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History of Sweden

The history of Sweden can be traced back to the melting of the Northern Polar Ice Caps. From as early as 12000 BC, humans have inhabited this area. Throughout the Stone Age, between 8000 BC and 6000 BC, early inhabitants used stone-crafting methods to make tools and weapons for hunting, gathering and fishing as means of survival. Written sources about Sweden before AD 1000 are rare and short, usually written by outsiders. It is usually accepted that Swedish recorded history, in contrast with pre-history, starts around the late 10th century, when sources are common enough that they can be contrasted with each other.

The modern Swedish state was formed over a long period of unification and consolidation. Historians have set different standards for when it can be considered complete. Some common laws were present from the second half of the 13th century. At this time, Sweden consisted of most of what is today the southern part of the country (except for Scania, Blekinge, Halland and Bohuslän), as well as parts of modern Finland. Over the following centuries, Swedish influence would expand into the North and East.

In the late 14th century Sweden, Denmark and Norway were united in the Kalmar Union. During the following century, a series of rebellions lessened Sweden's ties to the union, sometimes even leading to the election of a separate Swedish king. The fighting reached a climax following the Stockholm Bloodbath in 1520, a mass execution of accused heretics orchestrated by Christian II of Denmark. One of the few members of the most powerful noble families not present, Gustav Vasa, was able to raise a new rebellion and eventually was crowned King in 1523. His reign proved lasting and marked the end of Sweden's participation in the Kalmar Union. Gustav Vasa furthermore encouraged Protestant preachers, finally breaking with the papacy and establishing the Lutheran Church in Sweden, seizing Catholic Church property and wealth.

During the 17th century, after winning wars against Denmark-Norway, Russia, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sweden emerged as a great power by taking direct control of the Baltic region. Sweden's role in the Thirty Years' War determined the political and religious balance of power in Europe. The Swedish Empire expanded enormously into the modern Estonia and Latvia, northern Germany, and several regions that to this day are part of Sweden.

Before the end of the 17th century, a secret alliance was formed between Denmark-Norway, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Russia against Sweden. This coalition acted at the start of the 18th century when Denmark-Norway and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth launched surprise attacks on Sweden. In 1721, Russia and its allies won the war against Sweden. As a result, Russia was able to annex the Swedish territories of Estonia, Livonia, Ingria, and Karelia. This effectively put an end to the Swedish Empire, and crippled her Baltic Sea power. Sweden joined in the Enlightenment culture of the day in the arts, architecture, science, and learning. Between 1570 and 1800, Sweden experienced two periods of urban expansion. Finland was lost to Russia in a war in 1808–1809.

In the early 19th century, Finland and the remaining territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were lost. Sweden's last war was the Swedish–Norwegian War (1814). Sweden was victorious in this war, leading to the Danish king being forced to cede Norway to Sweden. Norway was then forced to enter into a personal union with Sweden that lasted until 1905. Since 1814, Sweden has been at peace, adopting a non-aligned foreign policy in peacetime and neutrality in wartime. During World War I, Sweden remained neutral, but let the Germans travel in the country. Post-war prosperity provided the foundations for the social welfare policies characteristic of modern Sweden. During World War II, Sweden once again remained neutral, avoiding the fate of occupied Norway.

The country attempted to stay out of alliances and remain officially neutral during the entire Cold War, and declined to join NATO. The social democratic party held government for 44 years (1932–1976). The 1976 parliamentary elections brought a liberal/right-wing coalition to power. During the Cold War, Sweden remained neutral. The neutrality policy was dropped in 2022, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Sweden formally became a member of NATO in March 2024.

Prehistoric Sweden before AD 800
Sweden has a large number of petroglyphs (hällristningar in Swedish), with the highest concentration in the province of Bohuslän and the northern part of the county of Kalmar, also called "Tjust". The earliest images can be found in the province of Jämtland, dating from 5000 BC. They depict wild animals such as elk, reindeer, bears and seals. 2300–500 BC was the most intensive carving period, with carvings of agriculture, warfare, ships, domesticated animals, etc. Petroglyphs with themes have also been found in Bohuslän, dating from 800 to 500 BC.

Viking Period and Middle Ages: 800–1500

For centuries, the Swedes were merchant seamen well known for their far-reaching trade. During the 11th and 12th centuries, Sweden gradually became a unified Christian kingdom that later included Finland. Until 1060, the kings of Uppsala ruled most of modern Sweden except for the southern and western coastal regions, which remained under Danish rule until the 17th century. After a century of civil wars, a new royal family emerged, which strengthened the power of the crown at the expense of the nobility, while giving the nobles privileges such as exemption from taxation in exchange for military service. Sweden never had a fully developed feudal system, and its peasants were never reduced to serfdom. The Vikings from Sweden partly took part in the raids of the Western and Southern regions of Europe, but mainly traveled east to Russia, Constantinople and the Muslim world (Serkland). The large Russian mainland and its many navigable rivers offered good prospects for merchandise and plundering. During the 9th century, extensive Scandinavian settlements began on the east side of the Baltic Sea.

The conversion from Norse paganism to Christianity was a complex, gradual, and at times violent (see Temple at Uppsala) process. The main early source of religious influence was England, due to interactions between Scandinavians and Saxons in the Danelaw, and with Irish missionary monks. German influence was less obvious in the beginning, despite an early missionary attempt by Ansgar, but gradually emerged as the dominant religious force in the area, especially after the Norman conquest of England. Despite the close relations between Swedish and Russian aristocracy (see also Rus'), there is no direct evidence of Orthodox influence.

Around the year 1000, Olof Skötkonung became the first known king to rule both Svealand and Götaland. Historical details about early medieval kings are obscure, and even the dates of their reigning periods remain unclear. In the 12th century, Sweden was still undergoing dynastic struggles between the Erik and Sverker clans. Svealand and the Swedes were usually more supportive of the Erik dynasty and Götaland and Geats more supportive of the Sverker dynasty, which wanted friendlier relations with Denmark. This further divided the country between parties because the ruler was not clear. The country elected their king from each district by selecting 12 people from the local nobles, who then elected the king at the Stones of Mora. The divide ended when a third clan married into the Erik clan and founded the Bjelbo dynasty. This dynasty gradually consolidated Sweden to a strong state. In 1319, Sweden and Norway were united under King Magnus, who was a son of Eric, Duke of Södermanland (son of Magnus III of Sweden) and Ingeborg (a daughter of Haakon V of Norway). On 21 July 1336, Magnus was crowned king of Norway and Sweden in Stockholm.

