New Era, Old Gods- an EU4 Norse Sweden AAR

[Bergil]

Chapter 11- Awkward Relationships​

By this time, Sverrsson’s rebellion had taken over significant parts of Norway, and it required a lengthy campaign for the Swedish army to dislodge them, though the balance of numbers made the outcome inevitable.

Fig. 1- Harald Sverrsson’s last stand, later 16th-century painting​

After the war, King Karl sought to learn from what had gone wrong in the early phases, formalizing a supply structure and training the Burning Huscarls to even greater efficiency. However, he was not as young as he had been. He insisted on personally training in the use of the ceramic grenade, as he had with every weapon, but at the age of 58, with much of that spent out in the field under rough conditions, his hands were growing unsteady. King Karl VIII of Sweden, called Karl Red-Spear, who had for all his life died on May Fourth 1543 in the most appropriate way possible- in an explosion.

Fig. 2- Funeral urn of Karl VIII Red-Spear. There was not enough left for a ship burial.​

King Erik XIV was of a different mind than his father. Having spent his adult life smoothing over the results of his father’s aggression had made him somewhat cautious and highly aware of what other people were thinking. He thus was immediately concerned with Sweden’s diplomatic situation. Relations with Lithuania had likely deteriorated beyond repair, and relations with England were becoming strained by the fact that they were both trying to colonize the same areas of northern Markland. He thus tried to shore up what he viewed as Sweden’s only solid ally, the Ottoman Empire, by marrying a Turkish princess. The Stockholm Thing was not opposed to less aggression, desiring to rebuild the army after Karl’s many wars. However, the very Muslim Queen Huna was on somewhat distant terms with more-or-less everyone in her homeland, and was said to have wept before leaving Constantinople, saying that she was being sent away to appease some northern savages.

Fig. 3- the Marriage of King Erik of Sweden and Princess Huna of Turkey, contemporary painting. The royal cooks was said to have been displeased when she refused their pork and mead for carrots and water, though she at least enjoyed the wedding cake.

(ooc- I didn’t get a screenshot, but her personality trait was ‘Zealot’. This is going to be a really awkward marriage)​

The colonization of the new world continued apace, with Europeans moving into lands laid empty by virgin-soil disease outbreaks. With neither Sweden nor England really taking much of East Markland, the Spanish made their own claim, which was backed by the pope. France was also settling the north coast of Verdea. The thane of Vinland had begun cutting the old-growth forests to provide masts for the Swedish navy-works in Sunnasland.

Fig. 4- shipyard in Vinland, contemporary sketch​

However, England and Sweden were still formally allies, and in 1548, the English King called in Sweden to help put down some troublesome tribes. The Swedes accepted, though with some controversy in the Stockholm Thing. They had already mobilized the army to deal with some rebels near Holmgard and perhaps they would get a share of the spoils in Markland. King Erik XIV increasingly saw Vinland as an opportunity for low-risk expansion and resource-grabbing.

Fig. 5- Tally of votes in the Thing on the question of joining the English war. Note that it was fairly close.​

As awkward as Erik and Huna’s marriage had initially been, she eventually found herself quite at home in Sweden. In 1548 she invited the Sultan Ahmed I to visit and meet his new-born nephew. In it, she spoke highly of the local people (“The Swedes are honest, bold, and garrulous. They have been welcoming to me, and often invite me to hunts as though I were a man.”), climate (“It is a beautiful place. The summers are never unbearable, and the winters are not so dreadfully cold as I had feared. Many of the local trees do not shed their leaves even in the coldest of weather, so the landscape becomes all of green and white for that part of the year, and there are often strange and beautiful rainbows in the dark.”), and King Erik (“He is a perfect gentleman and seems genuinely interested in our home (though I have all but given up on swaying him from his heathen ways), and I imagine that you would learn much from each other.”) Ahmed did not make the journey north, but sent several of his courtiers.

Fig. 6- Queen Huna’s letter to her elder brother “We had intended to name the lad either Karl Osman or Osman Karl, after a great warrior on each side of his ancestry, but it was pointed out to us that the latter ran together into a semi-common Swedish name. Young Oskar is already beloved by the court’s other noble children”​

The Swedish troops landed in Markland full of aggression, but King Erik was dismayed when the English returned a village they had captured to its original chieftains in exchange for gold and a promise to leave them in peace. It was increasingly clear that there was not enough room in Vinland for the two empires.

Fig. 7- Penobscot village, in miniature, from the Newfoundland Historical Museum​

Detailed news of this reached Stockholm quickly, for the Hanseatic League had recently begun wholesaling movable-type printing press at an unprecedented scale

Fig. 8- page from a Bible printed in Lubeck, 1550​

His news worried many in Stockholm. Sweden’s only solid alliance now was the Ottomans. And yes, they were strong, but they had made a lot of enemies, and the warlike Padishah Ahmed- a man of great military prowess but little tact, seemed to feel no desire to stop! They might well have to defend the Turks, rather than the Turks defending them.

