Why did Sweden Decline? (Short Animated Documentary)

In the 1600s Sweden was a great military power and spent most of its free time wrecking the faces of Austria, Russia, Denmark and Poland-Lithuania but nowadays its definitely no longer considered a great power. So why not? To find out watch this short and simple animated history documentary.
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[@alexross1816]

Sweden: HAHA YES! WINNING ROCKS!!! SUCK IT, LOSERS!!! Sweden: *loses once* Sweden: Let us be a bastion of neutrality.

[@KitagumaIgen]

It was more like losses during a 100 years long period (of economic and demographic decline).

[@jabbertwardy]

Sweden: Let's become a seafaring power! Builds the Vasa, which promptly sinks upon launch. Sweden: Navies are overrated.

[@cleeiii357]

Up until this year, 2024.

[@timmccarthy9917]

Sweden 2022: "y'all got any more of them NATO memberships?"

[@KitagumaIgen]

@@jabbertwardy one of the most amazing details of this is that the Dutch (IIRC) ship-builders made it out of Sweden alive. (Just one more gun-deck! Above? Below? I don't care one more!!!)

[@markmarano913]

1:08 - Single greatest visual representation of "mixed arms" ever!

[@lukesalazar9283]

💯

[@vicino.]

How do you mean?

[@Emmelive]

@@vicino. 3 pairs of different looking minecraft like arms

[@HerbertLandei]

In Germany, the regions at the Baltic coast are still jokingly referred to as "South Sweden". They were Swedisch territory for over 200 years, and there are still some words and traditions alive from this period. As Sweden was a major steel producer, the expression "behind Swedish curtains" means "behind bars" in German. And "Old Swede!" is an expression of utter astonishment.

[@spacecube8561]

oh that's where ''alter schwede'' comes from

[@Dwarfi01]

Also in Hamburg there's a stone named alter schwede, a stone from Småland :>

[@MrNathanael94]

I had picked up a slightly different story to that Baltic connection, namely that the "old Swede!" exclamation (which is still very commonly used here in Germany, although mostly in a kind of joking/ironic ways nowadays since it's such a weird thing to say) came from the old Swedish soldiers that stayed around for one reason or another in Germany after the Thirty Years' War (in which the Swedish army became known and feared all around the country)

[@anthemsofeurope2408]

Yeah, I come from Rügen and people here jokingly ask "When is Rügen going back to Sweden?"

[@phildman132]

Sweden didn't just used to be a major steel producer, it is still the largest iron producer in the EU, and the mine in Kiruna is one of the largest single mines in the world

[@nixlarfs1002]

State control of the church was mostly important because the church kept detailed records of people, and these records increased taxation efficiency immensely.

[@-tn-kitten8067]

And helped in finding and keeping track of potential recruits or conscripts for the army.

[@youtaku6966]

Cool, I thought this was just some Paradox shit.

[@masterspark9880]

That’s not why Sweden converted to Protestantism at all, or why state control of the church was important. The state could probably access tax lists whether they were Catholic or Protestant. Some of the reasons the king converted the country were that partially he was in conflict with the Archbishop of Stockholm Gustaf Trolle, and that he wanted to confiscate (i.e. steal) church assets

[@thanakonpraepanich4284]

And without that census, the allotment systems that Swedish kings could made every hovel supply one man and each hovel paid for his gun and uniform possible. I wonder what step Prinz Eugen missed when he tried the same with Landwehr system and ended up with recruits missing guns and shoes.

[@pan2aja]

Old day version of Big Brother

[@erickonami1]

I tell my girlfriend i have her as my wallpaper but in reality i switch it to Gustavus Adolphus when nobody is looking

[@mappingshaman5280]

>implying his gf is not guatavus adolophus We both know you like the skeltonussy

[@Iason29]

HAHA this comment:D

[@Alexq79-]

That painting of him riding a horse in such a flamboyant manner during battle as if he’s the sugar plum fairy 😍

[@SeverityOne]

Maybe you should get a Swedish girlfriend instead. 🙂

[@bjarniiii]

king

[@Quin_Ram]

They didn’t decline. The many locations of IKEA all over the world just shows how influential Sweden is!

[@colindaniels945]

Lol,I hate IKEA Ever tried putting together something from them? Not fun at all,lol

[@o.w.n.1327]

​@@colindaniels945 you must be "special" kind of person if you cannot put together a furniture you bought from IKEA. That shit practically builts itself.

[@Kokong]

@@o.w.n.1327But I always get lost in there😢

[@greymagic857]

@@colindaniels945 IKEA furniture has a bit of parts but tbh it just takes time it's not that bad

[@skylarius3757]

@@Kokong I know what you mean. It's like they built the shop in a maze.

[@coltafanan]

I keep thinking one day we’re gonna hear: “But fun fact… Yes!”

[@seavixen125]

But fun fact......no

[@Gosudar]

Sweden plundering Prague and looting the Castle in 1648 is still well remembered in Czechia. I was always wondering how such a small nation was able to inflict so much damage so far away from their homeland.

