and afterwards to Rome, where she died a Roman Catholic in 

 1689. The new king, Charles Gustavus (1654-60), renewed the war 

 with Poland, overran the country, and attacked Denmark, which had 

 sided with Poland, obtaining by the peace of Roskiide, in 1658, the 

 cession of Scania and the other Danish provinces beyond the Sound. 

 In a subsequent attack on Denmark the Swedes were repulsed from 

 Copenhagen by the assistance of the Prussians and tho Dutch, and the 

 disappointed ambition of the king is laid to have hastened his death. 

 During the minority of his son Charles XI. (1C60 97), the long contest 

 with Poland was concluded (1660) by the peace of Oliva; Livonia, 