Fig. 9- Letter from Dodge Pasquale Polani of Venice to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II. “The Grand Turk is a threat to all around him. He will not stop unless stopped.”​

 

[Bullfilter]

Just to let you know (as you may have deduced from the progressive ‘likes’) I’m following along and am up to the first part of the Norse conversion in the rebooted story. Until now, I haven't ventured much into the EU IV thread, but I finally got the game (with most of the dlc) in a package in the Steam spring sale and just started playing.

I saw this AAR which interested me, in part because it harmonises with my CK2 works, which track a Rurikid dynasty attempt to (among other things) reform the Germanic faith and spread it (along with Norse culture) as widely as possible. And as a complete newbie at EU IV, I was after something that incorporated a fair bit of the gameplay component in the reporting, which your piece also fits the bill. So here I am.

I will start commenting in real time when I’m fully caught up.

 

[Bergil]

@Bullfilter Thanks, but if you're looking to learn the game form this, noite that I can't screenshot and write up everything, between a desire to keep the AAAr a reasonable length and maintain some sort of narrative through-line. For instance, I try to use the "Advancement Effort" edict as possible, but don't think I've alluded to it at all. Also, I'm probably not playing perfectly, though I do try to call out my own mistakes when I notice that I've made one. Anyways, here's teh next update.

The Atlantic World in 1550-​

The colonization of the New World had only accelerated over the course of the last 50 years. Though Sweden and England informally squabbling over the Northeast of Markland, the other three colonial powers had mostly picked out areas and help to them staying away from each other. As they were all Catholic, the popes had attempted to mediate this, for if any of them controlled a part of the continents, his writ grew. Spain was the big winner, being granted Papal stay on essentially the entire Marklandish mainland and also the eastern part of Verdea. Portugal had claimed the Caribbean Islands and the southern cone of Verdea, while France had claimed the northern Verdean jungles (which they had named after a sea captain they had recruited from their Italian conquests, who had proven vital to the initial exploration efforts) and had also begun colonizing West Africa. Spain had also begun making claims on the African continent.

Maps of the New World in 1550​

However, the natives of the region were not being passively swept aside. The Creek and Iroquois had weathered the First Contact plagues relatively well, and taken the opportunity to establish local hegemonies, with the former controlling a truly significant portion of Southeastern Markland. The Nahuatl-speaking lands remained divided, with the balance of power moving between the various minor powers as they fought each other for hegemony and sacrifices (the Tarascans probably being at the top at the time), but their high populations even after the plagues and military skill driven by all this combat experience and a religion so violent, even the Norse found it shocking. The Spanish might claim to be rulers of Markland, but they would find it difficult to actually control it all. The Andean powers also remained largely undisturbed, due to their isolated position, but who knew how long that would last.

The Creek Confederacy, 1550​

The Middle East had somewhat stabilized around strong alliances. The Ottomans were powerful, but could not expand south due to the Mamluk Sultanate’s strong alliance bloc, while the Sultans of Tunis had negotiated a peace between the other Mediterranian powers. Despite these alliance structures, the Ottomans and Moroccans sought to expand their power by expanding outside of them, in the former case into Europe and Fars, which has slipped between the cracks, and the latter south in to the Sahel.

Alliance blocs in the Middle-East, 1550​

In Europe, the formerly-ascendant powers of Muscovy and Hungary had collapsed, with their outlying lands being divided between their neighbors. Sweden, Lithuania, the Khanate of Kazan, Bohemia, and Austria had all taken their shares of the spoils. The Austrian Archduke had even managed to claim the Hungarian crown for himself.

Europe in 1550​

And the Austrians might end up needing all the help they could get, for increasingly little of his domains as Holy Roman Empire followed the faith that had given it the first title. For all that Catholicism was spreading into the New World, it was suffering many setbacks in Europe, with the various new faiths now prominent in the HRE, the British Isles, and Scandinavia. In Scandinavia, in particular, there were few who heeded the Pope’s words at all, for the Old Ways were not dominant in all of Sweden’s directly-ruled territory in Scandinavia, though the Russian-speaking lands (except for the areas around Holmgard) were more reticent, having little cultural connection to the faith. The situation seemed unstable…

Approximate map of European religions, 1550​

 

[Bergil]

Chapter 12- Those who Fight Alone​

With the alliance with Lithuania broken and the alliance with England increasingly nominal, the Stockholm Thing began sending out feelers to other potential allies (OOC- I weas actually loading my most recent save as the largerNahuatl nations to see if any were close to reforming their religion, and thus a potential ally. As far as I could tell, none had more than one reform), However, between being the Atlantic’s primary sponsor of piracy and being closely allied to Europe’s other most hated state, they had few friends. Only the Kingdom of Naples- hardly a major power, but a fairly significant one- was willing to talk. The Ottomans were known to be considering invading southern Italy, and King Giuseppe I of Naples believed that they might be dissuaded if there was a common ally.

Fig. 1- sample of complaints received by the Swedish diplomatic corps, min-16th century.​

In Markland, Sweden, realizing that they would see no gain from assisting the English, ordered their armies do disengage from England’s enemies and instead attack the Innu, whose homelands on the northern shore of the Gulf of Vinland had theoretically been granted to the Thane of Vinland, but were in practice not controlled by him. However, the Innu had many allies, and one of them, the Wampanoag, dwelt directly on the route back from Penobscot, no they were the first to fall.

