Count Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna   listen^? or Oxenstjerna (June 16, 1583 - August 28, 1654), Lord High Chancellor of Sweden, was born at Fånö in Uplandia, and received his education with his brothers at the universities of Rostock, Jena and Wittenberg. On returning home in 1603 he took up an appointment as kammarjunker to King Charles IX of Sweden. In 1606 he undertook his first diplomatic mission, to Mecklenburg, gained appointment to the Privy Council (Riksrådet) during his absence, and henceforth became one of the king's most trusted servants. In 1610 he travelled to Copenhagen with the aim of preventing war with Denmark, but unsuccessfully. This embassy has importance as marking the beginning of Oxenstierna's long diplomatic struggle with Sweden's traditional rival in the west, which he regarded as his country's most formidable enemy throughout his life. To play the audio file do not click on the -image. ... Image File history File links Sv-Axel Oxenstierna. ... June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining. ... Events August 5 - Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes first English colony in North America, at what is now St Johns, Newfoundland. ... August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... Events April 5 - Signing of the Treaty of Westminster, ending the First Anglo-Dutch War. ... Uplandia, or Uppland, is a historical Province or Landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden. ... Rostock (Slavic origin: roztoka, Polish: Roztoka) is a city in northern Germany. ... Map of Germany showing Jena Jena is a town in central Germany on the River Saale. ... Statue of Martin Luther in the main square Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a town in Germany, in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, at 12° 59 E, 51° 51 N, on the Elbe river. ... Events March 24 - Elizabeth I of England dies and is succeeded by her cousin King James VI of Scotland, uniting the crowns of Scotland and England April 28 – Funeral of Elizabeth I of England in Westminster Abbey July 17 or July 19 - Sir Walter Raleigh arrested for treason. ... Charles IX, or Karl IX (1550 – 1611), king of Sweden, was the youngest son of Gustav I of Sweden and Margareta Lejonhufvud. ... Events January 27 - The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins ending in their execution on January 31 May 17 - Supporters of Vasili Shusky invade the Kremlin and kill pretender Dmitri December 26 - Shakespeares King Lear performed in court Storm buries a village of St Ismails near... Mecklenburg, located in Northern Germany, was a duchy within the Holy Roman Empire, then divided, and after 1815 two Grand Duchies, then a state, and now part of the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. ... The Swedish Senate: Riksrådet, from 1809 Statsrådet, from 1975 Regeringen was and is the principal government institution of Sweden The Swedish Senate, Senatus Regni Sueciae, originated as a council of Regional Magnates acting as advisers to the Monarch of the combined Realms of the Swedes (from 996, approximately). ... // Events January 7 - Galileo Galilei discovers the Galilean moons of Jupiter. ... City nickname: none Location in Denmark Area  - Total  - Water 526 km² xxx km² xx% Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density 502,204 1,116,979 954/km2 [including water] xxx/km2 [land only] Time zone Eastern: UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 55°43 N 12°34 E Copenhagen (Danish: København) is...

Axel Oxenstierna, portrait The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ...

