History
Prehistory | Middle Ages | Modern History | Recent History
Prehistory
The early record of human activity in Scandinavia is sparse and the interpretations of the records from the Nordic Stone Age (10,000 BC – 1700 BC) are often conflicting. The oldest archaeological evidence of human habitation in Scandinavia has been found in what is now Denmark and consists of flint tools from 9,500 to 9,000 BC. Some scholars argue that the population slowly spread into what is present-day Sweden during the ensuing millennia. |
In 4200 BC, fired pottery, systematic farming and permanent settlements developed in southern Scandinavia and spread northward. Hundreds of Mediterranean-style megalithic graves dated 3300–2000 BC have been found in Denmark and southern Sweden. The early hunter-gatherers and farmers were followed between 2500 and 2000 BC by a new ethnolinguistic group, the so-called boat ax, battle ax, or single-grave people, named for their stone weapons and graves.They may have been Indo-European-speaking nomads who spread across much of northern Europe and may have also established cultural dominance over the earlier peoples of southern and central Scandinavia. This period was followed by the Nordic Bronze Age (1700–500 BC), one of the richest periods in the Nordic region, especially in southern Scandinavia. The conditions were geologically and topographically very similar to those in the modern-day Scandinavian landscape, but the climate was milder. An elite is believed to have emerged during this period, a chieftain-trader class with possible roots in the social structure of the battle ax people. Archaeological finds of this era are the petroglyphs of southern Sweden and Norway, grave goods from several large burial mounds, and offering finds from what is believed to have been sacrificial sites. Because of the wide access to water, Sweden's early inhabitants came in waves from many surrounding areas, with no recognized borders yet existing in Scandinavia. Societies in Sweden remained on the preliterate tribal and chiefdom levels until the emergence of writing on rune stones in the Viking Age. It is not known when and how the kingdom of Sweden was born, but the list of Swedish monarchs is drawn from when the first kings who ruled Svealand (Sweden) and Götaland (Gothia) as one. Sweden and Gothia were two separate nations long before that. It is unknown how long they have existed.
A tribe populating a region of what is today Sweden was first mentioned in 98 AD by the Roman historian Tacitus, who wrote about the Suiones who lived out in the sea and were powerful in both arms and ships. According to Tacitus, they venerated wealth and therefore had a single ruler who exacted unlimited obedience from them and governed without restriction in power. Tacitus expressed concern that these Suiones might ally with neighboring tribes and cause trouble for the Roman Empire. Some scholars believe that Tacitus referred to the inhabitants of present-day eastern Sweden: Svealand, primarily the region around lake Mälaren. The modern name Sweden is derived through "back-formation" from Old English Sweoðeod, which meant "people of the Swedes" (Old Norse Svíþjóð, Latin Suetidi). This word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas (Old Norse Sviar, Latin Suiones) (see Etymology of Sweden). The southern parts, on the other hand, were inhabited by the Geats in the Götaland territory, and Beowulf described semi-legendary Swedish-Geatish wars in the sixth century AD. The northern part, Norrland, was probably mostly populated by Sami.
The Swedish Viking Age lasted roughly between the eighth and eleventh centuries AD. During this period, it is believed that the Swedes expanded from eastern Sweden and incorporated the Geats to the south. While Vikings from what is today Norway, Denmark and the west coast and south of Sweden traveled south and west, Swedish vikings traveled east and south, going to Finland, the Baltic countries, Russia and the Mediterranean. Their routes passed the rivers of Russia down south to Constantinople (Byzantine Empire) (present-day Istanbul, Turkey) on which they did numerous raids. The Byzantine Emperor Theophilos noticed their great skills in war, and invited them to serve as his personal bodyguard, these were called the varangian guard.
Middle Ages
During the early stages of the Scandinavian Viking Age, Ystad in Scania and Paviken on Gotland, in present-day Sweden, were flourishing trade centers. Remains from 760–700 AD of what is believed to have been a large market have been found in Ystad.[10] In Paviken, an important center of trade in the Baltic region during the ninth and tenth century, remains have been found of a large Viking Age harbour with shipbuilding yards and handicraft industries. Between 800 and 1000, trade brought an abundance of silver to Gotland and according to some scholars, the Gotlanders of this era hoarded more silver than the rest of the population of Scandinavia combined.St. Ansgar introduced Christianity around 829, but the new religion did not begin to fully replace paganism until the twelfth century and onward. During the eleventh century Christianity took place as the most common religion, and from year 1050 Sweden is counted as a Christian nation. The period between 1100 and 1400 was characterized by internal power struggles and competition among the Nordic kingdoms, including struggles for territory and comparative power. Swedish kings also began to expand the Swedish-controlled territory in Finland, creating conflicts with the Rus.In the fourteenth century, Sweden was struck by the Black Death (the Plague). During this period the Swedish cities also began to acquire greater rights and were strongly influenced by German merchants of the Hanseatic League, active especially at Visby. In 1319, Sweden and Norway were united under king Magnus Eriksson, and in 1397 Queen Margaret I of Denmark effected the personal union of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark through the Kalmar Union. However, Margaret’s successors, whose rule was also centered in Denmark, were unable to control the Swedish nobility. Real power was held for long periods by regents (notably those of the Sture family) chosen by the Swedish parliament. King Christian II of Denmark, who asserted his claim to Sweden by force of arms, ordered a massacre in 1520 of Swedish nobles at Stockholm. This came to be known as the “Stockholm blood bath” and stirred the Swedish nobility to new resistance and, on the 6th of June (Sweden's national holiday) in 1523, they made Gustav Vasa their king. This is sometimes considered as the foundation of modern Sweden. Shortly afterwards he rejected Catholicism and led Sweden to the Protestant Reformation. Gustav Vasa is by some considered to be Sweden's "Father of the Nation".
Modern history
 The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries saw a significant population increase, which the writer Esaias Tegnér in 1833 famously attributed to "the peace, the (smallpox) vaccine, and the potatoes". Between 1750 and 1850, the population in Sweden doubled. According to some scholars, mass emigration to America became the only way to prevent famine and rebellion; over 1% of the population emigrated annually during the 1880s. [citation needed] Nevertheless, Sweden remained poor, retaining a nearly entirely agricultural economy even as Denmark and Western European countries began to industrialize. Many looked towards America for a better life during this time. It is believed that between 1850 and 1910 more than one million Swedes moved to the United States. In the early 20th century, more Swedes lived in Chicago than in Gothenburg (Sweden's second largest city). Most Swedish immigrants moved to the Midwestern United States, with a large population in Minnesota. Some Swedes moved to Delaware. Some also moved to Canada and others in smaller numbers to Argentina.
Despite the slow rate of industrialization into the 19th century, many important changes were taking place in the agrarian economy due to innovations and the large population growth. These innovations included government-sponsored programs of enclosure, aggressive exploitation of agricultural lands, and the introduction of new crops such as the potato. Due also to the fact that the Swedish peasantry had never been enserfed as elsewhere in Europe,the Swedish farming culture began to take on a critical role in the Swedish political process, which has continued through modern times with modern Agrarian party (now called the Centre Party). Between 1870 and 1914, Sweden began developing the industrialized economy that exists today.
During the late nineteenth century, Sweden was influenced by Protestant temperance movements, mainly of American origin. As a result of their intense propaganda, it is often claimed that alcohol consumption was unusually high in Sweden at this time. However, there is no factual ground for believing that alcohol consumption was higher than in other comparable countries.
Strong grassroots movements sprung up in Sweden during the latter half of the nineteenth century (unions, temperance groups, and independent religious groups), creating a strong foundation of democratic principles. These movements precipitated Sweden's migration into a modern parliamentary democracy, achieved by the time of World War I. As the Industrial Revolution progressed during the twentieth century, people gradually began moving into cities to work in factories, and became involved in Socialist unions. A Socialist revolution was avoided in 1917, following the re-introduction of Parliamentarism, and the country was democratized.