Fig. 2- Wampanoag battle-axe. Note the material-The skraelings were beginning to reverse-engineer ironworking.​

In Spring of 1550, the Anglo-Maliseet war ended. Immediately afterwards, Sweden formally severed the alliance with England. It was judged better to do so now than to wait for them to unexpected abandon Sweden when they were needed. That’s not to say that people liked what had to be done- in fact, the local aristocrats passed a law in the Stockholm Thing very shortly after calling for increased recruitment. If the Swedes would have few allies, they would have to defend themselves.

Fig. 3- the former Swedish embassy in England. It would be sold a few times, and is currently ​

The Innu war was over in less than two years, with the Swedish armies showing unprecedented aggression, with the Swedish having recently adopted the practice of actually test-firing cannons near drilling troops to better prepare them to the chaos of the battlefield. After the English and Swedish wars, nearly all the coast of northeastern Markland was under European control.

Fig. 4- map of the Gulf of Vinland after the Innu War​

Shortly after the war, King Erik’s diplomatic efforts finally paid off. Sweden signed a formal alliance with the Kingdom of Naples, which was recognized in the treaty as the rightful king of all Italy, in defiance of the Republic of Venice. Emboldened by this success, the Stockholm Thing sent an embassy to the King of Bohemia, a state that was becoming the main rival to Austria for control of the Holy Roman Empire, the de facto leader of European Protestantism, so perhaps they would sympathize with Sweden’s position as a religious outsider. They were also completely landlocked save for their vassal Stettin, so they had not been raided by Vikings.

Fig. 5- Painting of King Giuseppe I of Naples, by King Erik XIV (who was an amateur painter, inspired by his namesake). Though the painting not of any particular quality, the fact that it was entitled “King Josef of Italy”probably made up for it in Giuseppe’s eyes​

The 1550s also saw the ascendance of Nils Tre Rosor to the position of Bishop of Odin. He had earlier won renown by representing the Old Gods in the Disputation of Lund. He also had a reputation for inflexible moral righteousness, even to the point of being humorless. However, this was not seen as a strong negative at the time, as Sweden was reeling in the aftermath of a major corruption scandal- money that had been intended for the maintenance of the copper mines of Dalecarlia was instead being spent on chocolate and sugar from Florida. People felt that someone of Tre Rosor’s moral fiber might be needed to clean things up.

Fig. 6- Nils Tre Rosor’s writings against excessive luxury “they live and die like pampered dogs!”. Tre Rosor is not known to have ever commissioned a painting of himself, so clearly he practiced what he preached.​

Tre Rosor was also supported by King Erik, for the simple reason that he was a major proponent of expanding royal power. In Tre Rosor’s eyes, as Sweden was the only realm in the world that worshiped the true gods, it was vital that it be able to act decisively, with one purpose. The embarrassment after the Dalecarlian Mines Incident was so great that the Thing had no choice but to go along with Tre Rosor and King Erik’s proposals to grant the crown the power to appoint people to key local offices unilaterally.

Fig. 7- list of royal appointees in Sweden, 1552 and 1553. The latter list is significantly longer​

King Erik’s first action was to actually restore the mines’ to their previous condition. He also sponsored major infrastructure work around the Gulf of Finland, which made him very popular with the Finns (recall, Finns were often chosen for government offices in Estonia at that time).

Fig. 8- the Old Jetty in Borga​

In 1553, the Khanate of Kazan declared war on the remnant of Muscovy. Not wanting to let them have all of the collapsing Russian state, all of Muscovy’s enemies soon followed suit- Nogai, Lithuania, and Sweden as well. The Muscovites could not fight against such numbers, and the Grand Prince was reduced to cursing King Erik’s ancestors in great detail.

Fig. 9- Invasions of Muscovy, 1553​

The Tartars and Vikings met little resistance, with Swedish troops sizing the city of Torzhok and the White Sea coast in half a year. However, before the war could be fought to its conclusion, Sweden was forced to turn from this minor conflict to a more difficult one. The Ottomans had once more sent armies into Hungary, but now that meant conflict with Austria and many had rallied to the Holy Roman Emperor to drive back the Turk. Padishah Ahmed asked his Swedish allies to outflank the empire from the north. Rather than risk alienating their only strong ally, Sweden had no choice but to fight this, a significant portion of the armies of Central Europe...

Fig 10- Belligerents in the Alfold War​

 

[Bullfilter]

@Bullfilter Thanks, but if you're looking to learn the game form this, noite that I can't screenshot and write up everything, between a desire to keep the AAAr a reasonable length and maintain some sort of narrative through-line. For instance, I try to use the "Advancement Effort" edict as possible, but don't think I've alluded to it at all. Also, I'm probably not playing perfectly, though I do try to call out my own mistakes when I notice that I've made one. Anyways, here's teh next update.

Nah that’s fine, just along for the vibe and it has a bit more gameplay shots than some, so I pick up the odd thing from it. Just happy to follow along. Will comment properly when caught up.

 

[Cromwell]

Owch, white peace with the Muscovites to focus on Austria or will you try to claim what you can there and fight the Austrians at the same time?