In 1332 the king of Denmark, Christopher II, died as a "king without a country" after he and his older brother and predecessor had divided Denmark into smaller polities. King Magnus took advantage of his neighbours' weakness, purchasing lands for the eastern Danish provinces for 6500 kg of silver, which included Scania.

During the early Middle Ages, the Swedish kingdom also expanded to control Norrland and Finland. This expansion sparked tension with the Russian states, a tension that was to continue throughout Swedish history.

After the Black Death and internal power struggles in Sweden, Queen Margaret I of Denmark (the former daughter-in-law of King Magnus IV of Sweden) united the Nordic countries in the Union of Kalmar in 1397, with the approval of the Swedish nobility.

Early Modern Sweden: 1523–1611
In the 16th century, Gustav Vasa (1496-1560) fought for an independent Sweden, crushing an attempt to restore the Union of Kalmar and laying the foundation for modern Sweden. At the same time, he broke with the papacy and established the 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 the Danish King Christian II, but he was overthrown by 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.

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 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).

Rise as a Great Power
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the kings demanded ever increasing taxes and military conscription, emphasizing the need for defense. However the money and manpower were used for offensive warfare. Indeed, when there seemed to be a real threat of invasion in 1655–1660, King Charles X Gustav asked the people to give more and to manage their own defences. Finally a balance was reached that provided a well supplied aggressive foreign policy. During the 17th century, after winning wars against Denmark, Russia, and Poland, Sweden (with scarcely more than 1 million inhabitants) emerged as a great power by taking direct control of the Baltic region, which was Europe's main source of grain, iron, copper, timber, tar, hemp, and furs.

Sweden had first gained a foothold on territory outside its traditional provinces in 1561, when Estonia opted for vassalage to Sweden during the Livonian War. While, in 1590, Sweden had to cede Ingria and Kexholm to Russia, and Sigismund tried to incorporate Swedish Estonia into the Duchy of Livonia, Sweden gradually expanded at the eastern Baltic during the following years. In a series of Polish–Swedish War (1600–1629) and the Russo-Swedish Ingrian War, Gustavus Adolphus retook Ingria and Kexholm (formally ceded in the Treaty of Stolbovo, 1617) as well as the bulk of Livonia (formally ceded in the Treaty of Altmark, 1629). Sweden's role in the Thirty Years' War determined the political as well as the religious balance of power in Europe. From bridgeheads in Stralsund (1628) and Pomerania (1630), the Swedish army advanced to the south of the Holy Roman Empire, and in a side theater of the war deprived Denmark–Norway of Danish Estonia, Jämtland, Gotland, Halland, Härjedalen, Idre and Särna, became exempt from the Sound Dues, and established claims to Bremen-Verden, all of which was formalized in the Treaty of Brömsebro (1645). In 1648, Sweden became a guarantor power for the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years' War and left her with the additional dominions of Bremen-Verden, Wismar and Swedish Pomerania. From 1638 Sweden also held the colony of New Sweden, along the Delaware River in North America.

Sweden as a Great Power 1648–1721
In 1655, in the Second Northern War, Charles X Gustav of Sweden invaded and occupied western Poland–Lithuania, the eastern half of which was already occupied by Russia. The rapid Swedish advance became known in Poland as the Swedish Deluge. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania became a Swedish fief, the Polish–Lithuanian regular armies surrendered and the Polish King John II Casimir Vasa fled to the Habsburgs. The Deluge lasted for five years and took a great toll on Poland and Lithuania, with some historians crediting this invasion as the start of the downfall of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The country was devastated, treasures stolen, and insurmountable loss of lives occurred.

Sweden was able to establish control of the Eastern bank of the Sound, formalised in the Treaty of Roskilde (1658), and gain recognition of her southeastern dominions by the European great powers in the Treaty of Oliva (1660); but Sweden was barred from further expansion at the Southern coast of the Baltic. Sweden came out of the Scanian War with only minor losses largely due to France forcing Sweden's adversaries into the treaties of Fontainebleau (1679) (confirmed at Lund) and Saint-Germain (1679).

The following period of peace allowed Charles XI of Sweden to reform and stabilise the realm. He consolidated the finances of the Crown by the great reduction of 1680; further changes were made in finance, commerce, national maritime and land armaments, judicial procedure, church government and education.

The Great Northern War: 1700
Russia, Saxony–Poland, and Denmark–Norway pooled their power in 1700 and attacked the Swedish Empire. Although the young Swedish King Charles XII (1682–1718; reigned 1697–1718) won spectacular victories in the early years of the Great Northern War, most notably in the stunning success against the Russians at the Battle of Narva (1700), his plan to attack Moscow and force Russia into peace proved too ambitious. The Russians won decisively at the Battle of Poltava in June 1709, capturing much of the exhausted Swedish army. Charles XII and the remnants of his army were cut off from Sweden and fled south into Ottoman territory, where he remained three years. He overstayed his welcome, refusing to leave until the Ottoman Empire joined him in a new war against Tsar Peter I of Russia. He established a powerful political network in Constantinople, which included even the mother of the sultan. Charles's persistence worked, as Peter's army was checked by Ottoman troops. However, Turkish failure to pursue the victory enraged Charles and from that moment his relations with the Ottoman administration soured. During the same period, the behavior of his troops worsened and turned disastrous. Lack of discipline and contempt for the locals soon created an unbearable situation in Moldavia. The Swedish soldiers behaved badly, destroying, stealing, raping, and killing. Meanwhile, back in the north, Sweden was invaded by its enemies; Charles returned home in 1714, too late to restore his lost empire and impoverished homeland; he died in 1718. In the subsequent peace treaties, the allied powers, joined by Russia and Great Britain-Hanover, ended Sweden's reign as a great power. Russia now dominated the north. The war-weary Riksdag asserted new powers and reduced the crown to a constitutional monarchy, with power held by a civilian government controlled by the Riksdag. A new "Age of Freedom" opened, and the economy was rebuilt, supported by large exports of iron and lumber to Britain. The Riksdag developed into an active parliament. This tradition continued into the nineteenth century, laying the basis for the transition towards a modern democracy.

