The Scandinavian History Podcast
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A chronological journey through the history of Scandinavia. Geographically, covering the five modern Nordic countries of Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and Finland - as well as a few other bits and pieces here and there where it's relevant.
The Scandinavian History Podcast
2w ago
When John III died, his son Sigismund took over as king of Sweden. Sigismund was already king of Poland, so he already had some relevant experience. Still, there were two problems: Sigismund was a Catholic, and his uncle Karl really wanted the crown ..read more
The Scandinavian History Podcast
3w ago
As soon as the war with Denmark was over, Sweden got itself involved in a new conflict with Russia. The war started because king John refused to give up his wife or Estonia to the Russians. He also refused to accept the Reformation ..read more
The Scandinavian History Podcast
1M ago
In 1568, Erik XIV of Sweden had never felt better. He had recovered from his temporary madness, he had chased off an invading Danish army and he had married the woman he loved. The future looked bright. At least if you weren’t looking too closely ..read more
The Scandinavian History Podcast
1M ago
In the spring of 1567, Erik XIV had a bit of a breakdown. The war was going poorly, and his spies and his trusted advisor Jöran Persson were feeding him information about a conspiracy among the nobility. The king decided that something needed to be done ..read more
The Scandinavian History Podcast
2M ago
The Nordic Seven Years’ War lasted (spoiler!) seven years. The war ended when the combatants ran out of steam and money. There was no clear winner. There were, however, plenty of clear losers ..read more
The Scandinavian History Podcast
3M ago
In the early 1560s, two inexperienced but ambitious monarchs had succeeded their fathers on the Danish and Swedish thrones. They happened to be cousins, but that didn’t stop them from spoiling for a fight over Scandinavian supremacy ..read more
The Scandinavian History Podcast
3M ago
Gustav Vasa fought to establish his family as the ruling dynasty of Sweden, and to make the House of Vasa respected as equals among other European royal houses. That was often an uphill battle, and sometimes Gustav’s efforts were even undermined by members of his own family ..read more
The Scandinavian History Podcast
4M ago
We interrupt our regular programming for a special episode about the surprise abdication of Queen Margaret II of Denmark ..read more
The Scandinavian History Podcast
4M ago
Gustav Vasa was the Swedish king who had to deal with the largest number of peasant rebellions. In the 1540s, he was also faced with the largest peasant rebellion of all time–at least in Scandinavia. He handled it like he always did, with skillful diplomacy, shrewd politics and overwhelming, brute force ..read more
The Scandinavian History Podcast
5M ago
Even though the Lutheran Reformation was relatively moderate in Sweden to begin with, Gustav Vasa’s religious and financial reforms still provoked a number of rebellions with fanciful names throughout the country ..read more