 

[Bullfilter]

Getting there. From chapter 10:

Estonia having been under foreign control for essentially its entire recorded history, nearly all the literate people in the region were German-speakers, most stubbornly Christian due to the legacy of the Livonian Order. As such, Stockholm (where many already viewed Estonian as a dialect of Finnish) often appointed loyal Norse Finns to local administer the region.

I was wondering why the culture was changed to Finnish rather than Swedish. Was this a role playing choice or related to some in-game mission or effect sought? Bear in mind I’m very new to EU IV.

In 1541- Moscow finally fell, and was forced to sign a peace deal, ceding to Sweden the lands around Tikhvin and Beloozero, and the shores of the White Sea.

That’s Muscovy subjected to a very similar fate that OTL Poland was during the partitions: a three way feeding frenzy.

 

[Bergil]

Getting there. From chapter 10:

I was wondering why the culture was changed to Finnish rather than Swedish. Was this a role playing choice or related to some in-game mission or effect sought! Bear in mind I’m very new to EU IV.

That’s Muscovy subjected to a very similar fate that OTL Poland was during the partitions: a three way feeding frenzy.

Yes, it's related to missions- Sweden has a few missions that require certain conditions in a certain number of Finnish provinces, including one (not visible 'till forming Scandinavia) that requres 10 Finnish provinces, which is more than exist at the start of the game.

 

[Bullfilter]

Chapter 11:

increasingly little of his domains as Holy Roman Empire followed the faith that had given it the first title

Catholicism faces a crisis in its heartland after centuries of dominance.

In Scandinavia, in particular, there were few who heeded the Pope’s words at all, for the Old Ways were not dominant in all of Sweden’s directly-ruled territory in Scandinavia, though the Russian-speaking lands (except for the areas around Holmgard) were more reticent, having little cultural connection to the faith.

But can the Norse faith spread beyond its own Scandinavian roots within Europe? Are there any cultural limitations, or is it a relatively level competitive scene? Also, is Sweden active on the missionary/active conversion front within Scandinavia during this period and does it want to spread the Old Faith into Europe proper?

 

[Bullfilter]

In Spring of 1550, the Anglo-Maliseet war ended. Immediately afterwards, Sweden formally severed the alliance with England. It was judged better to do so now than to wait for them to unexpected abandon Sweden when they were needed.

And allies can keep dragging you into wars you’re not really interested in fighting.

Not wanting to let them have all of the collapsing Russian state, all of Muscovy’s enemies soon followed suit- Nogai, Lithuania, and Sweden as well.

A good old-fashioned pile-on. OTL Poles would enjoy the irony.

Sweden was forced to turn from this minor conflict to a more difficult one.

Sweden had no choice but to fight this, a significant portion of the armies of Central Europe...

Speaking of allies dragging you into wars Gotta hope the Ottomans have a very large army to throw at this. Though it may be Sweden’s exposure to the belligerents could be fairly limited. Still enough time to conclude the Muscovy partition before focusing on the new war?

 

[Bergil]

@Bullfilter EU4 doesn;t really have a lot of options for expanding your religion beyond your borders, and the obstacles to expanding it beyond your culture within ytour borders aren;t that great, so the final limits of the Norse faith are probably going to be fairly close to my final borders. The real reason I'm not converting everything as fast as I can is that there's an event when you hit 90% that revives Norse culture and converts all your Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and Icelandic provinces to it, and I don't want to trigger it before i hold all of Scandinavia directly and have gotten all missions that specifically require Swedish provinces.

Anyways, here's the next part.

Chapter 13- the Alfold war​

Everyone knew from the start that this war would not be over quickly. The Duke of Munich, a loyal vassal of the Holy Roman Emperor, upon hearing that the Protestant King of Bohemia meant not to heed the call, offered to pay the Catholic elements of the Bohemian army if they would fight under him. The war had also taken on something of a religious tine in Sweden, with many Goðar redirecting tithes to fund the war effort.

Fig. 1- Bohemian mercenaries in Estonia​

The only person who did not understand the gravity of the situation, it seemed, was the captain of the Swedish forces in Russia! As Swedish possessions in Mecklenburg. Estonia, and Novgorod fell to the Imperial forces, he did not leave the siege lines around Moscow City, certain that he could finish this conflict and then focus entirely on the new war.

Fig. 2- the Baltic Front, spring 1556​

Eventually, the Stockholm Thing was able to persuade him of the urgency of the situation, he turned around and marched towards the Baltic, and attacked what appeared to be an isolated Imperial Austrian army near Luki. But perhaps Loki was in Luki on that day, for the levies of the Duke of Brandenburg had been moving to unite with the Imperial forces, and attacked the Swedes from behind, driving them into a rout.

Fig. 3- The Battle of Luki, modern reenactment​

Once news of this disaster reached Stockholm, reactions were understandably extreme. The royal guard had to break up a shouting match between Nils Tre Rosor and Queen Huna in the middle of the royal curt, with Tre Rosor claiming that this crisis was partially Huna’s fault because her brother had started it, while Huna accused Tre Rosor of defeatism and called for him to be sacked. King Erik tried to keep a more level head, instead signing a peace treaty with Muscovy that took less then he would have liked, being concerned that with the Imperial armies loose in the area, Sweden might not be able to maintain its occupation.

