Editing History of Finland (section)

===17th century===
[[Image:Turun akatemian vihkiäiset2.jpg|thumb|[[Per Brahe the Younger]], who developed and reformed Finland significantly in the 17th century]]
[[Image:Grand duchy of finland 1662.jpg|thumb|Map of Finland from 1662]]
From 1611 to 1632, Sweden was ruled by King [[Gustavus Adolphus]], whose military reforms transformed the Swedish army from a peasant militia into an efficient fighting machine, possibly the best in Europe. The conquest of [[Livonia]] was now completed, and some territories were taken from internally divided Russia in the [[Treaty of Stolbovo]]. In 1630, the Swedish (and Finnish) armies marched into Central Europe, as Sweden had decided to take part in the great struggle between Protestant and Catholic forces in Germany, known as the [[Thirty Years' War]]. The Finnish light cavalry was known as the [[Hakkapeliitta|Hakkapeliitat]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Joose Olavi Hannula|year=1939|title=Hakkapeliittoja ja karoliineja – Kuvia Suomen sotahistoriasta|publisher=[[Otava (publisher)|Otava]]| location=Helsinki|language=fi}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Matti J.|last=Kankaanpää|year=2016|title=Suomalainen ratsuväki Ruotsin ajalla|publisher=T:mi Toiset aijat| location=Porvoo | page = 790 |isbn = 978-952-99106-9-4|language=fi}}</ref> Gustavus Adolphus also created the office of [[Governor-General of Finland|governor-general]] for Finland as part of his restructuring of the administration of the Swedish realm.{{sfn|Kirby|2006|p=38}}

After the [[Peace of Westphalia]] in 1648, the [[Swedish Empire]] was one of the most powerful countries in Europe. During the war, several important reforms had been made in Finland:
* 1637–1640 and 1648–1654: Count [[Per Brahe the Younger|Per Brahe]] functioned as general governor of Finland. Many important reforms were made and many towns were founded. His period of administration is generally considered very beneficial to the development of Finland.
* 1640: Finland's first university, the [[Academy of Åbo]], was founded in Turku at the proposal of Count Per Brahe by [[Queen Christina of Sweden]].
* 1642: the whole [[Bible]] was published in Finnish.
However, the high taxation, continuing wars and the cold climate (the [[Little Ice Age]]) made the Imperial era of Sweden rather gloomy times for Finnish peasants. In 1655–1660, the [[Northern Wars]] were fought, taking Finnish soldiers to the battle-fields of [[Livonia]], Poland and Denmark. In 1676, the political system of Sweden was transformed into an [[Charles XI of Sweden|absolute monarchy]].

In Middle and Eastern Finland, great amounts of [[tar]] were produced for export. European nations needed this material for the maintenance of their fleets. According to some theories, the spirit of early [[capitalism]] in the tar-producing province of [[Ostrobothnia (historical province)|Ostrobothnia]] may have been the reason for the [[witch-hunt]] wave that happened in this region during the late 17th century. The people were developing more expectations and plans for the future, and when these were not realized, they were quick to blame witches—according to a belief system the [[Lutheran]] church had imported from Germany.

The Empire had a [[New Sweden|colony]] in the New World in the modern-day Delaware-Pennsylvania area between 1638 and 1655. At least half of the immigrants were of Finnish origin.

The 17th century was an era of very strict [[Lutheran]] orthodoxy. In 1608, the law of Moses was declared the law of the land, in addition to secular legislation. Every subject of the realm was required to confess the Lutheran faith and church attendance was mandatory. Ecclesiastical penalties were widely used.<ref>[http://www.saunalahti.fi/arnoldus/puu_jalk.html Forsius, A. Puujalka ja jalkapuu.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305002607/http://www.saunalahti.fi/arnoldus/puu_jalk.html |date=5 March 2012 }} Cited 14 December 2006. In Finnish</ref> The rigorous requirements of orthodoxy were revealed in the dismissal of the Bishop of Turku, Johan Terserus, who wrote a [[catechism]] which was decreed heretical in 1664 by the theologians of the academy of Åbo.<ref>[http://kirjasto.jyu.fi/jyk/kokoelmat/julkaisut/kielletyt_kirjat/kotimaa.htm Jyväskylän yliopiston kirjasto. Kielletyt kirjat.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027122357/https://kirjasto.jyu.fi/jyk/kokoelmat/julkaisut/kielletyt_kirjat/kotimaa.htm |date=27 October 2012 }} Cited 14 December 2006. In Finnish</ref> On the other hand, the Lutheran requirement of the individual study of Bible prompted the first attempts at wide-scale education. The church required from each person a degree of literacy sufficient to read the basic texts of the Lutheran faith. Although the requirements could be fulfilled by learning the texts by heart, also the skill of reading became known among the population.<ref>[http://kotisivu.mtv3.fi/suomenhistoria/historia/kirkko/rothovi.htm Suomen historia: kirkon historia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930180531/http://kotisivu.mtv3.fi/suomenhistoria/historia/kirkko/rothovi.htm |date=30 September 2007 }} Cited 14 December 2006. In Finnish</ref>

From 1696 to 1699, [[Great Famine of Finland (1695–1697)|a famine]] caused by climate decimated Finland. A combination of an early frost, the freezing temperatures preventing grain from reaching Finnish ports, and a lackluster response from the Swedish government saw about one-third of the population die.<ref>Jutikkala, Eino and Pirinen, Kauko. ''A History of Finland''. Dorset Press, 1988, p. 108</ref> Soon afterwards, another war determining Finland's fate began (the [[Great Northern War]] of 1700–21).