[@Xabeutt]

you could ask portugal and england the same question

[@blubbson]

Well, one reason was that the vast majority of the soldiers in the army that plundered Prague weren't actually Swedish - the army relied very heavily on mercenaries at that point, most of whom were from the various German states of the time (as well as many English, Scottish and Dutch people). So they didn't have to ship over that many people from Sweden. Even then, though, I think you overestimate the distances involved here. Even with 17th century technology, you're looking at a 1-2 months travel time from Stockholm to Prague at most. People moved over that kind of distance all the time, even back then. And the armies were mostly supplied locally, either through plunder or by purchasing from local merchants.

[@konanpl8936]

Same in Poland. Swedish Deluge was more dewastating than WWII. This is somehow impressive how much damage were able made swedish soldiers despite the fact they even didnt try control all ours lands by longer time.

[@gustavnilsson2795]

​@@konanpl8936As a Swede, I understand that what we did was devastating but if you claim it was worse than WWII then you're delusional. Kind regards from Sweden 🇸🇪

[@konanpl8936]

@@gustavnilsson2795 No hate for Sweden. We like our nothern neightbours, but this is true. At the time of Gustavus Adolphus Sweden had more soldiers than can maintain. So Swedish kings HAS to plunder their neighbours, or their economy would collapse. We call this war ,,Deluge (1655-1660) becuse it was very dewastating. King Adolf Gustaw wasn't interesting in rulling Commonwealth (polish and lithuanian nobility offered him crown during invasion but he rejected it) so his army just plundered everything instead try to seize control over new territories. Commonwealth never really recover from this until partitions. In terms of economy it was at least comparable with WWII. Most our historics counting this as more dewastating. But no one keep grudge for this today, because Deluge is now just long gone history.

[@nolancooper5884]

Your videos are always so briefly comprehensive! I will start showing your videos in class soon to give students a greater understanding of why the world is shaped the way it is. Thank you!

[@kemarisite]

Me at start: "I've listened to enough Sabaton to guess ..." "Poltava" Me: "Yep. Swedish soldiers met their bane."

[@cgt3704]

3:21 for now

[@gojira4036]

Forever

[@MrJeremybowling]

Wow! What a time to be alive. We got a video on a Sunday heck yes

[@TheRatOnFire_]

Little note: On the map of the Great Northern War, Saxony is missing. They were actually the ones to get Poland involved, as they had the same king.

[@anthonyruby2668]

I'm an American. To me the world in the 1600s was the caribbean, New England, Old England, New Spain, Old Spain, New France, and Old France.... And maybe the HRE.

[@jamesbisonnette]

Here in Peru, they still call the Swedish rule period "The Golden Swedish Age".

[@calebroberts5422]

Again one of those things ive aleays wondered but never looked into for some reason...great channel btw

[@kellenlean2076]

As an American with Finnish heritage. Finns were like the Jesse Pinkman or Saul Goodman to Swedens Walter White. They couldn’t have done it without them.

[@marlarki5280]

Just like one of my American TV shows!

[@GimbalosMorkinar]

"I am 5% Finnish so I know pretty much everything about Finland."

[@kellenlean2076]

@@GimbalosMorkinar I know a lot about a lot of countries it’s called learning history and having a functional brain. You should try it sometime!😁

[@christianjonker8181]

1:28 Pay us 😮

[@kalmarking]

A major reason to Swedens decline was also Danish naval dominance during the great nordic war which choked swedish economy. With the legendary vice admiral Tordenskjold (literally thundershield) still covering Danish match boxes today

[@markanderson3870]

Wow. I never knew. Now I do. Thanks!

[@da6ko1]

James Bisonette fans where yall at??

[@DimaDima-sz4tp]

Thanks for the information

[@crownprincesebastianjohano7069]

The War of the 6th Coalition was like the end of a film trilogy. Bernadotte, when he came to Sweden quickly understood that it could not continue to be an imperial power. His policy goal was internal economic development that required permanent peace with the ancient enemy Russia. So, looking at the map, and Sweden's demographics, decides he could get Finland back sure, he was a good general and could win it back. But was it worth fighting over generation after generation? No. Instead, being a Soldier of the Revolution, felt natural frontiers was what Sweden needed. Norway rounded out those frontiers, bounded by oceans, and also serving as a window to the West that includes a solid trading relationship with Britain. So, after Napoleon attacked Swedish Pomerania, Bernadotte made peace with Alexander, helped Britain make peace with Russia, and together Sweden, Russia and Britain were the three founding powers of the 6th Coalition. Understanding Sweden's need to regain some honor on the battlefield, Bernadotte led the Swedish Army in person in the War of the 6th Coalition and also served as the Commander in Chief of the 130,000 man Allied Army of the North. Under him Sweden got a very good last act of martial glory, repeatedly defeating the French, and did what even Karl XII and Gustav Adolf failed to do by breaking Denmark completely once for an for all, ending that feud, and also defeating Norway and putting it into Union with Sweden. After Napoleon's defeat, Bernadotte formulated the Policy of Neutrality, while maintaining very friendly relations with Britain and Russia, and spent the next 30 years developing Sweden's economy and investing in its people. He was very successful, and his reign was one of peace and prosperity (his agrarian reforms led to the highest birthrate in Europe and high population growth) and is considered the Father of the post-Imperial Swedish state as well as a founding father of independent Norway.

