Beginning in late 1668, King Christian in Bergen started mobilisation throughout Norway. Despite not being directly in war, many still feared the possibility of a sudden Swedish invasion, and the preparation was largely supported by the population. Without having to pay the heavy taxes mandated by Copenhagen anymore, coupled with the chaotic wartime, the Norwegian government managed to improve their finances, and were able to fund a small but functional army to defend against

While Karl's siege of Berlin lingered on, the situation in the Baltic was not looking well for the Swedes. Despite the steady frontline in Scania, the Swedish Navy was entirely unable to defeat Niels Juel's fleets, suffering defeat after defeat. After a prolonged campaign, the Danes successfully occupied the island of Gotland in late October, 1668, retaking the island from Swedish hands for the first time since 1645. An attempted invasion of Öland soon followed. While the Swe

The southern border of Pomerania was relatively calm compared to the Scanian front, even after the declaration of war by Friedrich Wilhelm. After all, Brandenburg-Prussia was hesitant to go all-out against Sweden, unsure about Denmark's capability to truly contain the elite Swedish forces. Swedish border-crossings in April were expelled by Brandenburger forces, but Berlin seldom ordered the army to pursue the Swedes deep into Pomerania proper. Brandenburger forces merely occu

With a new round of French subsidies arriving in Denmark in early March, 1668, King Frederik believed that his kingdom was ready for a "holy" war to retake the lands unjustly lost to Sweden in the previous war. The Elector in Berlin was very hesitant about joining Copenhagen in this rather sudden war against Sweden. He wrote back to Frederik, claiming that the previous mutual defense pact was only for defensive actions, and Brandenburg-Prussia would not join Denmark in a war

As 1667 began, the Princess Consort became increasingly loved by Swedish nobles and commoners alike. Her easygoing, down-to-earth attitude, stemming from a less luxurious childhood than many after the Orangists became out of power, was very much loved by countless Swedes. Nonetheless, Gustav was still reluctant to hold the coronation. He believed that Maria deserved a proper coronation worthy for a Queen, but he did not wish to put an extra strain on the state budget, given t

In Copenhagen, King Frederik did genuinely consider an attack on Sweden in 1664, when King Gustav was hiding in Gripsholm with his children and the Swedish administration was dysfunctional. Nonetheless, disinterest from Berlin, coupled with a rather cold response by Louis XIV, forced Frederik to drop the plan. When he flirted with the idea again the next year, Gustav was already back in charge, and Paris became even less interested in subduing the Swedes. Nonetheless, Frederi

By 1666, the reparations by Copenhagen in the late 1650s were practically all spent by Stockholm. Much of it was used in daily government functioning, promoting education, and maintaining the military. The fact that the Stockholm Banco was failing meant the Swedish treasury was not exactly healthy either. The Banco was already unable to pay the holders of their banknotes in gold in 1664. That was solved when Gustav signed a decree in January 1665 to take over entirely and pay

With King Gustav back in picture, the Swedish legislation became much more functional as the year 1665 began. Meaningful bills were no longer vetoed just because Princess Kristina and Prince Karl could not reach a consensus. He also began reviving certain administrative plans that he was working on before Henrietta's death, with those being largely discarded following his prolonged absence. After all, the Swedish treasury did not benefit too much from the administrative mess

The disbanding of the majority of the Norwegian military, while greatly reducing Norwegian governmental expenses, inevitably brought much peril to the already fragile semi-independent nation in the meantime. The Copenhagen administration, under King Frederik, was originally worried about Norway's potential inability to pay taxes with financial ruin. Without a functional Norwegian military, it meant that Frederik could practically threatened Norway, by the use of arms, into pa

The days following Henrietta's funeral were difficult yet blurry for Gustav. He felt like merely going through the motions every single day, only finding a flicker of life left in himself when taking care of his children. After all, he knew very well that Henrietta would want nothing more than their children growing up happily - and he was determined to make that the reality. He spent hours with the children every single day, far more than any royal fathers of the time, while