The reign of Charles XII (1697–1718) has stirred up great controversy. Historians have puzzled over why this military genius overreached and greatly weakened Sweden. Although most early-19th-century historians tended to follow Voltaire's lead in bestowing extravagant praise on the warrior-king, others have criticised him as a fanatic, a bully, and a bloodthirsty warmonger. A more balanced view suggests a highly capable military ruler whose oft-reviled peculiarities seemed to have served him well, but who neglected his base in Sweden in pursuit of foreign adventure. Slow to learn the limits of Sweden's diminished strength, a party of nobles, who called themselves the "Hats", dreamed of revenge on Russia and ruled the country from 1739 to 1765; they engaged in wars in 1741, 1757, Russian influence grew in Sweden after the war in 1741 which greatly affected politics in the Swedish realm (though much of this influence was lost in 1790 as a result of the Russo-Swedish war of 1788–1790).

Enlightenment
Sweden joined in the Enlightenment culture of the day in the arts, architecture, science, and learning. A new law in 1766 established for the first time the principle of freedom of the press, a notable step towards liberty of political opinion. The Academy of Science was founded in 1739 and the Academy of Letters, History, and Antiquities in 1753. The outstanding cultural leader was Carl Linnaeus (1707–78), whose work in biology and ethnography had a major impact on European science.

Following half a century of parliamentary domination came the reaction from the monarchy. King Gustav III (1746–1792) came to the throne in 1771, and in 1772 led a coup d'état, with French support, that established him as an "enlightened despot", who ruled at will. The Age of Freedom and party politics was over. Precocious and well-educated, he became a patron of the arts and music. His edicts reformed the bureaucracy, repaired the currency, expanded trade, and improved defense. The population had reached two million and the country was prosperous, although rampant alcoholism was a growing social problem. Gustav III weakened the nobility and promoted numerous major social reforms. He felt the Swedish monarchy could survive and flourish by achieving a coalition with the newly emerged middle classes against the nobility. He personally disliked the French Revolution but decided to promote additional anti-feudal reforms to strengthen his hand among the middle classes.

After Gustav made war on Russia and did poorly, he was assassinated by a conspiracy of nobles who were angry that he tried to restrict their privileges for the benefit of the peasants. Under the successor, King Gustav IV, Sweden joined various coalitions against Napoleon but was badly defeated and lost much of its territory, especially Finland and Pomerania. The king was overthrown by the army, which in 1810 decided to bring in one of Napoleon's marshals, Jean Bernadotte, as the heir apparent.

Colonies and slavery
Sweden experimented briefly with overseas colonies, including "New Sweden" in Colonial America and the "Swedish Gold Coast" in present-day Ghana, which began in the 1630s. Sweden purchased the small Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy from France in 1784, then sold it back in 1878; the population had included slaves until they were freed by the Swedish government in 1847.

Early urbanisation
Between 1570 and 1800, Sweden experienced two periods of urban expansion, c. 1580–1690 and in the mid-18th century, separated by relative stagnation from the 1690s to about 1720. The initial phase was the more active, including an increase in the percentage of urban dwellers in Stockholm – a pattern comparable to increasing urban populations in other European capital and port cities – as well as the foundation of a number of small new towns. The second period of urban growth began around 1750 in response to shifts in Swedish trade patterns from the Baltic to the North Atlantic. It was characterised by increasing populations in the small towns of the north and west.

Loss of Finland: 1809
Finland was lost to Russia in a war that lasted from February 1808 to September 1809. As a result of the peace agreement, Finland became a Grand Duchy and thus was officially ruled by the Tsar of Russia though it was not strictly part of Russia. Humanitarian aid from England did not succeed in preventing Sweden from adopting more Napoleon-friendly policies after the Swedish coup d'état in 1809.

Union with Norway: 1814
In 1810, French Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, one of Napoleon's top generals, was elected as Charles XIV John of Sweden (1818–44) by the Riksdag. He had a Jacobin background and was well-grounded in revolutionary principles, but put Sweden in the coalition that opposed Napoleon. In 1813, his forces joined the allies against Napoleon and defeated the Danes at Bornhöved. In the Treaty of Kiel, Denmark ceded mainland Norway to the Swedish king. Norway, however, declared its independence, adopted a constitution and chose a new king. Sweden invaded Norway to enforce the terms of the Kiel treaty in the last war Sweden has fought. After brief fighting, the peace established a personal union between the two states. Even though they shared the same king, Norway was largely independent of Sweden, except Sweden controlled foreign affairs. The king's rule was not well received and when Sweden refused to allow Norway to have its own diplomats, Norway rejected the King of Sweden in 1905 and selected its own king.

During Charles XIV's reign, the first stage of the Industrial Revolution reached Sweden. This first take-off was founded on rural forges, textile proto-industries and sawmills.

The popularity of Charles XIV decreased for a time in the 1830s, culminating in the Rabulist riots in 1838 after the Lèse-majesté conviction of the journalist Magnus Jacob Crusenstolpe, and some calls for his abdication.

The 19th century was marked by the emergence of a liberal opposition press, the abolition of guild monopolies in trade and manufacturing in favor of free enterprise, the introduction of taxation and voting reforms, the installation of a national military service, and the rise in the electorate of three major party groups: the Social Democratic Party, the Liberal Party, and the Conservative Party.

