| The period of 16 th and 17 th century was one of the most important historical stages of Sweden’s development,during which Sweden got rid of Danish rule and gained national independence,the religious reforms successfully established Protestant church,while the kingdom embarked on the road of expansion,and the Swedish army crushed the land of Germany in Europe.And this stage was the period when the Vasa Dynasty ruled Sweden.In this process,the monarchs of the House of Vasa planted the seeds of modern nation-state in the national soil of Sweden,and protected it through various reforms,and finally cultivated the whole of Sweden to flourish in the 17 th century,which later embarked on the road of empirical experience and became the center of European politics for a while.Because of this,if one wants to further understand the modern social patterns of Sweden,and understand the development trajectory of the Swedish empire,one needs to start from the Swedish Vasa dynasty.Because it was the Vasa dynasty that shaped the budding form of Sweden’s modernization,allowing a small,poor and weak country to sit on the richest wealth of Europe,that transformed a traditional government with low administrative efficiency into an engine that sustained the performance of an empire,that helped the church from the Middle Ages get rid of bad habits and that integrated the spiritual outlook of the country;more importantly,it was the Vasa dynasty that promoted the country to transform its cause from a stable kingdom to a fighting empire for hegemony in the Baltic Sea,and then to further seize the commanding heights of Europe.This not only changed Sweden’s traditional international status,but also changed its own geopolitics once and for all,and changed the course of European history.All this began with the establishment of the Vasa Dynasty.Therefore,studying the Vasa Dynasty is a prerequisite for studying the rise of the Swedish Empire.In order to conduct an in-depth discussion of this dynasty,this thesis will focus on the monarchs of the dynasty.By examining the relevant policies adopted by them under different historical backgrounds and in their own environment,it can explore the reasons for the rise of the dynasty and the subsequent impact,and on the other hand,it can also help see the development traces of relevant countries in the great era.This thesis is divided into six parts.In the preface,the author makes a detailed analysis of the significance of this thesis,the current research status and trends at home and abroad,and systematically introduces relevant important academic achievements.On this basis,the research ideas and innovations of this article are proposed.Since the domestic academic circles have not done much in-depth research on the history of the Vasa Dynasty,this thesis tries to make a contribution in this regard.The first chapter of the thesis focuses on the early historical development of Sweden and the historical background of the founding of the Vasa Dynasty.Due to its geographical reasons,Sweden’s civilization was formed relatively late,so there are few early records.However,with the development of navigation technology,the adventure activities of the Vikings in the Nordic region injected vitality into their lives,and along with their footprints they became an important role in the trade between the East and the West.Therefore,the awareness of maintaining maritime security has been flowing in the blood of the Swedes since ancient times and has become the original driving force for their future conquests.As the European continent gradually became aware of these northern tribes through piracy,the idea of trying to include them in the Christian world arose.Therefore,missionaries gradually came to Sweden,through whose unremitting efforts,the Gospel of God gradually replaced the traditional Nordic primitive religion and began to take root in Sweden.But the Catholic Church’s growing wealth and interference with secular power would inevitably be more and more resented,because at this time the Swedish national concept is being formed.Although Sweden did not form the feudal serfdom in the Middle Ages in Europe,the peasants still had limited influence,and the nobility enjoyed bigger influence,and they were able to impose clear restrictions on the royal authority.In the late Middle Ages,the rising kingship was bound to face challenges.It is precisely because of this that Sweden set off a liberation movement against the Danish king and separated from the Kalmar Union.In this mo vement,Sweden’s national consciousness was awakened,and it finally got rid of Danish rule and established an independent kingdom.The leader of the independence movement,Gustav Vasa,was elected the king.The Vasa Dynasty was established,and a new course in Sweden was opened.The second chapter focuses on the first stage of the Vasa Dynasty,the awakening stage of the dynasty.After Gustav I became king,he began to adopt various reform measures to gradually awaken Sweden from the deep sleep of the Middle Ages and embark on a new path.First,he ignited the fire of the Swedish Reformation.Maybe he was not a theologian,or a true Protestant in the beginning,but in order to reform the kingdom’s outdated religious habits,fight against the bishopric system that threatens the authority of the royal family,and divide the church’s hoarded land and property,he can borrow foreign religious reforms as a tool with which he can transform the church and protect his royal power.At the same time,in order to maintain the stability of the kingdom and the achievements of the religious reform,he suppressed the rebellions,cleared the remnants of the previous dynasty,and ensured that the kingship would not be affected.In addition,in order to speed up the administrative efficiency of the kingdom,in addition to doing everything by himself,he also began to hire foreigners to transform the administrative system,so that the obsolete state apparatus was rejuvenated.At the same time,Gustav Vasa maintained a more friendly neighboring relationship in the first stage,so as to have a peaceful environment to develop the country’s economy and create a material foundation for the next stage of the House.Chapter Three discusses the second stage of the Vasa Dynasty,i.e.,the stage of dynasty integration.In this stage,the dynasty’s guiding strategy changed,and the surrounding situation also created opportunities and challenges for this change.First of all,after Eric XIV succeeded to the throne,he needed to clear up the two problems left by Gustav I.One is the problem of the unclear allocation of rights between royal dukes and the king,and the other is the incomplete religious reform.At the same time,the external environment has changed as well.Russia has begun to expand westward and wage wars on Livonia in an attempt to obtain access to the Baltic Sea.These issues were intertwined and brought a new situation to the Vasa House.Therefore,on the one hand,it is necessary to unite the nobles to check and balance the dukes,on the other hand,to maintain the Protestant status and prevent doctrinal disputes,and at the same time,it is necessary to resist the encirclement and suppression formed by Denmark and Russia.Thus the second stage of the Vasa Dynasty was full of disputes and contests.There are conflicts between the royal family and the increasingly rising nobles,as well as the division of rights and interests within the royal family,together with the constant impact of anti-religious reforms at home,and the continuous wars caused by foreign neighbors.Of course,maintaining the authority of the royal family has not changed and ensuring the status of Protestantism has not changed.Therefore,the princes of Gustav I took another round of measures against the background of this era,and finally succeeded in ensuring the fruits of the religious reform,establishing the status of National Church of Lutheranism,and curbing the momentum of aristocratic constitutionalism.The system to ensure the autocratic kingship also continues to expand through foreign warfare to ensure national security and trade status.The fourth chapter of the thesis focuses on the third stage of the Vasa Dynasty,the stage of the rise of the dynasty,including the historical choices of Gustav Adolf and Queen Christina which led Sweden to the top of Europe.With the foundation accumulated in the first two stages,Gustav Adolf quickly reconciled with the nobles after succeeding to the throne and ended local wars in the surrounding area,freeing up his hands to cooperate with the chancellor to carry out comprehensive reforms of the country.The reform involves a wide range of aspects,which has made Sweden stand out with amazing vitality on the existing basis and released the passion that has been brewing for a long time.It was also under the intensified national enthusiasm that Sweden embarked on the road of conquest.After establishing the supremacy of the Baltic Sea,Gustav Adolf set his sights on the German mainland.He not only had to fight for faith,but also for the sustainment of the Swedish war machine and fight to create an alliance centered on Sweden.Although Gustav Adolf was killed in battle,his aspirations continued under the impetus of Prime Minister Axel Oxensteiner and Queen Christina,who not only won the Thirty Years War,but also pushed Sweden’s influence to the hinterland of Europe.There was no match for Swedish dynasty for a time.Although the queen has taken many measures to maintain the authority of the royal family,she finally chose to abdicate for reasons of maintaining hereditary system.The legendary Vasa Dynasty came to an end.The fifth chapter of the thesis analyzes the motivation behind the rise of the Vasa Dynasty and its hidden dangers.By combing through the rise of the Swedish Vasa dynasty,the author finds that although the dynasty has gone through three splendid yet different historical stages,the motives for continuous development and strong enterprise of the monarchs have never changed throughout its reign.And that is to ensure the monarchy system,protect national security,and maintain trading routes,coupled with the kingdom’s peculiar natural resources and opportunities given by history.The result of these internal and external factors prompted the Kingdom of Sweden to move forward step by step,embarking on a path that had never been encountered by itself;relying on objective conditions and subjective initiative,the rulers of the Vasa Dynasty had been determined to forge ahead since the founding of the country.Under the urge to reform the government,develop the military,and maintain the rule,it injected tremendous impetus into the rise of the dynasty.But by the end of the dynasty,many hidden dangers gradually surfaced.In addition to their own limited human resources,the contradictions between the domestic aristocracy and other classes had intensified.Overseas provinces had shown economic imbalances,and the huge consumption and abuse caused by the huge empire had gradually revealed.These problems brought challenges to the continuous development of the Swedish empire and even the stability of the kingdom.They were problems that the following dynasties had to face.Chapter 6 summarizes the important influence of the Vasa Dynasty on history and the enlightenment that this research has brought to China’s national construction.There is no doubt that the Vasa Dynasty has a huge and far-reaching influence on Sweden,and these influences have been rooted in all aspects of Swedish society and have been spread to this day.It not only ensured the independent status of the dynasty from then on,but also awakened the national consciousness of Sweden,and planted its political thoughts and religious ideas into the hearts of the people,becoming a powerful element in shaping the Swedish national spirit.At the same time,with the rise of the Swedish empire,the Vasa dynasty led the Swedish people to leave a strong mark on the European and even the world stage.In addition,“Knowing history is a clear lesson,and searching the past is to know the present”.Although the historical background of the Vasa dynasty in Sweden is quite different from today,through the investigation of its rise,some constructive content can be sorted out,which will bring certain enlightenment to the construction of China today.The last part is the conclusion.Based on the previous chapters,the author believes that the rise of the Vasa dynasty in Sweden is not accidental,but the inevitable result of this dynasty following the trend of the times.And throughout the process,the Vasa monarchs adhered to principles,safeguarding royal authority as the cornerstone of the country,safeguarding national security as a prerequisite,and based on its own characteristics,Sweden has embarked on a road to success that belongs only to Sweden.This is a path that cannot be duplicated and cannot be repeated.It may be short-lived,but what is left to history is eternal experience.This thesis attempts to sort out the development context of Sweden’s Vasa dynasty under the background of the late Middle Ages,when traditional ideas and systems faced various conflicts and challenges,and to explore the reasons for Sweden’s rapid rise as a European power.And with the help of historical research methods,this thesis investigates the interaction between Sweden and the Baltic region during this period,and then to clarify the international environment of the rise of the Vasa Dynasty.In this way,it opens up research horizon for understanding Sweden and Northern Europe,and also provides theoretical reference for strengthening the understanding and cooperation between China and Sweden. |
