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iga V. THE REFORMATION (A.D, 15201592).
graced in 1543, after which the king returned to Swedish
ministers. In the early period, with which we are at pre
sent concerned, the king had to work hard himself with
accounts and State papers; and, although it is easy to
criticise the exuberance of his style, and the indirectness
of his language (which somewhat remind one of Oliver
Cromwell s), we cannot but be astonished at his immense
diligence. Indeed, he continued to exhibit this minute
diligence in affairs, small and great, until the end of his
life.
4. PRESSURE OF THE FINANCIAL SITUATION. THE
KING S APPEAL TO BRASK. HE RESUMES GRIP-
SHOLM.
At the beginning of his reign the financial problem was
almost overwhelming, and it was this which, to a great
extent, governed the religious issue. As an American
writer on this period has said 4
:
"
In Sweden more than in
almost any other land the Reformation was a political re
volt. Indeed, it may well be called a political necessity.
At the moment when Gustaf Vasa was elected king,
Sweden was on the verge of bankruptcy." Then, after
speaking of the unsatisfactory device of debasing the cur
rency which was tried, and found unworkable, he proceeds,
1
When the new monarch ascended the throne it was evi
dent that the treasury must be replenished in other ways.
The natural direction was that in which the greatest wealth
of Sweden lay in other words, the Church."
The king s first inroads upon the revenues of the Church
were naturally rather tentative. He obtained a good deal
4
Paul Barren Watson : The Swedish Revolution under
Gustaf Vasa, pp. 121-3, London, 1889. This is a laborious
book, ending with the year 1528. It is rather vitiated by the
final suggestion that Gustaf ought to have been a precursor
of George Washington, and have founded a republic instead of
a monarchy a suggestion which seems to show a misconcep
tion of the practical possibilities of the period. But the facts
are recorded (I believe) with accuracy and diligence, and in a
fairly attractive manner,
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