Description
Book SynopsisIn the last decades of the seventeenth century the Swedish king Charles XI launched a remarkable bid to stabilize and secure Sweden's position as a major power in northern Europe and as master of the Baltic Sea. This 1998 book gives an account of what was achieved through Charles's absolute rule and how he enjoyed the support of most of his subjects.
Trade Review"With this scholarly biography Upton fills a long-standing void in the literature of Swedish history in the early modern period....highly recommended for university and larger public libraries." Choice
"Upton writes clearly and well." Marc Raeff, American Historical Review
"Upton's Charles KXI is certainly the most important book on late seventeenth-century Sweden to appear in English to date." Paul Douglas Lockhart, The International History Review
"Anthony F. Upton's book builds on a thorough familiarity both with the archival material in Sweden and with the languages necessary for its use...this book, in its detailed account of one of the most extraordinary examples, provides ample evidence that no generalized model does justice to the many alternative routes to state formation." Journal of Modern History
Table of Contents1. Introduction: the historical background to Sweden's seventeenth-century crisis; 2. The formative years: regency and war, 1660–79; 3. The defining of the absolute monarchy; 4. The financial reconstruction; 5. The indelningswerk and the rebuilding of the armed forces; 6. The search for external security, 1679–86; 7. The consolidation of the absolutist system; 8. Completing the superstructure; 9. The royal government at work; 10. The external territories under absolutism; 11. The maturing of Charles XI's foreign policies; 12. The last years of the reign; 13. The absolutism of Charles XI; Bibliography; Index.