Modernization of Sweden: 1860–1910

Sweden, much like Japan at the same time, transformed from a stagnant rural society to a vibrant industrial society between the 1860s and 1910. The agricultural economy shifted gradually from a communal village to a more efficient private farm-based agriculture. There was less need for manual labor on the farm so many went to the cities and a million Swedes emigrated to the United States between 1850 and 1890. Many returned and brought word of the higher productivity of American industry, this stimulating faster modernization.

In 1873, Sweden and Denmark formed the Scandinavian Monetary Union.

The late 19th century saw the emergence of an opposition press, the abolition of guild monopolies on craftsmen and the reform of taxation. Two years of military service was made compulsory for young men although there was no warfare.

Health
The steady decline of death rates in Sweden began about 1810. For men and women of working age, the death rate trend diverged, however, leading to increased excess male mortality during the first half of the century. There were very high rates of infant and child mortality before 1800. Among infants and children between the ages of one and four, smallpox peaked as a cause of death in the 1770–1780s and declined afterward. Mortality also peaked during this period due to other air-, food-, and waterborne diseases, but these declined as well during the early 19th century. The decline of several diseases during this time created a more favorable environment that increased children's resistance to disease and dramatically lowered child mortality.

The introduction of compulsory gymnastics in Swedish schools in 1880 rested partly on a long tradition, from Renaissance humanism to the Enlightenment, of the importance of physical as well as intellectual training. More immediately, the promotion of gymnastics as a scientifically sound form of physical discipline coincided with the introduction of conscription, which gave the state a strong interest in educating children physically as well as mentally for the role of citizen soldiers. Skiing is a major recreation in Sweden and its ideological, functional, ecological, and social impact has been great on Swedish nationalism and consciousness. Swedes perceived skiing as virtuous, masculine, heroic, in harmony with nature, and part of the country's culture. A growing awareness of strong national sentiments and an appreciation of natural resources led to the creation of the Swedish Ski Association in 1892 in order to combine nature, leisure, and nationalism. The organization focused its efforts on patriotic, militaristic, heroic, and environmental Swedish traditions as they relate to ski sports and outdoor life.

20th century
With a broader voting franchise, the nation saw the emergence of three major party groups – Social Democrat, Liberal, and Conservative. The parties debated further expansion of the voting franchise. The Liberal Party, based on the middle class, put forth in 1907 a program for local voting rights later accepted in the Riksdag. The majority of Liberals wanted to require some property ownership before a man could vote, while the Social Democrats called for total male suffrage without property limitations. The strong farmer representation in the Second Chamber of the Riksdag maintained a conservative view, but their decline after 1900 gradually ended opposition to full suffrage.

Religion maintained a major role but public school religious education changed from the drill in the Lutheran catechism to biblical-ethical studies.

Sweden in World War I
Sweden was neutral in World War I, although the Swedish government was sympathetic to both sides at different times during the conflict, even briefly occupying the Åland islands jointly with the Germans. At first, the Swedish government flirted with the possibility of changing their neutral stance to side with the Central Powers, and made concessions to them including mining the Öresund straits to close them to Allied warships wishing to enter the Baltic. Later the Swedish signed agreements allowing trade with the Allied powers and limiting trade with Central Powers, though this brought about the fall of the government of Hjalmar Hammarskjöld.

Industrialization: 1910–1939
During the First World War and the 1920s, its industries expanded to meet the European demand for Swedish steel, ball bearings, wood pulp, and matches. Post-war prosperity provided the foundations for the social welfare policies characteristic of modern Sweden.

Welfare state
Sweden created a successful model of social democracy because of the unique way in which Sweden's labor leaders, politicians, and classes cooperated during the early development of Swedish democracy. Sweden's socialist leaders chose a moderate, reformist political course with broad-based public support. This helped Sweden avoid the severe extremist challenges and political and class divisions that plagued many European countries that attempted to develop social democratic systems after 1911. By dealing early, cooperatively, and effectively with the challenges of industrialization and its impact on Swedish social, political, and economic structures, Swedish social democrats were able to create one of the most successful social democratic systems in the world, including both a welfare state and extensive protections of civil liberties.

When the Social Democratic Party came into power in 1932, its leaders introduced a new political decision-making process, which later became known as "the Swedish model" or the Folkhemmet (The People's Home). The party took a central role, but tried as far as possible to base its policy on mutual understanding and compromise. Different interest groups were always involved in official committees that preceded government decisions.

Foreign policy 1920–1939
Foreign policy concerns in the 1930s centered on Soviet and German expansionism, which pursuing abortive efforts at Nordic defense co-operation.

Sweden during World War II

Sweden followed a policy of armed neutrality during World War II, although thousands of Swedish volunteers fought in the Winter War with Finland against the Soviets. Sweden did permit German troops to pass through its territory to and from occupation duties in Norway, and supplied the Nazi regime with steel and ball-bearings.

The dominant historiography for decades after the war ignored the Holocaust and used what it called the "small state realist" argument. It held that that neutrality and co-operation with Germany were necessary for survival since Germany was vastly more powerful, concessions were limited and were only made when the threat was too great. Neutrality was bent but not broken; national unity was paramount; and in any case, Sweden had the neutral right to trade with Germany. Germany needed Swedish iron, and Sweden had nothing to gain and much to lose from an invasion. The nation was run by a national unity government, which included all major parties in the Riksdag except the communist party. Its key leaders included Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson, King Gustav V, and Foreign Minister Christian Günther.

Humanitarian aid to Jews facing the Holocaust was the mission of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. As the secretary of the 1944 Swedish delegation to Hungary, to co-ordinate humanitarian relief for the Jews of Europe during the Jewish Holocaust. He helped to rescue tens of thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary in late 1944. He disappeared in January 1945, and probably died in a Soviet prison in 1947.

Post-war Sweden
Sweden was one of the first non-participants of World War II to join the United Nations (in 1946). Apart from this, the country tried to stay out of alliances and remained officially neutral during the entire Cold War, never joining NATO.

The social democratic party held government for 44 years (1932–1976). They spent much of the 1950s and 1960s building Folkhemmet (The People's Home), the Swedish welfare state. Sweden's industry had not been damaged by the war and it was in a position to help re-build Northern Europe in the decades following 1945. This led to an economic upswing in the post-war era that made the welfare system feasible. However, by the 1970s, the economies of the rest of Western Europe were prosperous and growing rapidly, while the Swedish economy stagnated. Many economists blamed its large tax funded public sector.

