Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Introduction - Pages ...
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
should consist of representatives of the supreme court of appeal,
the council of war, the admiralty, the ministry of the interior,
and the exchequer, presided over hy the chief ministers of each
department. The country was divided into 23 Lane and 14
Lagsagor, governed hy Landshöfdinge and Lagmän respectively, which
officials were to he appointed from the nobility. For these and many
other reforms and useful institutions the country was indebted
to the energy and enlightenment of Oxenstjerna. On the other
hand, in order to fill the empty coffers of the state , it was found
necessary to sell many of the crown domains, and to levy new
taxes, and the evil was aggravated hy the lavish extravagance
of Christina and her favourites. Refusing to marry, and being
unable to redress the grievances of her justly disaffected
subjects, the queen in 1649 procured the election of Charles Gustavus
or Charles X., son of the Count Palatine John Casimir of
Zwei-briicken and a sister of Gustavus Adolphus, as her successor. P>y
her desire he was crowned in 1654, whereupon she abdicated,
quitted Sweden, and embraced the Romish faith. She terminated
her eccentric career at Rome in 1689. Her successor endeavoured
to practise economy, and in 1655 obtained the sanction of the
Estates to revoke her alienations of crown property. War, however,
interfered with his plans. John Casimir, king of Poland , son of
Sigismund, now claimed the throne of Sweden , and compelled
Charles to declare war against him (1655). After a time Russia,
Austria, and Denmark espoused the cause of Poland, but Charles
succeeded in gaining possession of Jutland and the Danish islands,
and the Peace of Roeskilde (1658) secured to him Skåne, Halland,
and Blekinge, but obliged him to cede the districts of Bobus
and Throndlijem to Norway. On a renewal of the war with
Denmark , the Danes were aided by the Dutch, the Brandenburgers,
the Poles, and the Austrians, who compelled Charles to raise the
siege of Copenhagen, and on his sudden death in 1662 the Peace
of Copenhagen was concluded , whereby the island of Bornholm
was lost to Sweden.
Charles X. was succeeded by his son Charles XI., a boy of
four years, whose guardians endeavoured to make peace with
foreign enemies. By the Peace of Oliva with Poland,
Brandenburg, and Austria in 1660 the king of Poland finally ceded
Livonia to Sweden and renounced his claim to the throne of Sweden,
and by the Peace of Kardis with Russia in 1661 the Swedish
conquests in Esthonia and Livonia were restored to Sweden; but
little was done to remedy the internal disorders of the country.
One of the few events worthy of record at this period was the
foundation of the university of Lund in 1668. Meanwhile the
excesses and arrogance of the nobility, the squandering of the
crown revenues, and the imposition of heavy taxes threatened to
ruin the country, and the regency even accepted subsidies from
B\KOKKKit’s Norway anil Sweden. 41li Kclit. O
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