Chancellor

Oxenstierna became a member of Gustavus Adolphus's council of regency (1611). As a major aristocrat, he would at first willingly have limited the royal power. An oligarchy guiding a limited monarchy ever remained his ideal government, but the genius of the young king demanded no fetters, so Oxenstierna remained content to serve as the colleague instead of the master of his sovereign. On the January 6, 1612 became Lord High Chancellor (Rikskansler) of the Privy Council. His controlling, organizing hand soon became apparent in every branch of the administration. For his services as first Swedish plenipotentiary at the Treaty of Knäred in 1613, he received rich rewards. During the frequent absences of Gustavus in Livonia and in Finland (1614 - 1616) Oxenstierna acted as his vice-regent, when he displayed manifold abilities and an all-embracing activity. In 1620 he headed the brilliant embassy dispatched to Berlin to arrange the nuptial contract between Gustavus and Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg. During the king's Russian and Polish wars he had the principal duty of supplying the armies and the fleets with everything necessary, including men and money. By this time he had become so indispensable that Gustavus, in 1622, bade Oxenstierna accompany him to Livonia and appointed him Governor-General and commandant of Riga. His services in Livonia gained him the reward of four castles and the whole bishopric of Wenden. Entrusted with the peace negotiations which led to the truce with Poland in 1623, he succeeded, by skilful diplomacy, in averting a threatened rupture with Denmark in 1624. On October 7, 1626 he became Governor-General of the Swedish possesions in the newly-acquired Province of Prussia. In 1629 he concluded the very advantageous Truce of Altmark with Poland-Lithuania. Previously to this, in September 1628, he arranged with Denmark a joint occupation of Stralsund, to prevent that important fortress from falling into the hands of the Imperialists. Gustav II Adolf (December 9, 1594 – November 6, 1632 O.S.), widely known by the Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus and in Protestant propaganda as the Lion of the North, was King of Sweden from 1611 until his death. ... Aristocracy is a form of government in which rulership is in the hands of an upper class known as aristocrats. ... Oligarchy is a form of government where most political power effectively rests with a small segment of society (typically the most powerful, whether by wealth, military strength, ruthlessness, or political influence). ... A constitutional monarchy is a form of government established under a constitutional system which acknowledges a hereditary or elected monarch as head of state. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... The Treaty of Knäred was signed on January 21, 1613 and ended the Kalmar War (1611-1613) between Denmark and Sweden. ... Events January - Galileo observes Neptune, but mistakes it for a star and so is not credited with its discovery. ... Livonia was a dominion of Sweden from the 1620s until 1721. ... Events April 5 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. ... Events October 25 — Dirk Hartog makes the first recorded landfall by a European on Australian soil, at an island off the Western Australian coast Pocahontas arrives in England War between Venice and Austria Collegium Musicum founded in Prague Nicolaus Copernicus De revolutionibus is placed on the Index of Forbidden Books... // high public office A regent, from the Latin regens who reigns is anyone who acts of head of state, especially if not the Monarch (who has higher titles). ... Events September 6 - English emigrants on the Mayflower depart from Plymouth, England for the future New England and arrive at the end of the year. ...   Berlin? (pronounced: , German ) is the capital of Germany and its largest city, with 3,426,000 inhabitants (as of January 2005); down from 4. ... Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg was the daughter of Elector Johann Sigismund of Brandenburg. ... The Swedish Army, or Armén is the army branch of the Swedish Armed Forces, the military of Sweden. ... The Swedish Navy (Swedish Marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. ... Events January 1 - In the Gregorian calendar, January 1 is declared as the first day of the year, instead of March 25. ... Livonia was a dominion of Sweden from the 1620s until 1721. ... A Governor-General, or Generalguvernör, was appointed by the Swedish monarch as a form of viceroy, with both civil and military jurisdiction, over parts of the Swedish Realm, from the 17th century to the early 19th century, when constitutional changes made the office obsolete. ... Riga (RÄ«ga in Latvian), the capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of River Daugava, at 56°58′ N 24°8′ E. Riga is the largest city in the Baltic States and serves as a major cultural, educational, political, financial, commercial and industrial... The town of Cesis, in Latvia, is located in the northern part of Vidzeme Central upland, on the river Gauja, on high hillocks with terraces, overlooking the blue woods of the Gauja ancient river valley. ... Events August 6 - Pope Urban VIII is elected to the Papacy. ... Events January 24 - Alfonso Mendez, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa. ... October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years). ... Events September 30 - Nurhaci, chieftain of the Jurchens and founder of the Qing Dynasty dies and is succeeded by his son Hong Taiji. ... Fiefs Fiefs that were held for a limited time. ... The Province of Prussia was a province of Poland from the 15th century until 1660, consisting of Royal Prussia and Ducal Prussia. ... Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ... Events March 1 - writs were issued in February 1628 by Charles I of England that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date. ... Stralsund coat of arms Stralsund (Polish: Strzałów, Strzałowo) is a city in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. ...

Thirty Years' War

After the Battle of Breitenfeld on September 7, 1631 Oxenstierna received a summons to assist the king with his counsels and co-operation in Germany. During the king's absence in Franconia and Bavaria in 1632 he held the appointment of legatus in the Rhine lands, with plenipotentiary authority over all the German generals and princes in the Swedish service. Although he never fought a battle, he proved a born strategist, and frustrated all the efforts of the Spanish troops by his wise regulations. His military capacity showed strikingly with the skill with which he conducted large reinforcements to Gustavus through the heart of Germany in the summer of 1632. But only after the death of Gustavus Adolphus at Lützen in 1632 did Oxenstierna's true greatness came to light. The Battle of Breitenfeld was the first major Protestant victory in the Thirty Years War. ... September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). ... // Events February 5 - Roger Williams emigrates to Boston. ... The Franconian Rake is the symbol and unofficial coat of arms of Franconia, also appearing in emblems of many Franconian cities Franconia (German, Franken), an historic region in Germany, now forms three administrative districts of the state of Bavaria: Lower Franconia (Unterfranken), Middle Franconia (Mittelfranken), and Upper Franconia (Oberfranken). ... With an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... See also: 1632 (novel) Events February 22 - Galileos Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published July 23 - 300 colonists for New France depart Dieppe November 8 - Wladyslaw IV Waza elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after Zygmunt III Waza death November 16 - Battle of Lützen... The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1,320 km Elevation of the source Vorderrhein: approx. ... A strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. ... See also: 1632 (novel) Events February 22 - Galileos Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published July 23 - 300 colonists for New France depart Dieppe November 8 - Wladyslaw IV Waza elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after Zygmunt III Waza death November 16 - Battle of Lützen... The Battle of Lützen was one of the most decisive battles of the Thirty Years War. ...

