Sweden in the Seventeenth Century (European History in Perspective) (edit title)

Shelfari edited the description of Sweden in the Seventeenth Century (European History in Perspective) Monday, August 24 2009.

• This is a survey of the point in history when Sweden rose to preeminence in Europe. Drawing on the latest literature in Swedish and other languages, Paul Lockhart examines the institutions of the Swedish 'empire' at the height of its influence, while focusing on the key historical questions: why did this impoverished state become a great power, how was it able to maintain this status, and what brought about its eventual decline?

Shelfari edited the contributors of Sweden in the Seventeenth Century (European History in Perspective) Monday, August 24 2009.

• Added a contributor: Paul Douglas Lockhart: (Primary Author)

Shelfari edited the first sentence of Sweden in the Seventeenth Century (European History in Perspective) Thursday, July 16 2009.

• In 1523, Sweden was a newly autonomous kingdom, poor and devoid of a bureaucratic structure; existing only in the shadow of its more powerful neighbors, its future status as an independent state seemed very unlikely.