Fig. 4- Swedish gains after the Final Partition of Muscovy​

The effectiveness of the Brandenburgian army had caught many eyes, and for the 1557 campaign season, the Allied armies converged in northern Germany, to retake Sweden’s Mecklenburgish holdings and deal as much damage to Brandenburg as possible. In November of that year, the Duke of Brandenburg agreed to not only withdraw from the conflict, but to surrender the city of Prignitz to Sweden.

Fig. 5- troop movements, summer 1557​

However, the Bohemian mercenaries continued their advance into Swedish land, sneaking north through Lapland to seize Stockholm in a bold sneak attack. The Emperor took the opportunity to demand Sweden’s surrender. The court-in exile in Kalmar refused, but would ultimately take the unprecedented step of condemning the previous Swedish commanding officer to a sort of damnatio memoriae- his name would be struck from all official records and replaced with “The fool of Luki” or some such phrase. This was pursued to such an end that his name remains uncertain.

(OOC- the real “Fool of Luki” may be me- one thing I have learned from writing up this AAR is that I am not great about ensuring that my armies always have a general)​

Fig. 6- Austrian demands​

Despite the desperate situation, the Stockholm Thing (or perhaps we should be calling it the Kalmar Thing) sought to maintain the appearance of normalcy by continuing to deal with non-war related matters, such as approving the increased use of penal colonies, paying off state debt, placating protestors in Varangia, and subsidizing printing presses for temples. This successfully projected the image of Austria being utterly unable to neutralize Sweden. The royal family went with them. It should be noted that Prince Oskar was nine years old when he far forced to flee his home. These were his formative years, and would echo for the rest of his life.

Fig. 7- Proceeding of the Stockholm Thing, 1558​

By now, the fool of Luki had finally been removed from power, but the Swedish army was in such a poor state that everyone was reluctant to have it fight in pitched battles in against the Imperial forces. As such they stayed close to the Southern front where the Turkish army could, if necessary, reinforce. Rather than trying to retake Swedish lands, they laid siege to Straubing, knowing that the small duchy of Munich was having an outsized effect of the war effort due to the Bohemian mercenaries. It didn’t work- the Imperial army relieved the city and forced the Swedes to flee into occupied Hungary.

Fig. 8- the Siege of Straubing, contemporary painting by an Austrian artist. The wicker men are a massive anachronism- there are no records of this ancient Celtic practice having ever reached Scandinavia​

Things were so chaotic that one Nestor Shleshpansky proclaimed himself Grand Prince of Beloozero and raised arms against both the Imperial forces and the Swedes, hoping that both would be too occupied in Austria to oppose him so far away! However, the brutal fighting between the Imperial forces and the Swedes had given the Turkish army time to occupy the Austrian heartlands and force several key Imperial allies, including Genoa, the Pope, and most importantly Munich- to make peace.

Fig. 9- Troop movements on the southern front, autumn 1559​

In the dawn of the year 1560, the Emperor conceded, but despite the gain of Prignitz, there was little celebration in Sweden- Everyone knew that this had been a Turkish victory, and they had just been along for the ride, and suffered heavily for it.

Fig. 10- the Peace of Sozolnok​

 

[Steckie]

@Bullfilter EU4 doesn;t really have a lot of options for expanding your religion beyond your borders, and the obstacles to expanding it beyond your culture within ytour borders aren;t that great, so the final limits of the Norse faith are probably going to be fairly close to my final borders.

I've missed a feature like that as well, especially when playing one of the "smaller" religions.
I would likeit if there were more options to play a nation dominating my neighbours culturally and religiously, forcing them to take on my religion. Or perhaps even imposing some sort of hybrid-culture of theirs and the one of my nation?

That was a lot of work for 4.75 ducats and 5 favors Especially since you had to give up your siege on Moscow.

 

[Bullfilter]

(OOC- the real “Fool of Luki” may be me- one thing I have learned from writing up this AAR is that I am not great about ensuring that my armies always have a general)

Had a smile at that. We’ve all been there.

Tough war, but at least it is done.

 

[Bergil]

The q1 2023 ACAs aren;t getting a lot of votes, to the point that they've okeyed writers plugging the awards in their threads. Feel free to vote for me in the EU4 category if you think I deserve it. Anyways, here's the next chapter.

Chapter 14- From an Old World’s Demise, see an Empire Rise​

After the Alfold war, Sweden’s appetite for further involvement in European affairs was low. Though they had won the war, they had lost a lot of battles, the army was weakened, and Varangia was restive. There was real doubt as to what would happen in the event of a full-on confrontation with one of the mainland’s real great powers without the Turks to save them. This was in accordance with King Erik’s cautious inclinations. Instead, Sweden would focus on their colonies. As the Thanes of Vinland had managed their charge well, the Thing decided to create a similar office to oversee Sunnasland. The first person chosen for the title was Oskar Sture, the son of the former regent. He was the owner of a large plantation on the island of Sunasland Proper, and it was hoped that this would serve as a reconciliation between the sons of the two arch-rivals, however unbeknownst to them, he had died of old age a few days before the decision was made to create the office, so the first actual Thane of Sunnasland was Jakob Piper.