In 1976, the social democrats lost their majority. The 1976 parliamentary elections brought a liberal/right-wing coalition to power. Over the next six years, four governments ruled and fell, composed by all or some of the parties that had won in 1976. The fourth liberal government in these years came under fire by Social Democrats and trade unions and the Moderate Party, culminating in the Social Democrats regaining power in 1982.

During the Cold War Sweden maintained a dual approach, publicly the strict neutrality policy was forcefully maintained, but unofficially strong ties were kept with the U.S., Norway, Denmark, West Germany, and other NATO countries. Swedes hoped that the U.S. would use conventional and nuclear weapons in case of a Soviet attack on Sweden. A strong ability to defend against an amphibious invasion was maintained, complete with Swedish-built warplanes, but there was no long-range bombing capability.

In the early 1960s, U.S. nuclear submarines armed with mid-range Polaris A-1 nuclear missiles were deployed not far from the Swedish west coast. Range and safety considerations made this a good area from which to launch a retaliatory nuclear strike on Moscow. The U.S. secretly provided Sweden with a military security guarantee, promising to provide military force in aid of Sweden in case of Soviet aggression. As part of the military cooperation, the U.S. provided much help in the development of the Saab 37 Viggen, as a strong Swedish air force was seen as necessary to keep Soviet anti-submarine aircraft from operating in the missile launch area. In return, Swedish scientists at the Royal Institute of Technology made considerable contributions to enhancing the targeting performance of the Polaris missiles.

On 28 February 1986, the Social Democratic leader Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated. The murderer was never found. Shocked Swedes worried whether the nation had lost its innocence.

On 28 September 1994, the MS Estonia sank as the ship was crossing the Baltic Sea, en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Stockholm, Sweden. The disaster claimed the lives of 852 people (501 of them were Swedes ), being one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century.

In 1995, a few years after the end of the Cold War, Sweden became a member of the European Union and the old term "policy of neutrality" fell out of use. In a referendum held in 2003, the majority voted not to adopt the Euro as the country's official currency. Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was murdered just before the referendum.

During the 1980s, Sweden attempted to preserve its model of capitalism plus a generous welfare state through what it called a "bridging policy." Unintended consequences became apparent in the 1990s. There was an economic crisis with high unemployment and several banks and companies going bankrupt. There was high inflation as well as overheated real estate and financial markets and a negative real rate of interest. After 1991, these factors caused a recession with high unemployment. There were political reverberations and businesses called for neoliberal government policies. By 2000, however, the positive trends dominated. Compared to the rest of Europe, unemployment in Sweden was low, while economic growth has been high, inflation low, the budget in balance, and the balance of payments positive.

Foreign policy
The foreign policy of Sweden encompasses a range of themes over the centuries. Some of the main issues include:

 * Sweden has historically pursued a policy of neutrality, aiming to avoid involvement in conflicts between major powers. This neutrality allowed Sweden to navigate the tumultuous European political landscape and maintain its sovereignty. It dropped the neutrality policy in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and joined NATO in 2024. On 7 March 2024, Sweden became NATO’s 32nd member country.
 * Sweden has sought to maintain a balance of power in Northern Europe, acting as a counterweight to dominant regional powers. This approach aimed to prevent any single power from gaining excessive influence and threatening Swedish interests.
 * Sweden's historical dominance in the Baltic Sea region played a crucial role in shaping its diplomatic history. Through territorial expansion, Sweden established control over strategic territories, such as present-day Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and parts of Russia, impacting its relations with neighboring states.
 * During the 17th and 18th centuries, Sweden emerged as a major European power, participating in conflicts such as the Thirty Years' War and the Great Northern War. Its diplomatic efforts were often influenced by power struggles with other European great powers, such as Russia and Poland.
 * Sweden has actively engaged in peace mediation efforts, seeking to resolve conflicts and broker peace agreements. Notable examples include the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which ended the Thirty Years' War, and various mediation efforts during the 20th century.
 * Sweden has a longstanding tradition of promoting international cooperation, human rights, and humanitarian initiatives. It has been involved in the establishment of international organizations such as the League of Nations and the United Nations, and has championed causes such as humanitarian aid and disarmament.
 * Sweden has pursued close ties and cooperation with its neighboring Nordic countries, particularly Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway. This commitment to Scandinavian unity has been reflected in diplomatic initiatives, trade agreements, and cultural exchanges.
 * Sweden's relationship with the European Union (EU) has been a significant theme in its recent diplomatic history. While Sweden joined the EU in 1995, it has maintained a somewhat reserved approach, often balancing its national interests with EU membership.
 * Sweden has been an advocate for global development and has provided substantial aid to developing countries. It has sought to address global inequalities and promote sustainable development through its aid programs, often challenging neocolonial practices.
 * In the 21st century, Sweden has gained attention for its feminist foreign policy approach, which aims to integrate gender equality into its diplomatic efforts. Sweden has been a leading advocate for women's rights globally, emphasizing the inclusion and empowerment of women in peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and development processes.

Historiography
According to Lönnroth (1998) in the 19th century and early 20th century, Swedish historians saw their writing in terms of literature and storytelling, rather than analysis and interpretation. Harald Hjärne (1848–1922) pioneered modern historical scholarship. In 1876, he attacked the traditional myths of the social and legal conditions of ancient Greece and Rome inherited from the classical authors. He was inspired by German scholar Barthold Georg Niebuhr (1776–1831), a founder of modern German historiography. As a professor of history at Uppsala University, Hjärne became a spokesman for the Conservative Party and the Swedish monarchy by 1900. Hjärne had an enormous influence on his students and, indeed, on an entire generation of historians, who mostly became political conservatives and nationalists. Another movement emerged at Lund University around 1910, where critical scholars began using the source critics' methods to the early history of Scandinavia. The brothers Lauritz Weibull and Curt Weibull were the leaders, and they had followers at Lund and Göteborg universities. The result was a half-century of often embittered controversy between traditionalists and revisionists that lasted until 1960. There was a blurring of the ideological fronts resulting from experiences during and after World War II. In the meantime, in the general expansion of university education in the postwar period, history was generally neglected. Only through the activities of the National Research Council of the Humanities and the dedicated efforts of certain ambitious university professors created some expansion of historical scholarship. After 1990, there were signs of revival in historiography, with a strong new emphasis on 20th-century topics, as well as the application of social history and computerized statistical techniques to the demographic history of ordinary villagers before 1900.

