Episodes
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Gustavus Adolphus’s daughter and successor Queen Christina had no time for fashion or suitors, but she loved culture and intellectual pursuits. She was mighty impressed by continental art, literature and philosophy. Maybe a little too impressed.
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When Gustavus Adolphus died, Axel Oxenstierna was left to handle several thorny issues. One of the thorniest was what to do with the king’s widow Maria Eleonora. Oxenstierna wanted her to disappear from political life and into the footnotes of history. The dowager queen herself had other plans.
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Christian IV was a real family man. In fact, he had multiple families. He was married twice, and had a string of mistresses to boot. He had at least 12 children, and he used them to solidify his rule. It didn’t always work, though. To put it mildly.
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In the late 1630s, tensions were once again rising between Denmark and Sweden. The Danish king was spoiling for a war, and in 1643 he got it. But not in the way he’d expected. Or wanted. Still, the conflict is remembered as Christian IV’s finest hour.
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The Swedes spent the early 1640s trying to win the war, but even if they were successful on the battlefield, every campaign season seemed to end with them retreating north with an Imperial army in pursuit.
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After the death of Gustavus Adolphus, his trusted advisor and chancellor Axel Oxenstierna was left to pick up the pieces. In the years that followed, he worked tirelessly to avoid a total collapse of the Swedish positions on the continent. It was not an easy job.
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1632 was a year of victories and triumphs for the Swedes. They moved through the Holy Roman Empire capturing everything in their way. In the fall, they were back where they had started a year earlier, on a muddy field outside Leipzig, ready to fight a new Imperial army.
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In September 1631, the Swedish and the Imperial armies finally stood face to face. The battle took place just north of Leipzig, close to the village of Breitenfeld. It turned out to be the ultimate test for the new Swedish military tactics.
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Most German Protestants weren’t particularly happy about the Swedish intervention in the Thirty Years’ War. But Gustavus Adolphus didn’t care. He had come to save them–whether they wanted to or not.
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After the wars in Russia and Poland finally started to wind down, the thrill-junkie on the Swedish throne decided he also wanted to try his luck playing the role of Savior of German Protestants.
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Encouraged by his success in the war against Sweden, Christian IV decided to get involved in the developing conflict in the Holy Roman Empire. He was convinced that a military genius like him would be able to save his Protestant coreligionists from the Catholic threat.
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Christian IV of Denmark wanted to prove that he was a proper king. So he started a war against Sweden to win glory and, hopefully, reestablish the Kalmar Union.
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When John III died, his son Sigismund took over as king of Sweden. Sigismund was already king of Poland, so he already had some relevant experience. Still, there were two problems: Sigismund was a Catholic, and his uncle Karl really wanted the crown.
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As soon as the war with Denmark was over, Sweden got itself involved in a new conflict with Russia. The war started because king John refused to give up his wife or Estonia to the Russians. He also refused to accept the Reformation.
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In 1568, Erik XIV of Sweden had never felt better. He had recovered from his temporary madness, he had chased off an invading Danish army and he had married the woman he loved. The future looked bright. At least if you weren’t looking too closely.
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In the spring of 1567, Erik XIV had a bit of a breakdown. The war was going poorly, and his spies and his trusted advisor Jöran Persson were feeding him information about a conspiracy among the nobility. The king decided that something needed to be done.
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The Nordic Seven Years’ War lasted (spoiler!) seven years. The war ended when the combatants ran out of steam and money. There was no clear winner. There were, however, plenty of clear losers.
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In the early 1560s, two inexperienced but ambitious monarchs had succeeded their fathers on the Danish and Swedish thrones. They happened to be cousins, but that didn’t stop them from spoiling for a fight over Scandinavian supremacy.
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Gustav Vasa fought to establish his family as the ruling dynasty of Sweden, and to make the House of Vasa respected as equals among other European royal houses. That was often an uphill battle, and sometimes Gustav’s efforts were even undermined by members of his own family.
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We interrupt our regular programming for a special episode about the surprise abdication of Queen Margaret II of Denmark.
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