Fig. 1- Grave of Oskar Sture in Sunnasland. He is described as “Thane of Sunnasland” on it despite never actually holding the title​

(OOC- I realized that I didn’t screenshot the name of the first viceroy of Sunnasland at the time, so I loaded up the save file as them and checked the history panel, and saw that he had been replaced after a few days and did nothing, so I had to work that into the story. Also, the reason I focused so much on the Caribbean was that Sweden has a mission to have trade buildings in five Caribbean provinces, and it has a good reward. However, by the time I had the money free to build them, Sunnasland had a colonist, and with all the Carribean already being claimed, was using it to develop a province, so I could only build four trade buildings. Eventually (in what will be chapter 16), I found out that there is a subject interaction to forbid “promote settlement growth”, but it’s not available for colonies for some reason. I then decided that this constitutes a bug, so it was fair for me to play as Sunnasland for a day and recall that darn colonist so I could finally finish that mission. I think that’s within the spirit of a fair run-through, though you’re free to disagree.)

The tattered Swedish army returned home, bringing with them a small force of Italian mercenaries who claimed to have converted to the Norse faith, but in all probability were mostly just looking for a steady paycheck now that the war was over (in the words of Nils Tre Rosor, “Some of them can name three Aesir”, but Sweden was in no position to be choosy in the face of multiple rebellions). After distinguishing himself while relieving the siege of Holmgard, Fredrik August Anckarstrom was appointed to Captain-General of Sweden, an office recently vacated by the dismissal of the Fool of Luki. The only solace was that the Empire was having its own difficulties recovering, with France attempting to take advantage of their weakened state. The Emperor was forced to grant the count of Nassau an electorate to maintain everyone’s trust in the Imperial system.

Fig. 2- Letter found in a private collection in Perugia from a mercenary to a former colleague, encouraging him to come north to Sweden where steady employment could be found for any warrior willing to worship “Odin the Elf-Father”(sic)​

After the active revolts in Sweden had been quelled and the army more-or-less rebuilt, they were promptly shipped over to Vinland. Joran Persson, unofficially head of Sweden’s spy network, had uncovered word that England was considering an invasion of the Iroquois, so to maintain Sweden’s hegemony over northern Markland, they would invade first! The Portugese, who viewed themselves as the discoverers of the new world and the rightful overlords of all of it, did not approve of this action.

Fig. 3- Joran Persson’s report on a potential Iroquois war- “The Iroquois are distracted with another war, andTheir attempts to reverse-engineer black powder have thus far been unsuccessful. Their armies would crumple like parchment before the English- or to ourselves.”​

This rather arrogant assessment initially appeared to be accurate, with the Iroquois’ Abenaki allies collapsing in a few months, as the Swedish army occupied the Mohok lands, historically the heart of the Iroquois economy. The conflict seemed so decisive that one Swedish naval captain complained of being unable to contribute and get any glory, due to the not being navigable beyond Sjubrander before locks were constructed there(OOC- I often don’t realise that I need a Swedish name for a place until I’m writing the AAR up, so this won’t show up on maps in screenshots for a while. If you’re wondering where I got it, the Wikipedia page for Montreal says that one of its native names comes from something called “the Prophecy of the seven Fires”, and though there was no way the Vikings would leave aside a name like that!).

Fig. 4- Letter from a Swedish sea captain- “Why couldn’t we have attacked the Creek, they have a sea coast!​

While the Swedish army won victory after victory in Markland, the situation back at home was, it turned out, not as much under control as had been believed. Nationalists in Livonia and Mecklenburg sought to take advantage of the entire Swedish army being an ocean away and rise up in revolt. With the Iroquois apparently in retreat, it was decided to return the main Swedish army to Europe to deal with that situation and let the Thanes of Vinland and New Norway deal with the Iroquois. The collapse of the Creek Federation to Spanish aggression at the same time lead many to believe that no New World army could stand against steel and gunpowder. Of course, making such statements in public did not do much for King Erik’s reputation.

Fig. 5- Battle lines in Markland, 1565​

The Stockholm Thing was so confident that they passed a bill formalizing the office of Thane in 1566, assuming that there would in the future be many more Thanes.

Fig. 6- Proceedings of the Stockholm Thing, 1566. It was a very productive year for them.​

However, under the effective leadership of Kaungyanhequee Canowaroghere, the Iroquois armies were able to stymie expectations and throw the Swedish occupation out of the Mohok lands and even push back into Vinland, forcing the Swedish army to turn back from Vinland proper before they could even take ship and retake the land that they had already taken. However, in the End Swedish steel prevailed, and the war ended with the Mohok lands being ceded to Sweden.

Fig. 7- Swedish gains in the First Iroquois War​

Despite the recent victories, the rest of Europe was not impressed by Sweden’s recent achievements- In the words of one Lithuanian noble, they had “Served as the Turk’s sidekick, struggled to defeat literal primitives, had difficulty controlling their own populace, and are yet to master bookkeeping.”