[@blubbson]

Counterpoint: Bernadotte was a twit. Napoleon wasn't fond of him even before he turned traitor.

[@robertcapet9132]

@@blubbson Counter-Counterpoint: Anyone that thinks Bernadotte was a traitor doesn't know their history and is a childish Frenchman that can't be taken seriously. And no kidding Napoleon wasn't fond of him: Bernadotte stood up to him on the reg because he knew Napoleon would always lose in the end. Bernadotte is such a twit that his idea of Sweden stuck and his neutrality policy lived on until 2024. Oh, and his heirs actual hold thrones, whereas not a single Bonaparte rules anything.

[@shzarmai]

Why doesn't an Assyrian country exist? please make a video on this

[@anonymouslyopinionated656]

Because of immigration

[@MarcoRamos1989]

Nowadays? Immigration. As for 90% of europe.

[@Euro.Patriot]

Import the 3rd world become the 3rd world.

[@antionygrilmady9044]

immigrants

[@NoapteaMintii]

James Bisonette is always praised, but no one ever mentions Kelly Moneymaker.

[@MrZgenius]

Mass migration ✅ next question

[@daniellap.stewart6839]

Mass migration 🤖🤖🤓🤓

[@heytherebato]

It officially ended when they decided to import people who had nothing to do with being Swedish

[@linusholmstrom876]

I would say i mostly agree with your assessment of how sweden couldn't afford its own army so had to have constant wars to pay for it. But the reforms of Charles XI made it possible to sustain the army in peace time and quickly mobilize a strong army in case of war. Sweden had its longest period of peace in the period swedes calls "the great power era" under Charles XI and he still left sweden with an army arguably stronger than any time before. However, sweden was still unable to support the mobilized army for a longer period, proved by his son Charles XII in the great northern war.

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

"We can conquer these local regions with arms. For world conquest we need ABBA."

[@xwxgamerxwx]

Because of Kelly Moneymaker

[@mattiashellstrom4682]

Hey! As a swede here ill say this! we are great at making weapons at a realy high tech level. we however are not enough people to use them in a way that we could keep all the stuff we once had, for both good and bad ofcourse :). Best wishes from me in Sweden!

[@henning1152]

Even if I am just a swedish guy who love to be romantic over our history, I do need to say that i realise that not being an empire any more was good for the country. A higher population increase and better health, better economy when wars wasn't the main expanditure. The loss in the great nordic war started the new era known as "frihetstiden" (age of liberty) where the worlds first freedom of press law were passed. The same law is still in our (and finlands) constitution Great video!

[@Siptom369]

Paradox stopped buffing them

[@paireon3419]

Paradox will never stop buffing them until they outright rewrite reality in Sweden's favour.

[@MausOfTheHouse]

In CK3 the Norse culture is so hilariously overpowered that it's impossible to compete

[@haikalmiftah2529]

😂

[@maxsmith8196]

I like how the Sweden economics explained in the video is basically normal expansive gameplay economics in EU4. >Hire a huge army >Go deep into debt >Win against a larger enemy with huge army >Pay off debt with war reparations >Buy bigger army and repeat Sweden only messed up the fool proof strat by losing. Shoulda gotten good

[@Anthropomorph0]

"Sweden is not overpowered." 🙄😂

[@Asksksksk]

immigrants

[@ElysiumCreator]

Simple, Sweden switched up its strategy for world domination. It stopped invading everywhere (Denmark) and made us all rely on them for usable furniture, quite clever really

[@SulistaComunista]

and depend on it for map games

[@SharkyMcSnarkface]

@@SulistaComunista And block games. Really, they just seem big on cultural victory.

[@rawjawbone]

...those meatballs, man....

[@mvl9591]

and the Swedish Fish candy.

[@SL16867]

*heavy breathing by Americans butchering the pronunciation of IKEA*

[@gegecry]

So essentiely until 1700 sweden was prussia before prussia was prussia.

[@cia5649]

yeah basically

[@Tridentofmemes]

Before 1721

[@luisfilipe2023]

Except Prussia had a much more reliable financial system and a much stronger economy

[@hevnervals]

@@luisfilipe2023 When? Prussia has gone through several iterations.

[@fildafernandes4366]

​@@luisfilipe2023Sweden was prussia but just with a absolutely horrendous population

[@olegoose574]

1:40 "I use army to fund army" - Sweden, probably

[@hentehoo27]

There was a saying in Sweden: "We'll fight to the last Finn!" When Sweden lost the Finnish War in 1808-09, it declined for good.

