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508
viii. commerce.
Within Sweden herself, during the Middle Ages, commerce was chiefly in the
hands of the Germans. As there was no real export from Sweden, foreigners
came here to get rid of their own wares. Stockholm, which was the only
trading town in the country worthy of mention, besides Visby, was long under
German control. The treaty that was concluded between Lübeck and Sweden
was extremely profitable to the powerful republic, and for nearly three hundred
years our trade was under the control of the Hanseatic League. Gustavus Vasa
was the first to burst these fetters, which prevented every possibility of fuller
prosperity in Sweden.
The Harbour of Gothenburg.
When Gustavus Vasa assumed watch and ward over the Swedish people, the
Swedish trade was strictly limited to the Baltic; scarcely a single Swedish
vessel sailed beyond its limits. At the same time as the king worked to
secure an increased trade in Swedish commodities, he directed his endeavours
towards extending her shipping. At this period the Swedes began to sail to
Holland, England, and France, — nay, even to Spain and Portugal. By fair
means or foul, we can say, Gustavus Vasa tried, besides, to educate his Swedes
as traders.
Charles XI effected the division of our towns into staple towns and inland
towns, of which the former carried on the foreign trade. Among them
Stockholm was to be the chief Baltic port and Gothenburg the chief port on the
North Sea.
Gustavas Adolphus did extraordinary services for the improvement of Swedish
trade and Axel Oxenstierna likewise. "The kingdom’s welfare depends upon
trade and shipping" was a pronouncement often heard from Gustavus Adolphus.
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