Fig. 8- Lithuanian caricature of a stereotypical Swede, mid-16th century​

With the colonies in Markland increasingly turning a profit and the idea of reaching the East by sailing west looking increasingly implausible in the face of a New World that extended nearly pole to pole, Swedish exploration slowed, but did not stop. Increasingly widespread knowledge of open-sea navigational techniques and Swedish control of Sunnasland meant that the dread Bojador was much less of an obstacle then it had been in the past, and sailing down the African coast was much less of a risk- Swedish ships could follow the gyre on the way back and stop off in Sunnasland and Vinland. As such, some merchants began to discuss the possibility of reaching the East by sailing South, as the Iberians were rumored to be doing. Sweden even established a resupply station on the Guinean coast and taking the opportunity to trade with the Africans. Prince Oskar even visited the new settlement, and promptly was laid out with malaria for several weeks, but eventually made a full recovery.

This also tied into an unspoken reason for the creation of the Thanedom of Sunnasland. The Iberian model of vast thrall-worked plantations, as practiced in the other Caribbean islands, was distasteful to many in Sweden, but was too profitable to simply forgo. The Iberians and French had established the precedent, and a major export of many of the tribes Sweden would trade with in Africa was member of other tribes they didn’t get along with. By splitting off Sunnasland into its own sub-realm, the Stockholm Thing sought to distance itself from everything that was happening on the island- by some estimates the domains of the Thanes of Sunnasland contained more thralls then the rest of the Swedish Empire put together at every time between its formal establishment and the eventual abolition of slavery in the 18th century (OOC- I haven't even reached the 17th century yet, but I always take that decision if available even if when not writing the campaign up and trying to make my empire look like a lighter shade of grey to a bunch of people on the internet!). The Swedish African colonies were actually less focused on the slave trade then their European contemporaries, though this was less due to any moral principle and more due to the fact the Viking raids from Sunnasland often captured people as well as treasure. This meant that early European critics of slavery tended to focus disproportionately on Sunnasland, rather than the far larger slave populations of the Portuguese, Spanish, and French empires, simply because the thralls in Sunnasland actually included members of their own in-groups.

Fig. 9- Swedish colonies in Guinea.​

 

[Bullfilter]

Sweden still seems to be more of an outlier in Europe than a true part of it, in terms of religion, diplomacy and geography. Was there any particular trend or reason that led to it dropping out of the great power club?

 

[Bergil]

@Bullfilter Turns out raiding coasts makes it difficult to find new friends. Also, the Ottomans are a good ally to have, but they have a lot of rivals.

 

[HistoryDude]

Notifications dropped off for this thread. No clue why.

Anyway, Sweden and the Turks look to be good allies, even if the majority of Europe despises this. The enemies of Christendom must stick together!

Catholicism seems to be weakening, which is good for the Swedes, but the natives in America appear to be primitive religiously and thus unwilling to form alliances. That's a shame since they could be good allies against the Europeans there.

 

[Bergil]

the natives in America appear to be primitive religiously and thus unwilling to form alliances. That's a shame since they could be good allies against the Europeans there.

I probably would have allied the Creek, but I'd been raiding their coasts as well. Most of the others I judged more likely to drag me into a war with Spain than help me.

 

[Bergil]

Chapter 15- Winning the Hard Way.​

Not everyone was satisfied with the near-total focus on the New World. Per Brahe the elder famously said in a speech at the Stockholm Thing “European politics aren’t something that will go away if you ignore them.” He wasn’t wrong- in those days, there were increased tensions between Sweden and the Khanate of Kazan. The Kazanis viewed themselves as the conquerors of Russia and the inheritors of the Golden Horde’s claims on the entire thing, and were unhappy with distant Sweden taking a cut. In addition, in the year 1568 queen Mary of Bohemia died without issue. Her relative, the Grand Duke Stanisliovas I of Lithunaia claimed the throne for himself, but the Archduke of Austria, Ferdinand II claimed that as Holy Roman Empire, the vacant title was his to distribute. The two dukes sent their armies to contest the Bohemian crown, but whoever won, a rival of Sweden’s would benefit greatly.

Fig. 1, Transcript of Per Brahe’s speech on the War of Bohemian Succession​

Brahe’s words were somewhat heeded. “There will be only the conquerors and the conquered”, he had said, claiming to have heard the line from an African warlord who had traded with the Sweden in guinea (though most historian believe that he actually coined the phrase himself), and the Stockholm thing surely wanted to stay out of the latter category. To avoid getting into a fight Sweden could not win, King Erik suggested pressing his ancestor’s claim to the title of “King of, and for, all the Norsemen against the only contender- the much-diminished Kingdom of Denmark, which had dared to settle in land that had been granted to the Tanes of Vinland.

Fig. 2- Balance of forces at the outset of the First Jutland War.​

The Danes, however, heard news of these discussions while they were still happening, and mobilized their forces. The Danes' Wolgaster allies seized Castle Rostock in a sneak attack, and The Danish navy under Henrik Pederson was able to ambush a Norwegian fleet off the coast of Stavanger. The Swedish royal fleet was able to get itself into position on time, to prevent a rout, but their command structure was disorganized, with Ragnvald Lindschold of the high-sea Fleet only assuming overall command in the run-up to the battle, though the captains of the altic Fleet were reluctant to accept his primacy. It had been too long since Sweden had fought any sort of peer opponent on the sea, but Lindschold claimed that the high-sea fleet had more experience, having participated in some capacity in the wars in Markland. Still, they were able to see off the Danish navy.