[@lokensicarius9347]

How to fund a Viking army 101

[@albion6087]

the viking mentallity

[@frenzalrhomb6919]

​@@albion6087 I love it!!

[@Iason29]

If one thinks about it that is how the viking system worked pretty much, so no surprise even in later centuries nordic countries continued to follow this mentality. Maybe Sweden's biggest mistake was not coming up with some ideas of how to minimize army expenditure during peacetime. The british were much better at this, like for example in the royal navy officers would get demoted or lose command in peacetime, which meant lower pay. I'm sure the same applied in the army.

[@richardwallerstein539]

At its strongest, Sweden had a colony in the Americas, New Sweden, on the Delaware River as well as ownership of St Barts.

[@titanuranus3095]

I would say at it's largest, not necicarrily at it's strongest.

[@reindeerflrp9041]

No. Saint Barthélemy didn’t belong to Sweden until the 1700s, while New Sweden was a Swedish colony during the 1600s. 🤓☝️

[@JosePerez-vz1qq]

Philadelphia's municipal flag is evidence of Sweden's brief North American presence.

[@egregius9314]

And then the Dutch were like: 'Hey, it's free real-estate'.

[@otavainen222]

Fun fact: the colonist were actually mostly Finnish

[@apc9714]

Problem: Expensive army Solution: James bisonette

[@eacalvert]

I think Kelly Money Maker would be a better choice but that's just me

[@Matakshaman]

Hotel: Trivago

[@BigyetiTechnologies]

​@@eacalvertclue's in the name really.

[@MetDaan2912]

😂

[@D.S.handle]

Imagine that some of these guys just forgot that they have subscribed to him on Patreon.

[@ShyGuyShow]

In Swedish history class this is called "Stormaktstiden" or The age of great power

[@MetalLP]

Yeah, they declined from being a somewhat major power by trying to become a major power in the first place. Kinda harsh version of "just be yourself" statement..

[@ShyGuyShow]

@@MetalLP brings a tear to my eye :(

[@antonjohansson3819]

Typo StormaktsTiden

[@ShyGuyShow]

@@antonjohansson3819 Thanks, missed that!

[@nattygsbord]

@@MetalLP Just conquering Moscow, unlike Hitler. And then conquering all of modern day Germany. Plundering Prague in 1648. Beating the crap out of the Danish empire and taking a large number of provinces: Scania, Jämtland, Halland, Blekinge, Gotland, Bohuslän, Trondheim, Bornholm. And then taking all of the Baltics, and basically conquer all of the gigantic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth twice in the 1650s and in 1706s. Plus crushing the Saxon army which was the richest country in Europe and the Silicon Valley of its day. Sweden built Europes largest fleet of warships in the late 1500s and early 1600s. It saved protestantism in the 30 years war, and created freedom of religion, and created a new world order with the Westphalian peace. And in 1640 it had the largest army in Europe. And a saying in that time period was that if you wanted to learn how to fight, then you needed to join service with the Swedish army. Because that was considered the best most modern fighting force of its time. For 300 years was Sweden a major power in northern Europe. And then I am not including medieval times or the viking age.

[@realhawaii5o]

Here in Estonia, they still call the Swedish rule period "The Golden Swedish Age".

[@Erik_Taurus]

Interesting! Are there any articles about this some place so I (we) can read?

[@phil_cassidy]

Well, given that it was followed by Russian occupation the bar for a good time wasn't particularly high.

[@heh9392]

Here in Finland we call them the homoage

[@Adam-dd5fx]

I've also heard it called "The good old Swedish times"

[@frenzalrhomb6919]

​@Erik_Taurus And how did you Estonians enjoy being ruled by the "Livonian Brothers of the Sword" and their descendants, the Baltic German's?

[@iOnlySignIn]

Arguably Sweden, instead of Revolutionary France, is the first modern state, with a modern army & taxation system. Later its competitors (especially Russia) learned from Sweden and caught up.

[@magnushultgrenhtc]

The section of the Swedish constitution that guarantees freedom of speech is a decade older than the US: 1766.

[@ledrash6079]

@@magnushultgrenhtc As a Swede, i think Sweden prohibits hate speech, which means its not fully freedom of Speech.

[@blueseercontent]

@@ledrash6079 I mean, so does the American policy on free speech as well. Tolerance of intolerance usually just leads to more intolerance.

[@rajm.q.1776]

​@@blueseercontentAmerican Free Speech actually guarantees complete Speech protection, even for hate Speech and blasphemy

[@anttibjorklund1869]

Freedoms have limits.​@@ledrash6079

[@clockie1990]

I like how sweden just tagged in to whatever nordic country it felt like. At one point Denmark and Sweden were one country, then it was Sweden and Finland, and lastly Sweden and Norway

[@AdvocateOfJamaica]

Too bad they didn't stick with Norway--they would've been able to get some of that oil money.