According to Lars Magnusson, social history is a specialty inside economic history. Three major themes are the standard of living by strata during industrialization; the history of work; and social issues in preindustrial society and the transition to industrialism.

Surveys

 * Andersson, Ingvar. A History of Sweden (1956) online edition.
 * Derry, Thomas Kingston. A History of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. (1979). 447 pp.
 * Grimberg, Carl. A History of Sweden (1935) online.
 * Heckscher, Eli F. An economic history of Sweden (1963) online
 * Kent, Neil. A Concise History of Sweden (2008), 314 pp. excerpt and text search.
 * Lagerqvist, Christopher, Reformer och Revolutioner. En kort introduktion till Sveriges ekonomiska historia, 1750–2010 (Lund 2013).
 * Magnusson, Lars. An Economic History of Sweden (2000) online edition.
 * Moberg, Vilhelm, and Paul Britten Austin. A History of the Swedish People: Volume 1: From Prehistory to the Renaissance, (2005); A History of the Swedish People: Volume II: From Renaissance to Revolution (2005).
 * Nordstrom, Byron J. The History of Sweden (2002) excerpt and text search; also full text online
 * Scott, Franklin D. Sweden: The Nation's History (1988), survey by leading scholar; excerpt and text search.
 * Sprague, Martina. Sweden: An Illustrated History (2005) excerpt and text search.
 * Warme, Lars G., ed. A History of Swedish Literature. (1996). 585 pp.

Pre-1700

 * Forte, Angelo. Oram, Richard. Pedersen, Frederik. Viking Empires (2005).
 * Hudson, Benjamin. Viking Pirates and Christian Princes: Dynasty, Religion, and Empire in North America (2005).
 * Moberg, Vilhelm, and Paul Britten Austin. A History of the Swedish People: Volume 1: From Prehistory to the Renaissance (2005) online
 * Österberg, Eva. Mentalities and Other Realities: Essays in Medieval and Early Modern Scandinavian History. Lund U. Press, 1991. 207 pp.
 * Österberg, Eva and Lindström, Dag. Crime and Social Control in Medieval and Early Modern Swedish Towns. (1988). 169 pp.
 * Porshnev, B. F. and Paul Dukes, eds. Muscovy and Sweden in the Thirty Years' War, 1630–1635. (1996). 256 pp.
 * Roberts, Michael. The Early Vasas: A History of Sweden 1523–1611 (1968).
 * Roberts, Michael. From Oxenstierna to Charles XII. Four Studies. (1991). 203 pp.
 * Roberts, Michael. The Swedish Imperial Experience, 1560–1718. (1979). 156 pp.
 * Thunberg, Carl L. Särkland och dess källmaterial (2011).

Since 1700

 * Barton, H. Arnold. Scandinavia in the Revolutionary Era, 1760–1815 (1986).
 * Barton, Sunbar P. Bernadotte: Prince and King, 1810–1844 (1925), standard scholarly history.
 * Chatterton, Mark. Saab: The Innovator. (1980). 160 pp.
 * Frängsmyr, Tore, ed. Science in Sweden: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 1739–1989. (1989). 291 pp.
 * Fry, John A., ed. Limits of the Welfare State: Critical Views on Post-War Sweden. (1979). 234 pp.
 * Gustavson, Carl G. The Small Giant: Sweden Enters the Industrial Era. (1986). 364 pp.
 * Hodgson, Antony. Scandinavian Music: Finland and Sweden. (1985). 224 pp.
 * Hoppe, Göran and Langton, John. Peasantry to Capitalism: Western Östergötland in the Nineteenth Century. (1995). 457 pp.
 * Janson, Florence Edith. The background of Swedish immigration, 1840–1930 (1931; reprinted 1970), Push factors in Sweden causing migration to USA online.
 * Jonas, Frank. Scandinavia and the Great Powers in the First World War (2019) online review.
 * Lagerqvist, Christopher, Reformer och Revolutioner. En kort introduktion until Sveriges ekonomiska historia, 1750–2010 (Lund 2013).
 * Lewin, Leif. Ideology and Strategy: A Century of Swedish Politics. (1988). 344 pp.
 * Metcalf, Michael F., ed. The Riksdag: A History of the Swedish Parliament. (1987). 347 pp.
 * Misgeld, Klaus; Molin, Karl; and Amark, Klas. Creating Social Democracy: A Century of the Social Democratic Labor Party in Sweden. (1993). 500 pp.
 * Moberg, Vilhelm, and Paul Britten Austin. A History of the Swedish People: Volume II: From Renaissance to Revolution (2005).
 * Olsen, Gregg M. "Half Empty or Half Full? the Swedish Welfare State in Transition." Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology. v. 16 #2 (1999) pp. 241+ online edition.
 * Olson, Kenneth E. The history makers: The press of Europe from its beginnings through 1965 (LSU Press, 1966) pp. 33–49.
 * Palmer, Alan. Bernadotte: Napoleon's Marshal, Sweden's King. (1991). 285 pp.
 * Pred, Allan. Lost Words and Lost Worlds: Modernity and the Language of Everyday Life in Late Nineteenth-Century Stockholm. (1990). 298 pp.
 * Pred, Allan Richard. Place, Practice and Structure: Social and Spatial Transformation in Southern Sweden, 1750–1850. (1986). 268 pp.
 * Roberts, Michael. The Age of Liberty: Sweden, 1719–1772. (1986). 233 pp. online.
 * Salmon, Patrick. Scandinavia and the great powers 1890-1940 Cambridge University Press, 2002) online.
 * Sejersted, Francis. The Age of Social Democracy: Norway and Sweden in the Twentieth Century (Princeton University Press; 2011); 543 pp; Traces the history of the Scandinavian social model as it developed after the separation of Norway and Sweden in 1905.
 * Söderberg, Johan et al. A Stagnating Metropolis: The Economy and Demography of Stockholm, 1750–1850. (1991). 234 pp.
 * Waldenström, Daniel. "The national wealth of Sweden, 1810–2014" Scandinavian Economic History Review 64#1 (2016) pp. 36–54..
 * Söderberg, Johan et al. A Stagnating Metropolis: The Economy and Demography of Stockholm, 1750–1850. (1991). 234 pp.
 * Waldenström, Daniel. "The national wealth of Sweden, 1810–2014" Scandinavian Economic History Review 64#1 (2016) pp. 36–54..