As founder of the Swedish postal service. Stamp, 1936.

Axel Oxenstierna, stamp 1936 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Axel Oxenstierna, stamp 1936 This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

Power behind the throne

He inspired the despairing Protestants both in Germany and Sweden with fresh hopes. He reorganised the government both at home and abroad. He united the estates of the four upper circles into a fresh league against the common foe (1634), in spite of the envious and foolish opposition of Saxony. By the patent of January 12, 1633 he had already gained the appointment of legate plenipotentiary of Sweden in Germany, with absolute control over all the territory already won by the Swedish arms. No Swedish subject, either before or after, ever held such an unrestricted and far-reaching authority. Yet he proved more than equal to the extraordinary difficulties of the situation. To him both warriors and statesmen appealed invariably as their natural and infallible arbiter. Richelieu himself declared the Swedish Chancellor "an inexhaustible source of well-matured counsels". Less original but more sagacious than the king, he had a firmer grasp of the realities of the situation. Gustavus would not only have aggrandised Sweden, he would have transformed the German empire. Oxenstierna wisely abandoned these vaulting ambitions. His country's welfare remained his sole object. All his efforts directed themselves towards procuring for the Swedish crown adequate compensation for its sacrifices. Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Events Moses Amyrauts Traite de la predestination is published Curaçao captured by the Dutch Treaty of Polianovska First meeting of the Académie française The witchcraft affair at Loudun Jean Nicolet lands at Green Bay, Wisconsin Opening of Covent Garden Market in London English establish a settlement... With an area of 18,413 km² and a population of 4. ... January 12 is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events February 13 - Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition. ... For other uses of Richelieu, see Richelieu (disambiguation). ...

Simple to austere in his own tastes, he nevertheless recognised the political necessity of impressing his allies and confederates by an almost regal show of dignity; and at the abortive Congress of Frankfurt in March 1634, held for the purpose of uniting all the German Protestants, Oxenstierna appeared in a carriage drawn by six horses, with German princes attending him on foot. But from first to last his policy suffered from the slenderness of Sweden's material resources, a cardinal defect which all his craft and tact could not altogether conceal from the vigilance of her enemies. The success of his system postulated an uninterrupted series of triumphs, whereas a single reverse had the potential to overturn it. Thus the frightful disaster of Nördlingen on September 6, 1634 brought him, for an instant, to the verge of ruin, and compelled him, for the first time, so far to depart from his policy of independence as to solicit direct assistance from France. But, well aware that Richelieu needed the Swedish armies as much as he himself needed money, he refused at the Conference of Compiègne in 1635 to bind his hands in the future for the sake of some slight present relief. In 1636, however, he concluded a fresh subsidy-treaty with France at Wismar. The same year he returned to Sweden and took his seat in the Regency. His presence at home overawed all opposition, and such was the general confidence inspired by his superior wisdom that for the next nine years his voice, especially as regarded foreign affairs, remained omnipotent in the Privy Council. Events Moses Amyrauts Traite de la predestination is published Curaçao captured by the Dutch Treaty of Polianovska First meeting of the Académie française The witchcraft affair at Loudun Jean Nicolet lands at Green Bay, Wisconsin Opening of Covent Garden Market in London English establish a settlement... This article is about the first Battle of Nördlingen fought in 1634 in Germany as part of the Thirty Years War. ... September 6 is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years). ... Events Moses Amyrauts Traite de la predestination is published Curaçao captured by the Dutch Treaty of Polianovska First meeting of the Académie française The witchcraft affair at Loudun Jean Nicolet lands at Green Bay, Wisconsin Opening of Covent Garden Market in London English establish a settlement... For other uses of Richelieu, see Richelieu (disambiguation). ... Events February 10 - The Académie française in Paris is expanded to become a national academy for the artistic elite. ... Events February 24 - King Christian of Denmark gives an order that all beggars that are able to work must be sent to Brinholmen Island to build ships or as galley rowers March 26 - Utrecht University founded in The Netherlands. ... Wismar Coat of Arms Wismar is a smaller port and Hanseatic League city in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. ... The Swedish Senate: Riksrådet, from 1809 Statsrådet, from 1975 Regeringen was and is the principal government institution of Sweden The Swedish Senate, Senatus Regni Sueciae, originated as a council of Regional Magnates acting as advisers to the Monarch of the combined Realms of the Swedes (from 996, approximately). ...