[@edmerc92]

@@AdvocateOfJamaica Norway didn't want to stick with them

[@paintingdreams290]

@@AdvocateOfJamaica actually they wanted to but the Norwegians did what was smart: they broke up w them.

[@Boomforce]

Well.. Finland belonged to Sweden for 600 years and that's why it was a major blow to Sweden when we lost them to Russia. The Swedish general in charge of Sveaborg fortress outside of Helsinki was executed as soon as he sat foot in Stockholm.

[@jmolofsson]

​@@AdvocateOfJamaicathe countries had one and the same king but separate governments and partial "democracy" (for tax-payers). The intention was to deepen the union. But that failed, chiefly because Sweden was dominated by conservative politicians and Norway more liberal. The conservative establishment of Sweden wanted to control and dominate also the Norwegians. But when Norway had gained independence, the conservatives soon lost their dominance in Sweden too and common suffrage was introduced.

[@mrwillss5888]

James Bisonette didn’t fund us enough 🇸🇪

[@jc3drums916]

Your mistake was not going to Kelly Moneymaker instead. I mean, it's right there in her name.

[@mrwillss5888]

@@jc3drums916 she was funding the Danes during the great Northern war.

[@tausifchowdhury8180]

​@@mrwillss5888I knew there was something wrong with her when she started speaking weirdly rather than speaking the beautiful and efficient Swedish language

[@CouchTomato87]

I immediately started looking for a comment about why James Bisonette was now gone

[@gideonmele1556]

When Poland-Lithuania and Russia put aside their differences to see your empire put in the ground peanently, that’s when you know you effed up

[@GM-gb1eu]

Commonwealth was the country that existed only theoretically at this point. August II would do anything what Russia asked him, because without them, he wouldn't stay as a king in the first place.

[@ReichLife]

@@GM-gb1eu Except not really. You're mixing last two kings with August II, all while Commonwealth still could recover from 17th century debacles. Problem though, August II basically brought Commonwealth into his personal war with Sweden, where he naively thought Russians and Danes would take the brunt while he would take modern Latvia for himself and gain political power via that. Instead he failed in spectacular way and brought upon Commonwealth decade long war which was in retrospect the decisive nail to it's coffin, as country was yet again ruined and plundered, political spectrum devolved, all while Commonwealth became de facto puppet of Russia.

[@GM-gb1eu]

@@ReichLife Nah, as a Pole, Poland was doomed when John III Sobieski died, and even before, the Polish state was really degenerated by its own political system. Only radical changes to the system could change things, but it happened 100 years too late.

[@ReichLife]

@@GM-gb1eu Except not really. Commonwealth was hardly doomed when August II got the crown. It was exactly his idiotic decision to bring upon country yet another war which doomed it. As mentioned, Great Northern War was basically Deluge 2.0. On another hand, civil war during it neutered any chance of meaningful reform for next 2-3 generations. Finally, it was only due to Great Northern War that Commonwealth lost it's sovereignty, instead falling into Russian sphere.

[@quakeknight9680]

Closest thing to Russia and Poland ever being allies

[@LNERA0]

It's because James Bisonette wasn't funding the treasury

[@rennor3498]

I guess the greatest patron of the Swedish Army from France must have been James Bisonette.

[@Trolligi]

because James bisonette

[@alastairward2774]

He stopped funding them and switched to this channel.

[@jamesbissonette8002]

Nah

[@NBrixH]

@@alastairward2774This comment was fact checked by real Danish patriots. ✅✅✅

[@paulcowlishaw]

Who

[@W4NKHA]

Kelly was not yet making money at this time

[@bhasty1]

Mass immigration!

[@Lord_Raymund]

Swede here we didn't choose the new french king at random. The old king had no children and his nephew had been deposed to put him on the throne ultimately ending his house and forcing him to adopt a heir, which is very rare. First he and the parliament chose a distant relativ of the dynasty "Karl August". However Karl August ended up dying before the old king. The parliament was at a loss at this point until someone mentioned the fine treatment of the Swedish soldiers in the conquest of Swedish Pommerania by the French Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte. He also had a son Oscar which was a great boon for starting a new royal house. He was adopted and took the Swedish name of "Karl Johan" and shortly after conquered Norway to prove his leadership. After the old king died he was crowned Karl XIV Johan 1818 and since then Sweden has been a neutral country all the way until we recently joined NATO putting an end to over 200 years of official neutrality. A interesting fact speculated by historians is that Jean-Baptiste could have just as likely been a conqueror of Sweden, after he took Pommerania he could have taken his troops over to Sweden and ended the reign of the nephew king, but he didn't because the parliament had already deposed him because of the pressure of invasion by Finland by the French "ally" the Russians. Hence if history had gone in a different way Jean might not have been seen in such a favourable light if he had done so and not been chosen to be king.

[@ann-carolinemorner6405]

Someone mentioned Bernadotte?! SOMEONE?!

[@ExpellTheInvaders]

Mass immigration

[@adamesd3699]

This whole “let’s fight Russia…Hey, it’s going well, let’s go further…Oh shit!” is a recurring theme in history.

