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204 A History of Sweden
the first blow to the great nobles. It fell on, the men
who had mismanaged the affairs of the government.
But yet harder blows were to follow, blows to fall upon
the entire class, whose leading men had abused their
power and wealth.
The Resumption. Immediately after the establish-
ment of this commission, the three unprivileged
Estates presented to the king a joint memorial for a
thorough resumption. The king was well informed of
what was coming. He left it to the nobles to answer.
For a long time the great lords objected, but they had
no effective remedy to propose in its place. The result
was a resolution by the nobles that the countships,
baronies, and all other large grants should be restored
to the crown. A special commission was appointed to
carry out this decision.
But what was secured through the resumption act
of 1680 did not suffice for the payment of the national
debt. Therefore the resumption was extended at the
next Riksdag, in 1682, to the smaller grants as well.
The burden thus fell on the lesser nobility, too. No
wonder the nobility were embittered beyond measure.
No one now felt secure in his possessions. Many a
small holder of land, barely sufficient for a living, was
visited by the crown and district bailiffs and informed
that his land had once been a crown possession and
would accordingly be confiscated. The owner had per-
haps never had an inkling of this matter. He or his
ancestors had bought the place. "Show then that it
has never been royal domain/’ declared the officers.
Thus the owner was shorn of house and lands.
The king himself was untiring in his work of confis-
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