Sweden/Swedish: Development of a Nation
How Sweden became Sweden, and how the Swedes became Swedish.

How the Swedish as a people, and the country of Sweden as a nation-state, evolved and materialized into current form, in terms of ancestral bloodlines, the Swedish language, borders, culture, and even how they received their name.

Ancestral Background
Development of Language
Formation of Borders
Etymology (How Name Received)
Culture
Sweden in 2008

Swedish Ancestral Background:
 

1. Began with the Germanic people which originated in Scandinavia. Those that remain in the north after the Germanic migrations into mainland Europe (Scandinavia: modern Norway, Sweden, Denmark) comprise the North Germanic tribes. The North Germanic tribes splinter into the Swede and Geat tribes scattered throughout modern Norway and Sweden.
2. By the 9^th century, the homogenous Swede and Geat tribes throughout Scandinavia begin to subdivide into an eastern group (Norway) and western group (Sweden). The Scandinavian Mountains, which form the modern boundary between Norway and Sweden, served as a partition for the two groups. This would serve as the beginnings of distinct Norwegian and Swedish nationalities, homogenous but decentralized tribes that were largely subdivided by a mountain range running north-south, laying the groundwork for two separate “nations”.

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Development of Swedish Language:
 

1. Proto-Germanic (direct branch from Proto-Indo-European).
2. Proto-Norse, a branch from Proto-Germanic, spoken in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) in the 3^rd – 7^th centuries.
3. Evolved into Old Norse, spoken in Scandinavia through 13^th century.
4. Old East Norse develops largely in Sweden and Denmark, while Old West Norse develops largely in Norway and Iceland. Danes and Swedes share common/similar language at this point.
5. Even as Old Norse branches off from Proto-Norse, the Danish and Swedish languages begin diverging from one another in the 13^th century, developing into the modern, distinct languages they are today. All Scandinavian languages (Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish) are mutually intelligible.

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Formation of Swedish Borders:
 

1. North Germanics in Scandinavia (Norway and Sweden) are a largely homogenous, yet highly decentralized network of tribes throughout the region, known as Swedes and Geats.
2. In the 9^th century, the Scandinavian Mountains, which serve as the basis for the modern Norway-Sweden border, cause a barrier between Swedes on the east and west sides. Consequently, two distinct nationalities materialize, with the Norse on the west, and the Swedes on the east side of the mountain range. Those on the west side are more accessible to one another, developing a common interest in the fishing industry, while developing an offshoot language distinct from the Swedes from who they splintered from.
3. Beginning in the 12^th century and into the 13^th century, the Christianized Swedish began to crusade into Finland, forcibly converting them to Christianity. By the 13^th century, Sweden controlled parts of the southwest coastal region of Finland, expanding within Finland until the beginning of the Kalmar Union in 1397.
4. Queen Margaret of Denmark marries the King of Norway, joining the two kingdoms under personal union in 1380. The kingdoms were autonomous, but combined their respective foreign policies. Sweden was mired by civil war, and the nobles sided with Queen Margaret (King of Norway husband had since died), in joining Sweden to the personal union as well, forming a pan-Nordic kingdom. This was finalized as the Kalmar Union in 1397. Each kingdom was autonomous, but foreign policy was dictated by the monarch. Norway included Iceland and Greenland, and Sweden included western Finland. The union was dominated by Denmark.
   
5. The Swedes grew unhappy with the Danish-dominated government, and the frequent wars they were dragged into, compelling them into an armed revolt. Independence of Sweden (and their territory in Finland) was achieved in 1523. Denmark and Norway remain under personal union, as the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway.
6. 1560 – Sweden conquered part of modern Estonia from the Livonian Order, which is in the process of collapse. Sweden also captured more Baltic territory from 1625 to 1629 during Polish-Sweden Wars.
7. After siding with the victorious Protestant side during the 30 years war in Germany, Sweden gained parts of the German "Holy Roman Empire". By now, it had expanded deeper within Finland as well.
8. 1700 – As the preeminent power in the north, other northern powers combined against Sweden in the Great Northern War, defeating Sweden, after which (by 1721) it would lose its Baltic & Holy Roman Empire/Germanic territories.
9. 1809: Finnish War with Russia. Russia captures all of Sweden’s Finnish territory.
10. After Denmark-Norway was defeated by France in the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden in 1814. However, Denmark kept Iceland and Greenland, as they were considered property of the monarch of Denmark-Norway, the monarch being Danish, as had always been the case in the Danish-dominated union. Norway is now under Swedish rule.
11. Norway remained under personal union with Sweden until the union was peacefully dissolved in 1905 as discontentment over the union had finally boiled over in Norway, which considered itself a sovereign nation. This finalized modern Swedish borders.

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Etymology (How Name Received):

Sweden is derived from “Swedes”, the North Germanic, the forefathers to modern Swedish people, whose homeland was modern Sweden. "Swedes" is a Proto-Germanic word thought to mean “one’s own”, as in “one’s own tribe”.

Swedish Culture:

Very similar to Norway and Denmark. Like other Scandinavian countries, Sweden has evolved into a neo-liberal society, with egalitarian ideals such as equality, and acceptance of all cultures and lifestyles that do not impose harm or oppression upon others. Unlike every other western nation, Sweden avoided serfdom. As a result, its peasant class traditionally had greater liberties and influence in Swedish affairs, a tradition that is exhibited in modern Sweden, which is plagued by elitism to a lesser extent than many nations.

Sweden in 2008:

Economy: Advanced, service-oriented economy. Free-market, capitalistic economy intermixed with welfare state policies. High tax burden as a result. Has lagged behind Norway and Denmark in recent years, in part due to stricter regulations, and lacking the natural energy resources of Norway and Denmark.
Government: Constitutional monarchy (democracy with monarch still in place).
Religion: Lutheran 87%, Lutheran Church of Sweden was state religion until 2000. Survey: 23% believe in God, 53% believe in some other form of intelligent design, 23% atheist/agnostic. Like most of Europe, secularization trend.
Demographics: 80%+ Swedish
Foreign Policy: Armed neutrality. Has not fought a war in almost two centuries.
Population: 9,045,389 (2008)

 

Formation of Nations (All European Nations)

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