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Payson
History of Settlement and Population
Sweden sparked my interest for this project because I am Swedish and really do
not know anything about my past or my ancestors. Sweden is located in Northern Europe
and its latitude and longitude for the country are 5920'N and 1803'E. Fourteen
thousand years ago Sweden was actually covered in ice and as it began to melt people
began to migrate there. There are many different ages of Swedish history and we are
going to briefly touch on all of them. They are: Ancient Sweden, Viking Sweden, The
middle ages, and the 16th through the 21st century. In my research I also learned about the
conditions and resources in Sweden.
According to the Swedish Institute people began to populate Sweden between
8,000 BC and 6,000 BC. The first inhabitants of the country were Stone Age hunters and
fisherman who lived near the coast. This was during the Stone, Bronze, and Iron ages.
The Stone Age was a prehistoric cultural stage, or level of human development,
characterized by the creation and use of stone tools. (Guisepi) The Ancient History
Encyclopedia states that the Bronze Age is the period during which the most advanced
metalworking in that culture uses bronze. Then about 500 BC iron was introduced into
Sweden. The Iron Age Swedes had contact with the Romans. They sold slaves, furs and
amber to Roman merchants. In return the Romans sold them Mediterranean luxuries.
(Lambert) This was also the time that trade became important. Around 400 BC was when
Sweden began to be settled and agriculture became the fundamental building blocks for
their economy and society. The farmers used stone and weapons up until around after
2,000 BC when the Swedes mastered the skill of creating the tools they needed with
bronze.
During the Viking Era, which was between 800 and 1050 AD, things changed
drastically for Sweden. The Viking expeditions that set off were to both plunder and trade
as close as the Baltic Coast and as far as the Black and Caspian Seas. The society was
divided into three classes; at the bottom were the slaves, then the freemen, and at the very
top was the Jarls or Earls. In this era during the 11th century a man named Ansgar, with
the help of King Bijorn converted the country to Christianity. (Hammond) During the
Middle Ages, which was from the 5th to the 15th Century, there were major changes in
agriculture. Viking farmers had two large fields. Each year one was sown with crops
while the other was left fallow. By the 13th century Swedish farmers had begun using the
three-field system. Every year one field was sown with spring crops, one was sown with
autumn crops and one was left fallow. (Lambert) During this era the trade and
commerce began to prosper immensely the People did very well for themselves, even
new towns began to pop up including Stockholm in 1252. In 1349 the plague the Black
Death took over Europe and killed about 1/3 of Swedens population. In 1388 the
Swedish Nobles rebelled against King Albert with the help of Norway, because of this
Sweden, Norway, and Denmark were briefly molded into one known as the Union of
Kalmar until 1448.

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Payson
There was a lot that went on from the 16th century to the 21st in Sweden. During
these centuries roles of power and government changed many times, there were many
fights and wars, and there were many losses and some achievements. In the 16th century
there was a war with Denmark that lasted from 1542-1570 because of power struggles
and religious reasons. In the 17th century Sweden and Denmark fought more wars that
lasted from 1611-1613 and 1643-1645. At this time Sweden had one of the more
powerful militaries and was the dominant power in Northern Europe. At the end of this
century Sweden became a complete monarchy this was made possible by the Declaration
of Sovereignty; which recognized the kings right to rule as he wished. The 18th century
had many different wars. Sweden fought with Russia, Poland, and Denmark from 17001721; this was known as The Great Northern War. According to the Encyclopedia
Britannica, The war resulted in the decline of Swedish influence and the emergence of
Russia as a major power in that region. They went to war again with Russia in 17411743, and Prussia in 1757-1762; they were very expensive and forced Sweden into
inflation and financial crisis. During the 19th century there was a reform in agriculture,
which caused the population to increase to over 2 million. In the late 19th century and
early 20th century Sweden was transformed by the industrial revolution. Production of
iron and steel boomed. The Swedish engineering industry also flourished. Swedish
industry was helped by the introduction of hydro-electricity at the end of the 19th
century. (Lambert) In the 20th century Sweden remained neutral during both the first and
second World Wars and suffered greatly during the Depression. In the 21st century
Sweden is a prosperous country and is continuing to grow now reaching a population of
over 9 million. Today Sweden still has a Constitutional Monarchy.
Sweden, as stated earlier began covered in ice and after it began to melt is when
people began to inhabit the area. Sweden mainly consists of an alpine climate and
although throughout the country there are different plants and animals, it is pretty
consistent. The animals are like those in the rest of Northern Europe, some are moose,
bears, wolves, and lynxes. The birds in Sweden vary because of the different climates
some are owls, hawks, eagles, swans, herons, ducks, and pelicans. In Northern Sweden
the trees are mainly more coniferous trees such as pine and fir. In the southern regions
you would find deciduous trees like oak, ash and maple. One of Swedens biggest
incomes stems from their fish industry; some of the main fish are trout, salmon, carp, and
cod. According to Nations Encyclopedia Grains (particularly oats, wheat, barley and rye),
potatoes and other root crops, vegetables, and fruits are the chief agricultural products.
Researching Sweden has given me a bigger background on where my family and I came
from. I plan on furthering my research and continuing to expand my knowledge on my
past.

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Payson
References
Guisepi. History of Sweden. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2015.
https://sweden.se/society/history-of-sweden/
Second Northern War. (2015). In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved from
http://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Northern-War
Lambert, T. A BRIEF HISTORY OF SWEDEN. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2015.
http://www.localhistories.org/sweden.html
The Stone Age. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2015.
http://history-world.org/stone_age.htm
How the Vikings were won to Christ. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2015.
http://www.ensignmessage.com/VikingstoChrist.html
Middle Ages. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2015.
http://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages