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Quote from: man n fist on 09 Dec 2019, 18:38Anyone going to hop on this Christmassy tangent, or are we all a bunch of humbugs? Sure
Anyone going to hop on this Christmassy tangent, or are we all a bunch of humbugs?
I'm a history nerd and a Swede, I pretty much had to link this:
In an era characterized by almost endless warfare, Gustavus Adolphus inherited three simultaneous and ongoing wars of his father at the age of sixteen. Two of these were border wars with Russia and Denmark, and a more personal war (at least for his father) with Gustavus' first cousin, King Sigismund III Vasa of Poland.[7] Of these three wars that were passed onto his rule, the Danish war was the most acute one.[8]During his reign, Sweden rose from the status of a Baltic Sea basin regional power to one of the great powers of Europe and a model of early modern era government. Gustavus Adolphus is famously known as the "father of modern warfare",[9] or the first great modern general. Under his tutelage, Sweden and the Protestant cause developed a number of excellent commanders, such as Lennart Torstensson, who would go on to defeat Sweden's enemies and expand the boundaries and the power of the empire long after Gustavus Adolphus's death in battle. Spoils meant he became a successful bookraider in Europe, targeting Jesuit collections.[10]Called "The Golden King" and "The Lion of the North", he made Sweden one of the great powers of Europe, in part by reforming the administrative structure. For example, he began parish registration of the population, so that the central government could more efficiently tax and conscript the people.[11] Historian Christer Jorgensen argues that his achievement in the field of economic reform, trade, modernization, and the creation of the modern bureaucratic autocracy was as great as his exploits on the battlefields. His domestic reforms, which transformed a backward, almost medieval economy and society, were in fact not only the foundations for his victories in Germany, but also absolutely crucial for the creation and survival of the Swedish Empire.[12]
Wow, that's quite the CV. I have to admit I know none of the main actors from the Swedish Empire, but I'll definitely read up more on this guy.
And I guess you could reenact one of his wars by buying a jelly danish and smashing it into a Gustavus pastry?Sorry I’ll let myself out...
