This book is a long-term study of organisational capabilities as parts of early modern state formation. Sweden was a largely non-maritime society which nevertheless maintained a large navy as part of the armed forces which created a Baltic empire. Many of the resources came from the peasant society which was exploited in an entrepreneurial fashion by a highly ambitious dynasty. For a long time Sweden was organisationally more advanced than its neighbours but the empire ceased to grow and finally collapsed when other Northern powers developed strong states. The book provides detailed information about the strength of the navy in terms of warships, equipment, guns and men and it relates changes in size and structure to changes in policy.

This book is a long-term study of organisational capabilities as parts of early modern state formation. Sweden was a largely non-maritime society which nevertheless maintained a large navy as part of the armed forces which created a Baltic empire. Many of the resources came from the peasant society which was exploited in an entrepreneurial fashion by a highly ambitious dynasty. For a long time Sweden was organisationally more advanced than its neighbours but the empire ceased to grow and finally collapsed when other Northern powers developed strong states. The book provides detailed information about the strength of the navy in terms of warships, equipment, guns and men and it relates changes in size and structure to changes in policy.

This book has been nominated for The Mountbatten Award for Best Book in the Maritime Media Awards 2021. The Routledge Companion to Marine and Maritime Worlds, 1400‒1800 explores early modern maritime history, culture, and the current state of the research and approaches taken by experts in the field. Ranging from cartography to poetry and decorative design to naval warfare, the book shows how once-traditional and often Euro-chauvinistic depictions of oceanic ‘mastery’ during the early modern period have been replaced by newer global ideas. This comprehensive volume challenges underlying assumptions by balancing its assessment of the consequences and accomplishments of European navigators in the era of Columbus, da Gama, and Magellan, with an awareness of the sophistication and maritime expertise in Asia, the Arab world, and the Americas. By imparting riveting new stories and global perceptions of maritime history and culture, the contributors provide readers with fresh insights concerning early modern entanglements between humans and the vast, unpredictable ocean. With maritime studies growing and the ocean’s health in decline, this volume is essential reading for academics and students interested in the historicization of the ocean and the ways early modern cultures both conceptualized and utilized seas.

In the early modern era, two Nordic countries that are neighbours today, Sweden and Finland, formed one realm. Yet, modern history writing has largely ignored this unity, instead developing analysis and discussion in close connection to nationalistic ideas, national politics, and processes of state-building. Historians of both countries have therefore mostly approached their common past separately and academic history in both countries has taken its own course of development, leading to different emphases. This volume explores the common early modern history between Sweden and Finland from the Middle Ages to beginning of the 19th century, and how this history has been created in professional historiography (1860–2020), which methods have been used, and which themes studied. Based on extensive source material, including a database of history publications in different fields in both countries, this book offers a fresh scholarly approach to the study of historiography through a unique comparative perspective. This book is an excellent resource for students and professional researchers alike through providing an alternate view on the history of Sweden and Finland and providing key insight into the historiography of these two countries, and the similarities and differences they showcase.

The history of man is to a large extent the history of organisations. For as long as there are written records to study, people have co-operated to make use of scant resources in a more effective way. This book focuses on the dynamic interaction of organisations, norm systems and institutional changes.

If the power to tax stems from the need to finance standing armies, as Schumpeter claims, what about the more expensive navies? The answer demonstrated in this book is that Schumpeter was right. We cannot document a single case of a tax financed navy. This work has been generously supported by the Kyriazis family foundation. (Series: Wirtschaft: Forschung und Wissenschaft - Vol. 27) *** "The purpose of this work is to examine the economic theories of Joseph Alois Schumpeter (1883-1950), who proposed that 'creative destruction' of older economic models is necessary for economic progress. . . . will prove of great interest to students of the rise of permanent military institutions." - The NYMAS Review, No. 57, Winter-Spring 2014 [Subject: Military Studies, Naval Studies]Ã?Â?Ã?Â?

This book surveys the lives and careers of naval officers across Europe at the height of the age of sail. It traces the professionalization of naval officers by exploring their preparation for life at sea and the challenges they faced while in command. It also demonstrates the uniqueness of the maritime experience, as long voyages and isolation at sea cemented their bond with naval officers across Europe while separating them from landlubbers. It depicts, in a way no previous study has, the parameters of their shared experiences—both the similarities that crossed national boundaries and connected officers, and the differences that can only be seen from an international perspective.

Sweden’s transformation in the last century was brought about not by the military prowess of exceptional Swedes (indeed neutrality has been a key element in Swedish policy for almost two centuries) but by the creative ability of its people. Sweden has emerged as a model welfare state and a well-ordered democracy, to which economists, sociologists, feminists, architects, and scientists from sophisticated nations have paid study visits. Sweden now depends on international trade to preserve its high standard of living and, in a world of harsh international competition, often has to struggle to maintain its welfare system and its reputation. Despite its present difficulties, however, it remains one of the world’s most advanced and affluent democracies. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Sweden contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, an extensive bibliography, and a dictionary section with more than 300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Sweden.

This is the first study to analyse the relationship between England and Sweden across the entire seventeenth century. It emphasises the importance of commerce and diplomacy working in tandem. The book contains five chapters arranged chronologically, all based on original and innovative archival research, and traces the economic aspects of the relationship in both a qualitative and quantitative context. It draws upon a number of unique incidents to detail the variety and extent of commercial and diplomatic connections that became of primary importance for the welfare and success of both nations over the century.

A comprehensive overview of the activities of the British navy in the Baltic Sea from the earliest times until the twentieth century.