Editing History of Stockholm (section)

== Great Power era==
[[Image:Suecia 1-013 ; Stockholm från öster.jpg|thumb|center|500px|Stockholm presented as a capital worthy a powerful nation.<br />Engraving from ''[[Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna]]'' around 1690.]]
{{main|Stockholm during the Great Power Era}}
[[Image:Oxenstierna Palace Facade Storkyrkobrinken March 2007.JPG|thumb|One of the finest surviving examples of the ambitions of the era is undoubtedly Axel Oxenstierna's own palace built from 1653 to the design of [[Jean de la Vallée]] (1620–1696).]]
Following the [[Thirty Years' War]] (1618–1648), Sweden was determined never to repeat the embarrassment experienced following the death of [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden|Gustavus II Adolphus]] (1594–1632) when Stockholm, still medieval in character, caused hesitation on whether to invite foreign statesmen for fear the lamentable appearance might undermine the nation's authority.  Therefore, Stockholm saw many ambitious city plans during the era, of which those for the ridges surrounding today's old town still stands.  In accordance to the [[mercantilism]] of the era, trade and industry was concentrated to cities where it was easier to control, and Stockholm was of central importance.  In a letter in 1636, [[Lord High Chancellor of Sweden|Chancellor]] [[Axel Oxenstierna]] (1583–1654) wrote that evolving the Swedish capital was a prerequisite for the nation's power and strength and that this would bring all the other cities on their feet.  Increased state intervention on city level was not unique to Sweden at this time, but it was probably more prominent in the case of Stockholm than anywhere else in Europe.  To this end, the government of the city was reformed and the former volunteered magistrates gradually replaced by professionals with a theoretical education.<ref name="hall-53-58">Hall, pp 53–58</ref>

=== Population and city plans ===
[[Image:Gamla Stan swe.jpg|thumb|250px|left|[[Skeppsbron]].]]
{{See also|Historical fires of Stockholm|The plague during the Great Northern War}}
The process of reshaping Stockholm was initiated by a major fire in 1625 which destroyed the south-western part of today's old town.  As a result, two new [[boulevard]]-like streets were created — [[Stora Nygatan]] and [[Lilla Nygatan]] — and along the eastern waterfront the medieval wall was replaced by a row of prestigious palaces — [[Skeppsbron]].<ref name="hall-60-63">Hall, pp 60–63.</ref>

For the ridges surrounding the city – [[Norrmalm]], [[Östermalm]], [[Kungsholmen]], and [[Södermalm]] – new city plans were worked out to create wide and straight artery streets.  The project was implemented so thoroughly, in several parts of the city no traces exist of the previous medieval structures.  Many of the streets from this era are still extant, and some of those proposed have been realised with some minor modifications.<ref name="hall-63-70">Hall, pp 63–70,</ref><ref name="hall-70-74">Hall, pp 70–74.</ref><ref name="hall-74-75">Hall, pp 74–75.</ref>

The population grew from less than 10,000 in the early 17th century to more than 50,000 in the mid-1670s.

The city's income rose from 18,595 [[Swedish riksdaler|daler]] in 1635–36 to 81,480 daler in 1644. In 1642, approximately 60 per cent of that sum was spent on construction works.<ref name="hall-53-58" />

=== Law enforcement and the poor===
The growing city of [[Stockholm]] also had a greater demand for [[law enforcement]]. In 1624, the first [[prison]] in the city, called "Tukthuset," was established. During their time in [[prison]], the [[inmates]] were tasked with creating [[Textile|textiles]]. To reduce the crime rate and maintain order, a mounted nighttime police force was created to prevent [[Crime|crimes]] and escort people to their homes.

In 1633, the "Great Orphanage" (the exact name was "Stora barnhuset") was established in [[Norrmalm (borough)|Norrmalm.]] The children would work and be taught a [[profession]] while having a place to sleep and eat.

[[Beggars]] were prohibited in [[Stockholm]] in 1642,  including those who were legally allowed to beg. This marked a significant change from medieval times when [[poverty]] was often regarded as having religious worth; now, beggars were seen as lazy. The "right poor"—for example, those who had been [[injured]] and were therefore unable to work—would be housed in care houses called "fattighus," while the "wrong poor" would be placed in [[Workhouse|workhouses]]. Despite this, a large number of mutilated soldiers and other [[impoverished]] individuals moved to the city in hopes of a better future.<ref>https://slakthistoria.se/slaktforskning/stockholm/stockholm-1600-tal</ref>

===Trade===
[[File:Map of Stockholm (1713).tif|thumb|Map of Stockholm (1713)]]
Other Swedish cities were deprived of their export privileges by the so-called "[[Gulf of Bothnia|Bothnian]] [[Coercive monopoly|Trade Coercion]]" (''Bottniska handelstvånget'').  Most Swedish cities were granted a trade monopoly over a limited surrounding area, but for Stockholm most of the lands surrounding the [[Gulf of Bothnia]] formed part of the city's trade territory.  However, the state-granted monopoly was not the only thing that favoured Stockholm at that time.  It was one of the best natural harbours of the era and throughout the 17th century, countless foreign visitors marvelled at the sight of large ships "with 60 or 70 cannons" moored along the eastern quay next to the royal castle.<ref name="Nilsson-86-88">Nilsson, pp 86–88</ref>

In contrast with other Swedish cities, all of which were self-supporting, Stockholm was completely dependent of the transit passing through the city—it had, for example, about the same number of domestic animals as [[Uppsala]], which only had ten per cent the population of the capital.  All goods brought into Stockholm had to pass through one of six customs stations, and approximately three-fourths of them were exported from the city.  Half of the remaining items, mostly fishery products, were delivered from the Baltic, and corn came from the Lake Mälaren region.  However, during the latter half of the century, the rapidly growing capital could not be supported by the Lake Mälaren region alone and therefore became dependent on corn imported from the provinces.<ref name="Nilsson-89-100">Nilsson, pp 89–100</ref>

Sweden had played a passive role in international trade during the 16th century; German merchants and ships managed the export of Swedish primary products such as [[osmond process|osmond iron]], raw copper, and butter.  This export was largely regarded as a means of securing the import of items not available in Sweden, such as salt, wine, and luxury goods demanded at the court.  With the introduction of a [[mercantilism|mercantile]] doctrine around 1620, trade became a keystone to governmental income and the Swedish economy subsequently focused on export, not of raw materials, but of refined products.  Over the entire period (c. 1590–1685), Stockholm's share of the national economy remained stable at around two-thirds, but during the first half of the 17th century, export grew fourfold and import fivefold. Most goods were delivered to the Netherlands in the mid-17th century and to the UK in the early 18th century.<ref name="Nilsson-89-100" />

In the 17th century, the textile industry was developed with the establishments of the textile manufactures ''[[Paulinska manufakturerna]]'' (active 1673–1776) and the ''[[Barnängens manufaktur]]'' (active 1691–1826), which became two of the greatest sources of employments in the Swedish capital during the entire 18th-century.<ref>Du Rietz, Anita, Kvinnors entreprenörskap: under 400 år, 1. uppl., Dialogos, Stockholm, 2013</ref>