Fig. 3- Shipwrecks from the Battle of Boknafjord​

With the seas cleared for the time, Swedish forces landed in Jutland and swiftly occupied the peninsula, hoping to drive east and crush the Danish army against the walls of Castle Lund. However, the Danes had not been idle, and their army was well- supplied with modern cannon, a and was able to knock down the walls of that once-proud fortress in not much time and get loose in the Swedish heartland. Meanwhile, at sea the wily Pederson had observed the disagreement between the High-see fleet and the Baltic Fleet and struck when they were apart, dealing a crushing defeat to the High-sea fleet. The militaristic elements in the Stockholm Thing were displeased- their plans to expand the army had come to nothing. Ashamed, King Erik approved a less ambitious plan to expand recruitment in Aland.

Fig. 4- Transcript of a speech in the Stockholm Thing, 1570- “Where are Sweden’s armies?”​

Things had become so desperate, that many fed to Swedish Africa, putting so little trust in the Swedish army that malaria seemed the lesser risk.

Fig. 5- Swedish settlement in Whydah.​

Fredrik August Anckarstrom sought to defeat the enemy in detail, moving south into Germany and attacking Wolgast, hoping that the fall of Castle Lund had been a fluke. However, this was not the case, and soon Stockholm fell for the second time in a generation It reached the point that some were questioning wither the advanced technology of the burning Huscarls had any real benefit at all.

Fig. 6- Troop movements, late 1570​

In 1571, Sweden finally saw some good luck. Wolgast City fell, and the duchy was forced to sign over their western provinces, including the island of Rugen, which was said to have once been host to a great heathen fane, allowing the Swedish government to turn this into a symbolic victory beyond its actual value. Notably, much of the Wolgast ducal library was pillaged by Varangian troops occupying the city, including a printing press.

Fig. 7- Varangian-language books printed in the Latin alphabet in Tikhvin, late 16th century. The Latin alphabet was used as that was the only printing press they had.​

With the Norwegian army busy occupying the Danish home isles, the main Swedish army under Fredrik August Anckarstrom carried on northwards to drive the Danes from their homeland. The decisive battle was fought near the city of Abo. The Danes were by this point horribly overextended- their supply line running from besieged Copenhagen past the castle of Elfsborg, which had been retaken by the Norwegians. Consequently, the Danish commander Fritjolf Hoegh-Guldberg did not even have enough black powder to keep his cannons firing throughout the battle, and the Swedish troops were able to close.

Fig. 8- the Battle of Abo, 17th-century painting. The artist claimed to have spoken to one of the few surviving veterans.​

The defeated Danish army had nowhere left to run, and in the immediate aftermath of the battle, a peace deal was signed, with Sweden claiming more of Jutland and Denmark relinquishing its holdings in Markland to Sweden.

Fig. 9- the Treaty of Kolding​

Once again, victory was achieved, but it was hollow, shorn of glory. Sweden had struggled against a much smaller nation, and was weary from war. Further, the Danish colonies had not yet begun to turn a profit, so having conquered them; Sweden had to immediately start supporting them. Even beyond that, the ever-restive Varangians and recently-conquered Mohoks sought to take advantage of the Swedish army being occupied elsewhere and rise up in revolt. Fredrik August Anckarstrom had no rest.

Fig. 10- Annonymous Anti-Swedish pamphlet, 1537- “The heathens are spent! Rise now or regret your inaction forever!”​

As Anckarstrom led his troops through Markland, he was able to observe the difference between the human geography of most of Vinland and the newly-conquered Mohok territories. Even before the first-contact plagues, the frigid northeast of the Marklandic continent had been thinly populated, and the Thanes of Vinland had been largely in charge of finding Scandinavians to people it. However, the lands south of the Leifsflod had been much more heavily settled, and had recovered very swiftly from the plagues, with natives driven west from the English and Spanish colonies on the coast, and a few English and Spanish freeholders on poor terms with their governments replacing those who had perished. The problem in this region, thus, was not to people it but to manage the people already there. Furthermore, the Old Gods had found a few high-profile converts among the Mohoks. Having observed this, he sent back a suggestion, which was ultimately accepted, to create a Thane of Mohokland to manage the region and avoid future unrest.

Fig. 11- the first Thane of Mohokland, Sven Brahe. He was chosen due to being half-Stadaconan on his mother’s side, in the hopes that this would lead the locals to view him as less of an outsider.

(ooc- now I’ve looked up Swedish phonology to decide what to call Quebec, I think this should actually be Mohokkland, but it’s too late now)​

Humbled by the recent struggles of the Swedish army, the aging King Erik followed in his father’s footsteps, upgrading the Swedish artillery so extensively that the nation is said to have run short of metal afterwards. This would have strained the Swedish budget even further, but Nils Tre Roser had recently died of old age and left all his material possessions to the state, which helped ease the burden, and Sweden’s African colonies were finally starting to turn a profit.

Fig. 12- Late- 16th century Swedish cannon, from the Abo Museum of Military History​

 

[HistoryDude]

Sweden has defeated Denmark and claimed more land, even if the victory is so very hallow. Let's hope that their struggles are not a sign of things to come...