Axel Oxenstierna, signature This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

Territorial gains for Sweden

He drew up beforehand the plan of the Torstensson War of 1643 - 1645, so brilliantly executed by Lennart Torstensson, and had the satisfaction of severely crippling Denmark by the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645, which put Gotlandia, Ösel, Jemtia, Herdalia and for thirty years Hallandia in Swedish hands. His later years became embittered by the jealousy of the young Queen Christina of Sweden, who thwarted the old statesman in every direction. He always attributed the exiguity of Sweden's gains by the Peace of Westphalia following the conference in Osnabrück to Christina's undue interference, which merely gave Sweden Pomerania, Usedom, Wollin, Wismar and Bremen-Verden. The Hannibal war, Hannibal controversy or Torstenson War was a short period of conflict between Sweden and Denmark/Norway which occurred in 1643 to 1645 during the waning days of the Thirty Years’ War. ... // Events January 21 - Abel Tasman discovers Tonga February 6 - Abel Tasman discovers the Fiji islands. ... // Events January 10 - Archbishop Laud executed on Tower Hill. ... Count Lennart Torstenson (August 17, 1603 - April 7, 1651) was a Swedish soldier and the son of Torsten Lennartson, commandant of Älvsborg Fortress. ... The Treaty of Brömsebro of August 13, 1645 ended the Torstenson War between Sweden and Denmark-Norway, which had begun in 1643. ... // Events January 10 - Archbishop Laud executed on Tower Hill. ... Gotlandia, or Gotland, a historical Province or landskap, of Sweden. ... Ösel is another name for Saaremaa, an island off of Estonia Ösel is also one of the six yogas of Naropa. ... Jemtia, or Jämtland (or simply Jamtland as it is known by its local dialect), is a historical Province or landskap in the north of Sweden. ... Herdalia, or Härjedalen, is a historical Province or landskap in the north of Sweden. ... Hallandia (Halland) is a historical Province (landskap) on the western coast of Sweden. ... Christina (1626 – 1689) or Kristina, later known as Maria Christina Alexandra and sometime Count Dohna, was Queen of Sweden from 1632 to 1654, was the daughter of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. ... The Ratification of the Treaty of Münster by Gerard Terborch (1648) Banquet of the Amsterdam Civic Guard in Celebration of the Peace of Münster by Bartholomeus van der Helst, 1648 The Peace of Westphalia, also known as the treaties of Münster and Osnabrück, is the series... Osnabrück is a city in the Westphalian half of Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80km NNW of Dortmund, 45km NNW of Münster, and some 100km due West of Hanover. ... Swedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from the 17th to the 19th century, situated on the German Baltic Sea coast. ... Usedom (Polish name Uznam) is an island north of the confluence of the Odra river into the Szczecin Bay (Ger: Stettiner Haff, Pol: Zalew Szczeciński). ... Wolin or Wollin is an island located in the Baltic Sea located just off the Polish coast. ... Wismar Coat of Arms Wismar is a smaller port and Hanseatic League city in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. ... Bremen-Verden was a dominion of Sweden from 1648 to 1719, when it was ceded to Hanover in the Treaty of Stockholm. ...

Oxenstierna at first opposed the abdication of Christina, because he feared mischief to Sweden from the unruly and adventurous disposition of her appointed successor, Charles Gustavus. The extraordinary consideration shown to him by the new king ultimately, however, reconciled him to the change. He died at Stockholm on August 28, 1654. Charles X or Karl X Gustav (1622 – 1660), king of Sweden, son of John Casimir, Margrave of Pfalz-Zweibrücken, and Catherine, sister of Gustavus Adolphus, was born at the Castle of Nyköping on November 8, 1622. ...   Stockholm? is the capital and the largest city in Sweden. ... August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... Events April 5 - Signing of the Treaty of Westminster, ending the First Anglo-Dutch War. ...

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...

Quotation

"Behold, my son, with how little wisdom the world is governed" (in a letter to his offspring written in 1648). - Although attributed to Cardinal Richelieu as well, probably the most famous Swedish quotation in the Anglo-Saxon world. // Events Peace treaty signed at Westphalia ends the Thirty Years War. ... Cardinal Richelieu was the French chief minister from 1624 until his death. ...

See also

• Realm of Sweden
• Dominions of Sweden

The Realm of Sweden or Svenska väldet is a term that historically was used to comprise all the territories under the control of the Swedish monarchs. ... The Dominions of Sweden or Svenska besittningar were territories that historically came under control of the Swedish Crown, but never became fully integrated with Sweden. ...

External links

• The Correspondence of Axel Oxenstierna - at Text Encoding Initiative