[@leeharveyoslik]

The time has come for another iteration.

[@writerconsidered]

And there's always a bad winter.

[@chipslejonet8840]

Interesting video and also it is always fun to see somebody talk about swedish history. Hälsningar från sverige

[@Malabarista1]

This is this week’s obligatory James Bissonette comment

[@jamesbissonette8002]

Obligatory response

[@barsukascool]

@@jamesbissonette8002obligatory disagreement

[@ethanreyes9549]

Obligatory Kelly Moneymaker comment.

[@KevinWebb]

@@ethanreyes9549 they both gave it all to some KZbinr. Back to furniture making and I assume Xeroxing cash.

[@ThePikminCaptain]

2:18 I expected Joakim to show up here because he made a cameo in the 30 years war video

[@timfortune9]

"Listen excuse for a King! Trust me, this fight you can't win!"

[@spacecube8561]

i'm sorry he what?

[@kristenburnout1]

1:07 The Swedish updated their military by emphasizing mixed arms- *Illustration: Literal mixed arms* I am afraid the humour used in these videos have done irreversable damage to me, but I will still watch and like every single one of them.

[@patrickt601]

My week was so bad, glad you uploaded a new video

[@vincentiusx]

Aw I hope next week will be better

[@martinmortyry7444]

Hope for the best next week. Stay strong, buddy!

[@Iason29]

Your week wasn't as bad as Charles running from Poltava, you have to look at the bright side

[@thatoneperson134]

⚡️⚡️⚡️😡😡😡

[@youtubeaccount5153]

Hope things are going better this month.

[@largezo7567]

They diminished as they lost us, the Finns!

[@magnushultgrenhtc]

Back in a common military alliance with all of the Nordic countries for the first time in 501 years...!

[@dwarow2508]

*lost to the Russians

[@citinox1778]

Finland was the true key to Sweden's power.

[@ae-jo5gc]

​@@citinox1778France money I would say.

[@quandangle9397]

@@citinox1778 No, no it really wasn't. It was poor, and considered a backwater place basically.

[@cgnnfxfhh48]

three things swedens minning industry was also really important to it becoming a great power especially falun cooper mine and the looting foreign countrys was vital early on but with charles xi military reforms which created a real standing army not made up of mercenarys meaning it wasnt as expensive anymore since it was relatively cheap to maintain in peacetime since the soldiers where paid in land reclaimed from the nobility who had gotten the land through the lengthy regencies earlier in the centuary and it must also be mentioned that the peasentry was represented in the riksdag meaning they would not rebel over high taxes or conscription because tecnically they where included in decision making this also created a lot of stabillity and meant theres a lot more ti this aswell like weak neigbours and a more meritocratic rule but that was just some things i wanted to mention otherwise great video

[@mema0005]

Hate to be a grammar nazi but you really need some full stops in there. Its hard to read such a long sentence

[@glenglen6386]

The mining industry never came to exceed over 10% of Swedish gdp. Copper and silver prices swayed due to large imports from the new world while high grade deposits of silver and copper were being exhausted. By the 1700's, the importance of the copper and silver had entirely been replaced by iron which from there on came to be Sweden's most valuable export product. Around 90% of the state's income was from taxes and primarily it was from taxing the peasantry. Around 1-2% of the state's revenue was from tariffs. Hence why Sweden took small provinces on the German coast. These were trade ports where shipping tariffs were collected. Most of the tariff revenue however was from Sweden's interior. Domestic tariffs meant you had to pay to sell your goods in a different town. Which in general stifled Sweden's trade and why the country remained a mainly agricultural economy. Other industries was in forestry, where again it was mainly raw goods in the form of timber and tar were the exported goods. (Sweden's economic history, Lars Magnusson). An example of Sweden's not so well handled economy was how Swedish iron were mainly exported to Britain. While England exported nails and iron made tools to Sweden. The emphasis on the army caused Sweden to neglect its own merchant class and it took far longer for Sweden to build up its class of skilled craftsmen. The first real growth spurt for the economy came by mid 1700's and it was still in agriculture. Centuries of land reclamation and deforestation opened up more farmland. An enclosure act that consolidated and standardized farms plots. Empty/abandoned farms were also free to be settled by any aspiring farmer without having to purchase the land. Followed by a law that forced all villagers to provide labor to neighboring farms making sure no harvest was lost to due lack of manpower meant Sweden for the first time had consecutive years of agricultural surplus that went into exports.

[@SwedieYT]

If only we had made IKEA and Volvo 250 years earlier...

[@SandsOfArrakis]

and Saab to build jetfighters

[@fisk0]

the Swedish scientist Emanuel Swedenborg conceptualized a flying machine in 1714 as well, imagine if he had managed to persuade the rest of the country's scientific community to figure out how to make it work.

[@RikkiPakoputki]

Volvo 250 Cab min drömbil, dock taget ur sitt sammanhang.