Historiography and memory

 * Hatton, Ragnhild. "Some notes on Swedish historiography." History 37.130 (1952): 97–113. online
 * Metcalf, Michael F. "The first 'modern' party system?: Political parties, Sweden's Age of liberty and the historians." Scandinavian Journal of History 2.1–4 (1977): 265–287.
 * Olsson, Ulf. "Fluctuat nec mergitur: Economic history in Sweden at the turn of the century 2000." Scandinavian Economic History Review 50.3 (2002): 68–82.
 * Söderberg, Johan. "Economic History in Sweden: Some Recent Research Trends "." NEHA Bulletin 9.1 (1995): 21–23.
 * Thomson, Erik. "Beyond the Military State: Sweden’s Great Power Period in Recent Historiography." History Compass' 9.4 (2011): 269–283. online.

title: History of Sweden


text:
History of the European Union

The European Union is a geo-political entity, created in 1993, covering a large portion of the European continent. It is founded upon numerous treaties and has undergone expansions and secessions that have taken it from six member states to 27, a majority of the states in Europe.

Since the beginning of the institutionalised modern European integration in 1948, the development of the European Union has been based on a supranational foundation that would "make war unthinkable and materially impossible" and reinforce democracy amongst its members as laid out by Robert Schuman and other leaders in the Schuman Declaration (1950) and the Europe Declaration (1951). This principle was at the heart of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) (1951), the Treaty of Paris (1951), and later the Treaty of Rome (1958) which established the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC). The Maastricht Treaty (1992) created the European Union with its pillars system, including foreign and home affairs alongside the European Communities. This in turn led to the creation of the single European currency, the euro (launched 1999). The ECSC expired in 2002. The Maastricht Treaty has been amended by the treaties of Amsterdam (1997), Nice (2001) and Lisbon (2007), the latter merging the three pillars into a single legal entity, though the EAEC has maintained a distinct legal identity despite sharing members and institutions.

Europe as a continent
The known world in Ancient Greece was differentiated into three landmasses: Asia, "Libya" (Africa) and Europe, giving rise to identifying the European landmass as a coherent area, a continent.

Roman Europes
The European landmass was populated and territorialized by many long before its conceptualization as a coherent continent. But the Roman Empire, an empire built on the Hellenistic world and Alexandrian Empire, Ancient Egypt, the Levant and North Africa, became the first state to control the whole Mediterranean Basin and also large parts, particularly the Southern and Western parts of the European landmass. This historic prominence in the Mediterranean Basin and Europe has been invoked by states that came after it, claiming succession to Roman authority and to legitimate their rule over lands throughout the former Roman eucomene, and therefore also in Europe, particularly in Western Europe, the lands of the later Western Roman Empire of latin Rome. The latter established Western Europe as a coherent and independent political area of Europe, which has taken sometimes prominence, as simply the West, over the concept of Europe. Similarly other concepts for Europe as a coherent political space have been used, such as for example Frangistan.

The claims for the succession of the control over the West, after the fall of Western Rome in 476 developed into the concept of translatio imperii ("transfer of rule") through the King of Italy, enabling claims by the Goths, Lombards, Frankish Empire (481/800–843) and Holy Roman Empire (800/962–1806). Furtherore, during and after the Roman Empire the concept renovatio imperii ("restoration of the empire") was employed, particularly in the forms of the religiously inspired Imperium Christianum ("christian empire"), and later the Reichsidee ("imperial idea"), to establish and sustain a coherent political region. As such the position and extent of influence of the Papacy over a range of European lands has been a force, while not exclusively European, capable of rallying European powers under a common Christian identity. That said, some European powers, such as France (after the installment of the Holy Roman Empire with East Francia) and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth challenged the Western Roman authority through the Western Schism and the Italian Wars, while England, the Dutch Republic, Prussia, the Swedish Empire and Denmark–Norway also challenged the Papal one with Protestant Reformation.

The Greek Eastern Rome, also called Byzantine Empire, remained long after the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire, sustaining a coherent political space also over large areas of Europe, particularly of (South-) Eastern Europe, or simply the East, giving rise to the other major particular Europe. With the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire in 1453, the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Tsardom, and ultimately the Empire (1547–1917), with Moscow as the so-called Third Rome, used claims of inheritance of the eastern Roman Empire to legitimate their rule over larger areas of Europe, though not exclusively.

Other Europes
But also other polities of Europe have established, independently from Rome and Byzantine, their European realms, such as a range of pre-Roman or pre-Christian Greek, Germanic, Celtic, Slavic and Hungarian powers, Khanates, or Al-Andalus and the Sicilian Emirate.

Ideas of European unity before 1948

Apart from the ideas of federation, confederation, or customs union such as Winston Churchill's 1946 call for a "United States of Europe", the original development of the European Union was based on a supranational foundation that would "make war unthinkable and materially impossible" A peaceful means of some consolidation of European territories used to be provided by dynastic unions; less common were country-level unions, such as the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In 15th century, King of Bohemia George of Poděbrady proposed the Treaty on the Establishment of Peace throughout Christendom which sought to end military conflict between Christian kingdoms of Europe. The treaty proposed a multilateral framework, including a peaceful dispute resolution process, but despite a vigorous promotional campaign, the proposal was ultimately unsuccessful. This effort has been occasionally noted as a first coherent proposal for a proto-European Union.