Recent history
Sweden remained officially neutral during World War I and World War II, although its neutrality during World War II has been highly debated. Sweden was forcibly under German influence for most of the war, as ties to the rest of the world were cut off through blockades. The Swedish government felt that it was in no position to openly contest Germany, but it did attempt to help the Allies in secret. Towards the end of the war, Sweden played a major role in the humanitarian efforts and many refugees, among them many Jews from Nazi-occupied Europe, were saved partly because of the Swedish involvement in rescue missions at the internment camps and partly because Sweden served as a haven for refugees, primarily from Norden and the Baltic states.. Nevertheless, internal and external critics have argued that Sweden could have done more to resist the Nazi war effort, even if risking occupation.
Following the war, Sweden took advantage of an intact industrial base, social stability and its natural resources to expand its industry to supply the rebuilding of Europe. By the 1960s, Sweden, like the other Nordic countries, had become an affluent consumer society and welfare state. Sweden was part of the Marshall Plan and participated in the Organization of European Cooperation and Development (OECD),many of the policies aiming to improve the quality of life for the general population, in particular Sweden's working class, were successfully implemented.
Sweden joined the European Union in 1995, after the collapse of the Soviet Union. During the Cold War, Europe's non-aligned Western countries, except Ireland, had considered membership unwise, as the EU predecessor, the European Community, had been strongly associated with NATO countries. Following the end of the Cold War, however, Sweden, Austria and Finland joined, though in Sweden's case without adopting the Euro. Sweden remains non-aligned militarily, although it participates in some joint military exercises with NATO and some other countries, in addition to extensive cooperation with other European countries in the area of defence technology and defence industry. Among others, Swedish companies export weapons that are used by the American army in Iraq. Sweden also has a long history of participating in international military operations, including most recently, Afghanistan, where Swedish troops are under NATO command, and in EU sponsored peace keeping operations in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Cyprus.
 Sweden, like countries around the globe, entered a period of economic decline and upheaval, following the oil embargoes of 1973-74 and 1978-79.] Because the Rehn-Meidner ALMP economic model allowed capitalists owning very productive and efficient firms to retain excess profits at the expense of the firms’ workers, workers in these firms began to agitate for a share of the profits in the 1970s, just as women working in the state sector began to assert pressure for better wages. The economist Rudolf Meidner established a study committee that came up with a 1976 proposal that entailed transferring the excess profits into investment funds controlled by the workers in the efficient firms. Swedish capitalist confederations immediately distinguished this proposal as socialism, and launched an unprecedented opposition--including calling off the class compromise established in the 1938 Saltsjöbaden Agreement. In the 1980s pillars of Swedish industry were massively restructured. Shipbuilding was discontinued, wood pulp was integrated into modernized paper production, the steel industry was concentrated and specialized, and mechanical engineering was digitalized. Swedish capital was increasingly moving Swedish investment into other European countries as the European Union coalesced, and a hegemonic consensus was forming among the elite financial community: progressive taxation and pro-egalitarian redistribution became economic heresy.
A bursting real estate bubble caused by inadequate controls on lending combined with an international recession and a policy switch from anti-unemployment policies to anti-inflationary policies resulted in a fiscal crisis in the early 1990s. The response of the government was to cut spending and institute a multitude of reforms to improve Sweden's competitiveness, among them reducing the welfare state and privatizing public services and goods. Much of the political establishment promoted European Union (E.U.) membership, and the Swedish referendum passed by 52-48% in favor of joining the E.U. on August 14, 1994. Sweden joined the European Union on January 1 in 1995.
The long term effects of these changes was to greatly improve the outlook of the Swedish economy. The Social democrats increased spending on child support and continued to pay down the public debt. By 1998 the Swedish macro-economy recovered from the 1980s industrial restructuring and the monetarist excesses, and the country has since performed very well macro-economically.At the turn of the twenty-first century, Sweden has a well-regarded, generally robust economy, and the average quality of life, after government transfers, is very high, inequality is low (the gini coefficient is 25.0, and social mobility is high (compared to the affluent Anglo-American and Catholic countries). A country known for very low crime rates compared to other developed countries, Sweden has nevertheless seen two prominent politicians assassinated in recent history: Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986, and foreign minister Anna Lindh in 2003.
|