[@nolananderson4782]

"Mixed arms" really got me

[@PhoenicksUK]

We did the 30 Yrs War in A Level History & at the start of the course the teacher told us we'd be focusing on a country that dominated northern Europe & asked us to guess which one it was (obviously we failed to get it right). We honestly didn't believe him when he told us it was Sweden. And that's how we learned about Gustavus Adolphus.

[@trentweston8306]

Ohhhh so this isn't about Sweden's recent decline.

[@iwuedfh]

i did not see the mixed arms visual coming

[@YetAnotherSADXFan]

Something something James Bizonette

[@YetAnotherSADXFan]

Or Bisonette, no idea how it's written

[@Iason29]

Your silly comment got more likes than one I made the other day on a video discussing the collapse of the Chinese economy.

[@YetAnotherSADXFan]

@@Iason29 ok

[@TrashBoxer284]

I am swedish and once we took a walk with my work around Stockholm as a guided history tour. We have a danish woman at my job. The guide kept talking about all the danish invasions and horrors that had occured to Stockholm in the old days. Drunken danes decapitating swedish noblemen and so on. We all had a laugh about it. The norse way.

[@doglover31418]

Skol!!!!!

[@TrashBoxer284]

@@doglover31418 skål!

[@sabrinatscha2554]

Diversity.

[@M0R3gOfF]

Explain Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-nassau next!

[@health019]

As a person from Sweden, I can confirm the reason why we even had an empire in the first place is due to James bisonette and Kelly moneymaker being able to defend off the Russians from narva and St. Petersburg so well.

[@ladganan4776]

Plundering someone else's country is a gross understatement here. I assure you that there is a reason why we Poles call the Swedish invasion of our country the "Swedish Flood"

[@akechijubeimitsuhide]

My entire knowledge of this time comes from The Trilogy because the history teacher we had for the year it was covered was absolutely worthless

[@elicref7989]

The damage done by Sweden to Poland during the Deluge was worse than the Nazis in WW2

[@williamshakesbeer4163]

If i remember correctly so was it something about Sweden alone doing more damage to Poland during the Deluge than what the Nazis did. I could be wrong tho

[@elicref7989]

@@williamshakesbeer4163 material-wise yes but in terms of percentage of the population killed, the Swedes were way worse

[@BartlomiejDmowski]

@@akechijubeimitsuhide The Trilogy is kind of romanticised, some events and people are fictious. Other than that, it gives you a good impression of what happened

[@messithegoat6142]

This is my Roman Empire...

[@erickonami1]

det är så över...

[@joninator7858]

Haha husk Fredriksten festning hvor vi skøyt kongen deres. Vi kan kjøpe hele Sverige om vi vil!

[@messithegoat6142]

@@joninator7858 ehm vi ägde er i 100 år

[@messithegoat6142]

Och danmark ägde er i typ 350 år också 💀💀

[@joninator7858]

@@messithegoat6142 Union hvor vi hadde mye selvstyre kan neppe telles som å "eie" Når vi erklærte oss selv selvstendige gjorde dere ingen verdens ting

[@user-sh3cf7kd6e]

Two words: low population.

[@MRtapio5]

Also creed

[@qwerty-tv9wc]

It was true even bofore the decline

[@UssrMapping123]

New video idea: why did Malenkov fail to succeed Stalin in 1953? I commented this like 5 times already. Do you even check youre comments?

[@reeyees50]

Absolutely not 😂

[@UssrMapping123]

@@reeyees50......

[@elenaswensen4811]

❤

[@ayrtonpavot3096]

1709 was a DISASTROUS winter btw

[@David_Crayford]

My idea of Swedish history was either the SAAB 900 or the Vikings. Thanks for bringing in some illumination.

[@Cheesemax595]

Sweden really lost once and then stopped playing. A true paradox Gamer

[@matthew416811]

2:56 Sweden is one of the only monarchies in the world being French. The other one? Spain. P.S. Unlike Spain, the king of Sweden wasn't from the descendants of the French King, but a French general called Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte. Long story short, the previous Swedish King Karl XIII from the house of Holstein-Gottorp (the same one as Russian Emperor Peter III, 3rd cousin with Karl XIII) didn't have an heir, so the Swedish nobles chose Bernadotte as the crown prince. Karl XIII died in 1814, thus Bernadotte became Karl XIV Johan of the house of Bernadotte, wich reigned to this day. The coat of arms of the house of Bernadotte still has the French Imperial Eagle on the right. P.P.S. Initially, the kings from the house of Bernadotte wasn't related to any previous Swedish kings (as said above, he's adopted) until 1881, when King Gustaf V married Victoria of Baden, the great-granddaughter of Gustav IV Adolf, the nephew of Karl XIII. Therefore, Gustaf V's son, Gustaf VI Adolf became sort of the Swedish version of Henry VII.

