Editing History of Sweden (section)

== Early Modern Sweden: 1523–1611 ==
{{main|Early Vasa era}}
[[File:Gustav Vasa.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Gustav I of Sweden|Gustav Vasa]] (Gustav I) in 1542]]
In the 16th century, [[Gustav Vasa]] (1496–1560) crushed an attempt to restore the Union of Kalmar, thereby laying the foundation for modern Sweden. At the same time, he broke with the [[Roman Catholic Church|papacy]] and established the [[Protestant Reformation|Lutheran Church]] in Sweden.

The Union's final disintegration in the early 16th century brought on a long-lived rivalry between Norway and Denmark on one side and Sweden on the other. The Catholic bishops had supported [[Christian II of Denmark]], but he was overthrown by [[Gustav I of Sweden|Gustavus Vasa]], and Sweden became independent again. Gustavus used the [[Protestant Reformation]] to curb the power of the church and was crowned as King Gustavus I in 1523. In 1527, he persuaded the Riksdag of Västerås (comprising the nobles, clergy, burghers, and freehold peasants) to confiscate church lands, which comprised 21% of the farmland. Gustavus took the Lutheran reformers under his protection and appointed his men as bishops. Gustavus suppressed aristocratic opposition to his ecclesiastical policies and efforts at centralization.

[[Image:Gustav Vasa triumphs 2.png|right|thumb|350px|An image made by Gustavus Vasa during his reign showing him (in dark brown clothing and cap) capturing and subduing [[Catholicism]] (the woman in orange)]]

Tax reforms took place in 1538 and 1558, whereby multiple complex taxes on independent farmers were simplified and standardized throughout the district; tax assessments per farm were adjusted to reflect an ability to pay. Crown tax revenues increased, but more importantly, the new system was perceived as fairer and more acceptable. A war with Luebeck in 1535 resulted in the expulsion of the [[Hanseatic League|Hanseatic traders]], who previously had had a monopoly of foreign trade. With its own businessmen in charge, Sweden's economic strength grew rapidly, and by 1544 Gustavus controlled 60% of the farmlands in all of Sweden. Sweden now built the first modern army in Europe, supported by a sophisticated tax system and government bureaucracy. Gustavus proclaimed the Swedish crown hereditary and the house of Vasa ruled Sweden (1523–1654) and Poland (1587–1668).<ref>Michael Roberts, ''The Early Vasas: A History of Sweden 1523–1611'' (1968); Jan Glete, ''War and the State in Early Modern Europe: Spain, the Dutch Republic, and Sweden as Fiscal-Military States, 1500–1660'' (2002) [https://books.google.com/books?id=hI5agv3IDGIC online edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215155307/https://books.google.com/books?id=hI5agv3IDGIC |date=15 December 2022 }}</ref>

[[File:Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle at Breitenfeld.jpg|thumb|[[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden|Gustavus Adolphus]], victor at the [[Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)|Battle of Breitenfeld]], 1631]]
[[File:Swedish Empire.svg|thumb|300px|The Swedish Empire, 1560–1815]]