Tag: Swedish

Neutral and Nervous – A History of Sweden’s Now Broken 200-Year Streak of Neutrality

Neutral and Nervous – A History of Sweden’s Now Broken 200-Year Streak of Neutrality

by | Nov 13, 2024 | , | 0

Reading time: 6 minutes
For over 200 years, Sweden has been one of the few neutral states in Europe. From the Napoleonic Wars and Sweden’s declaration of neutrality in 1812 to today, many conflicts have arisen right on its borders.
Despite this, Sweden (until its joining with NATO in 2024) has successfully navigated neutrality, avoiding two world wars and many other conflicts throughout the 20th Century.
But how did Sweden manage to stay neutral throughout the 1900s with two world wars on its doorstep, and why did it become neutral in the first place?

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Swedish Viking hoard: how the discovery of single Norman coin expands our knowledge of French history

Swedish Viking hoard: how the discovery of single Norman coin expands our knowledge of French history

by | Feb 12, 2024 | , , | 0

Reading time: 5 minutes
In the autumn of 2020, I was contacted by the field archaeology unit of the Swedish National Historical Museums, who are also known as the Archaeologists. They were excavating at a Viking-age settlement at Viggbyholm just north of Stockholm. During routine metal detecting of the site, they had located a very exciting find: eight silver necklaces and other silver jewellery along with 12 coins, everything delicately wrapped up in a cloth and deposited in a pot. In other words, a genuine Viking silver hoard.

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How the Thirty Years’ War Weakened Spain

How the Thirty Years’ War Weakened Spain

by | Aug 15, 2022 | | 0

Reading time: 5 minutes
The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) wasn’t a conflict as much as a vortex that sucked every major European power into it only to spit them out battered and bruised a few years later. We have talked about how it started in Prague and how Sweden got involved; in this article, it’s Spain’s turn.

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How Did Sweden Join the Thirty Years War? 

How Did Sweden Join the Thirty Years War? 

by | Jul 18, 2022 | | 0

Reading time: 5 minutes
The Thirty Years War was a whirlwind in the centre of Europe that at some point between 1618 and 1648 swallowed up every European country before spitting them out again. Though nominally part of the wars of religion, it drew in its wide array of combatants for any number of reasons, ranging from national prestige to territorial gain. In fact, a combination of all three drew in an unlikely contender: Sweden.

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