[@issemayhem]

Actually the king is Swedish, because even though Bernadotte was French he married and had children with a Swedish woman. If you're going to claim current monarchs aren't actually their own nationality you're probably going to lose 99.9% of the time, it's not like monarchs always married within their own nationality, in fact often they would marry other royal houses royalty for alliances. Pretty sure you could go back far enough and find some French monarch that wasn't a native Frenchman, heck maybe if you dug deep enough into Bernadottes past maybe his great grandparents were German or Swiss, would that make Swedens current monarch German-Swiss-French? By that logic, yes

[@fredsoh4027]

Literally every single monarchy in Europe had foreigners as their monarchs throughout their history, that eventually married and became nationalized.

[@Deltaflot1701]

@@issemayhem Marshall Bernadotte was born in the old Gascon town of Pau, so he was probably closer to being Spanish than anything northern European. After he was king, mostof his descendents spouses were French or Dutch, with the occasional German

[@ankoku37]

took me a while to realize that this wasn't an elaborate setup to a James Bissonette joke

[@joesomebody3365]

Some people argue the English monarchy is technically French (from 900 years ago), since it started in Normandy.

[@borissand3891]

1:22 Swedish empire: no i swear it gets bigger, it only looks small because its cold

[@farhanmizra]

"Ready for your massage, ja?" - Swedish Phoebe

[@CJRULESWORLD]

James bissonnette is the demise of many great things empires fear him

[@DarthVader-ig6ci]

2:07 I was chosen by heaven Say my name when you pray To the sky, see Carolus rise....

[@TTisIH]

With the lord my protector Make them bow to my will To the skies See Carolus rise!

[@chheinrich8486]

Because grantville wasnt there to help Gustav Adolf in 1632😂 ("1632" by erich flint)

[@shzarmai]

Why isn't there an Assyrian country in the modern-day????

[@lucianoosorio5942]

I guess they want to Falun in love with everyone and Sweden up relationships.

[@hurleybot]

Spinning Three Plates… what a History Matters GOAT

[@Alrikus1338]

because of immigrants

[@Euro.Patriot]

Import the 3rd world become the 3rd world.

[@45641560456405640563]

Yep, waves of them back in 1820. D'oh....

[@45641560456405640563]

Back in the 1820's??

[@aaronleung8809]

Immigrants easy

[@Euro.Patriot]

Import the 3rd world become the 3rd world.

[@shzarmai]

Why is there no Assyrian country? or Assyrian nation-state?

[@thela255]

Most of them are dead

[@semaluhtounuyulohowwah-lw8xu]

Poltava Rode to certain death and pain Poltava Swedish soldiers met their bane Poltava Sacrificed their lives in vain Poltava

[@ThatGuyFromEgypt]

Because James Bisonette got overthrown by the people of Sweden

[@CookRacingUK]

Had a heart attack thinking James wasn't the first shout out... don't say tuff like that without thinking my friend!

[@ThatGuyFromEgypt]

@@CookRacingUK?

[@christianb9753]

It actually started in 1975, when they decided to become multicultural 😂

[@SeoulMan]

1:59 "I WAS CHOSEN BY HEAVEN!"

[@franc5377]

"SAY MY NAME WHEN YOU PRAY"

[@ajax1475]

TO THE SKIES SEE CAROLUS RISE!

[@Folkraider1759]

"WITH THE LORD MY PROTECTOR"

[@JM-mg4el]

I'm from the swedish part of Germany that everyone always forgets about!

[@Admiral45-10]

Polish people have never forgotten about it. We sing about it in our National Anthem: 🇵🇱 _Jak Czarniecki do Poznania_ _Po szwedzkim zaborze_ _Do Ojczyzny ratowania_ _Rzucim się przez morze_ 🇬🇧 ,,Like Czarniecki to Poznań Through Swedish Partition To save the Fatherland We'll march through the sea"

[@sliftyy]

Is there any lasting Swedish influence on those parts of Germany?

[@HistoryNerd7273]

Sweden in 1800s: WE ARE STRONG Sweden In 2024: We want peace :)

[@carlosferreira6420]

What a sad destination...

[@BoereViking]

How sad that such brave warriors have been pussified.

[@hobbitluck]

I love that it was also a bit of: "WE ARE WINNING! DO MOAR WAR!" And then after losing a lot: "Be more neutral is what we meant!"

[@carlosferreira6420]

@@BoereViking yeah...all because of that cuckold of gramnsci and progessists

[@justsomeguy1695]

1700s*

[@adambashaxd420]

Because James Bisonette Kelly Moneymaker, Sky Chapell etc

[@fullmetaltheorist]

In short. Don't fight Russia in the winter.

[@KitagumaIgen]

No. Check dates of battle of Narva and battle of Poltava.

[@Tallorian]

Ah, that ubiquitous Russian winter, the favorite excuse of the contenders for world domination.

[@leeharveyoslik]

When it comes to invasions it is always winter in Russia.

[@ahmedbabiker6562]

​@leeharveyoslik more like when it comes to invasion Russia is the only country that mentions winter

[@mscbijles1256]

Well when I play Sweden in Europa Universalis 4 they don’t decline!