ESTONIA - Scandinavia - page 1050

By the 1500s, all of Scandinavia had converted to Lutheran-style Protest-
antism. They'd been primed by the influence of German Hanseatic traders and
preachers. And their kings jumped at the chance to confiscate former church
property and authority.
For the next century, Denmark and Sweden—the region's two power-
houses—battled for control of the Baltic's lucrative trade routes, particularly
for the Øresund, the crucial strait between Denmark and Sweden that connects
the Baltic with the North Sea (and is now spanned by a modern bridge—see
sidebar on here ) . It was during this period that much of Estonia fell under con-
trol of the Swedish empire.
Swedish Superiority: Absolute Monarchs (1600-1800)
By 1600, Denmark-Norway was still the region's superpower, but Sweden-
Finland-Estoniawasrisingfast.Denmark'sone-eyed,high-livingKingChris-
tian IV was spending centuries' worth of acquired wealth building lavish
castles—including Rosenborg and Frederiksborg—and putting a Renaissance
face on Copenhagen and Oslo (see here and the sidebar on here ) . Meanwhile,
his wars with Sweden and others were slowly sapping the country, emptying
its coffers, and undermining Danish superiority. Christian IV even sold the
Orkney and Shetland Islands to England to raise funds.
Sweden emerged under the inspired military leadership of King Gustavus
Adolphus (1594-1632). The “Lion of the North” roared southward, conquer-
ing large chunks of Russia, Poland, Germany, and Denmark during the Thirty
Years' War. The vast Vasa ship in Stockholm, which the king commissioned
in 1628, trumpeted the optimism of the era—but sank ignominiously on its
maiden voyage in the middle of Stockholm harbor (see here ) .
Sweden'ssupreme moment came underGustavus' great-grandson, Charles
X Gustav (1622-1660). In 1657, Charles invaded Denmark through the back
door—from the south. The winter was extremely cold, and the seas froze
between several of Denmark's islands. In one of the most daring maneuvers
in military history, Charles X Gustav led his armies across the ice between
the islands—from Funen to Langeland to Lolland to Zealand—then sped to-
ward Copenhagen. The astonished Danes surrendered, signing the humiliating
Treaty of Roskilde (1658). The treaty gave Sweden a third of Danish territory,