Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - IX. Reign of Gustavus Adolphus, 1611–1632 - B. The Early Wars
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148 A History of Sweden
Both parties now desired peace. It was concluded in
Knared in 1613. Sweden was to pay a sum equal to
a million dollars in our money as a ransom for Elfs-
borg and surrounding territory, which the Danes still
held, and which they were to keep if the ransom was
not paid in six years.
The Elfsborg ransom weighed heavily on the impov-
erished people of Sweden. What such a sum meant at
a time when the kingdom had only one-fifth of its pres-
ent population can easily be imagined, and when one
considers that money had then at least ten times the
purchasing power that it has today. Money was scarce ;
no banks were found with accumulated funds to appeal
to. The Danes did not believe that the ransom could be
collected in the impoverished land. But the money
must be secured. It concerned Sweden’s only port on
the west coast. Both high and low had to bear heavy
byrdens of taxation. When the last coin was paid the
king’s own table silver had been converted into coin.
The War with Russia. In this war the Swedes met
with signal successes under the command of Jacob De
la Gardie and Gustavus Adolphus. The Russians were
finally forced to conclude peace at Stolbova, a village
immediately south of Lake Ladoga, in 1617. By this
treaty the Russians ceded Ingria and Eastern Carelia,
thus abandoning their access to the Baltic. By these
acquisitions Sweden’s possessions became a contiguous
territory, which was a matter of great importance, es-
pecially during seasons of the year when communica-
tion with Sweden across the Baltic was interrupted.
At a Riksdag assembled shortly after the peace, the
king expressed his gratification over the fact that the
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