The little Swedish prince born in 1661 proved to be a rather energetic boy by royal standards, despite his fragile beginnings. By a few months old, he was already mumbling sentences, while looking at his parents all curious while seeing anything new. His two older siblings also brought much joy to the royal household. Crown Prince Gustav Rudolf, seven years old, was a quiet but inquisitive boy, close to his mother the Queen. The Queen would often read books with her eldest bo

Rallying behind Prince Christian, the Norwegians enjoyed a period of high morale following the restoration of the Storting. Many Norwegian patriots chanted for Prince Christian everywhere, some almost viewing him as their actual monarch instead of the King in Copenhagen. Yet, Christian's government faced a grave problem. The outrageously high taxes imposed on Norway to pay off the reparations he owed Sweden had drained the Norwegian treasury, leaving the Norwegians without an

The peace with Sweden in 1657, and the subsequent election of the pro-Polish Ivan Vyhovsky as the new Hetman provided the Commonwealth with much momentum. King Jan II Kazimierz, returning to his ruined capital of Warsaw, began planning counter-offensives to push the Russians back in Lithuania and Ukraine. After his election, Vyhovsky began negotiating with the King's representative, seeking to achieve Cossack autonomy under Polish rule, which he deemed a better alternative th

The banknotes issued by Stockholm Banco in early 1661 immediately proved to be a great success for the Swedish economy, with transactions more convenient than ever before. Many other European nations soon issued banknotes of their own, transforming the continent's economy forever. Princess Kristina's passion to transform Stockholm into the cultural capital of the North had also yielded some success after years of effort. Intellectuals from all over Europe were invited by Kris

Chapter 3 - The Swan at Eventide 3.1 Newfoundland War The colony of Nyfunnenland experienced a period of relative peace and prosperity in the decade following the Swedish takeover in 1652. Constant supplies and new colonists arrived regularly from the Swedish mainland, and coupled with the high birth rate, caused a drastic increase in the Swedish population on the island in the 1650s. Authorities in Stockholm made sure that major vessels, carrying tens or even hundreds of ne

The sudden death of the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, on 3rd September, 1658, came as a shock for many within and outside Britain, as Cromwell was really the only reason why the Protectorate was largely stable despite the internal tensions. Before his death, Cromwell appointed his eldest surviving son, Richard, 31, as his successor. Yet, Richard Cromwell soon proved to be unable to deal with the complex political reality within the Protectorate, and the tension between the

Following the loss of control over Norway, King Frederik became more determined to expel Swedish occupation forces from mainland Denmark and consolidate his power throughout the kingdom. Throughout 1659 and the earlier part of 1660, Frederik spent much time on selling royal treasures, so to gather enough capital to pay the reparations in full. Heavy taxes were also placed on Norway, now headed by Prince Christian. The latter, unwilling to tax the already suffering Norwegians,

By October, the Swedish offensive from the north had largely lost their momentum. While the Swedes did manage to occupy most of Nordland, they failed to cross into Trøndelag, while suffering from guerilla attacks against their supply lines. Yet, King Gustav had travelled to Jämtland, about to direct a new offensive, that had been carefully planned by a General Staff in Stockholm, led by him personally. Over ten thousand soldiers, returning from Denmark and Scania, were made t

It was already mid-March when Prince Christian, in Bergen with his family, received the news about the peace signed and the Treaty of Roskilde. Needless to say, Prince Christian was less than amused about the fate that was to befall Norway per the Treaty. The city of Bergen also broke into chaos as the news about the peace arrived. Countless Norwegians, from all professions and locations, took their anger onto the streets, publicly branding King Frederik "a traitor of the nat

Following the victory in Narva, the Swedes pushes the Russians back. but the harsh winter conditions stopped them from advancing further into Russian-occupied Ingria, allowing the Russians time to regroup. A Swedish offensive finally occurred in the spring of 1657, but with mixed results. While they were able to retake the port-fortress of Nyen by the Gulf of Finland, large areas of sparsely populated Ingrian lands were still in Russian hands, the Swedes lacking the resolve t