In the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1818, Tsar Alexander, as the most advanced internationalist of the day, suggested a kind of permanent European union and even proposed the maintenance of international military forces to provide recognised states with support against changes by violence.

Pan-European political thought truly emerged during the 19th century, inspired by the liberal ideas of the French and American Revolutions. The following Napoleonic Wars and First French Empire (1804–1815), brought down the Holy Roman Empire, enabled nationalism and following the Congress of Vienna, the ideals of internationalism like with Immanuel Kant and European unity flourished across the continent, especially in the writings of Wojciech Jastrzębowski (1799–1882) or Giuseppe Mazzini (1805–1872). The term United States of Europe (États-Unis d'Europe) was used at that time by Victor Hugo (1802–1885) during a speech at the International Peace Congress held in Paris in 1849:

"A day will come when all nations on our continent will form a European brotherhood ... A day will come when we shall see ... the United States of America and the United States of Europe face to face, reaching out for each other across the seas."

From World War I to World War II
During the interwar period, the consciousness that national markets in Europe were interdependent though confrontational, along with the observation of a larger and growing US market on the other side of the ocean, nourished the urge for the economic integration of the continent. In 1920, advocating the creation of a European economic union, the British economist John Maynard Keynes wrote that "a Free Trade Union should be established ... to impose no protectionist tariffs whatever against the produce of other members of the Union." During the same decade, the Austrian Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, in light of the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire, imagined as one of the first modern political unions of Europe, founded the Pan-Europa Movement. His ideas influenced his contemporaries, among whom was then-Prime Minister of France Aristide Briand. As French prime minister, Nobel Peace Prize laureate for the Locarno Treaties and follower of the Paneuropean Union Aristide Briand delivered a widely recognized speech at the League of Nations, the precursor of the United Nations, in Geneva on 5 September 1929 for a federal Europe to secure Europe and settle the historic Franco-German enmity.

World War II (1939-1945)

World War II from 1939 to 1945 demonstrated more than ever the horrors of war, but particularly also of extremism, of discrimination and of genocide. As with devastating wars before, there was a desire to ensure it could never happen again, particularly with the war bringing the world nuclear weapons. Most European countries failed to maintain their Great Power status, with the exception of the Soviet Union, which became a superpower after World War II and maintained that status for 45 years. This left two rival ideologically opposed superpowers.

With large scale war being waged in Europe once again in the 1930s and becoming World War II, the question of what to fight against and what for, had to be agreed on. A first agreement was the Declaration of St James's Palace of 1941, when Europe's resistance gathered in London. This was expanded on by the 1941 Atlantic Charter, establishing the Allies and their common goals, inciting a new wave of global international institutions like the United Nations (founded 1945) or the Bretton Woods System (1944).

During the 1943 Moscow Conference and Tehran Conference plans to establish joint institutions for a post-war world and Europe became increasingly an agenda. This led to a decision at the Yalta Conference in 1944 to form a European Advisory Commission, later replaced by the Council of Foreign Ministers and the Allied Control Council, following the German surrender and the Potsdam Agreement in 1945.

With war still raging, resistance movements formulated their vision of a post-war Europe, the Ventotene prison Manifesto of 1941 by Altiero Spinelli propagated European integration through the Italian Resistance and after 1943 through the Italian European Federalist Movement. In March 1943, in a radio address, the United Kingdom's leader Sir Winston Churchill spoke warmly of "restoring the true greatness of Europe" once victory had been achieved, and mused on the post-war creation of a "Council of Europe" which would bring the European nations together to build peace.

Aftermath (1945-1948)
By the end of the war European integration became seen as an antidote to the extreme nationalism which caused the war. On 19 September 1946 in a much recognized speech Winston Churchill reiterated his calls since 1930 for a "European Union" and "Council of Europe", at the University of Zürich. After leaving office, Churchill called as a civilian for a United States of Europe. Coincidentally parallel to his speech the Hertenstein Congress in the Lucerne Canton was being held, resulting in the Union of European Federalists, one of the then founded and later constituting members of the European Movement. Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, who successfully established during the interwar period the oldest organization for European integration, the Paneuropean Union, founded in June 1947 the European Parliamentary Union (EPU). To ensure Germany could never threaten the peace again, its heavy industry was partly dismantled (See: Allied plans for German industry after World War II) and its main coal-producing regions were either awarded to neighbouring countries (Silesia), managed as separate directly by an occupying power (Saarland) or put under international control (Ruhr area).

Though by 1947 a growing rift between the western Allied Powers and the Soviet Union became evident as a result of the rigged 1947 Polish legislative election which constituted an open breach of the Yalta Agreement, followed by the announcement of the Truman Doctrine on 12 March 1947. On 4 March 1947 France and the United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Dunkirk for mutual assistance in the event of future military aggression in the aftermath of World War II against any of the pair. The rationale for the treaty was the threat of a potential future military attack, specifically a Soviet one in practice, though publicised under the disguise of a German one, according to the official statements. Immediately following the February 1948 coup d'état by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, the London Six-Power Conference was held, resulting in the Soviet boycott of the Allied Control Council and its incapacitation, an event marking the beginning of the Cold War. The remainder of the year 1948 marked the beginning of the institutionalised modern European integration.

Initial years (1948–57)
With the start of the Cold War, the Treaty of Brussels was signed in 1948 establishing the Western Union (WU) as the first organisation, followed by the International Authority for the Ruhr. In the same year, the Organization for European Economic Co-operation, the predecessor of the OECD, was also founded to manage the Marshall Plan; the Eastern Bloc responded with establishing the Comecon.

A pivotal moment in European integration was the Hague Congress of May 1948, as it led to the creation of the European Movement International, the College of Europe and most importantly to the founding of the Council of Europe on the 5th of May 1949 (now known as Europe Day). The Council of Europe was the first institution to bring the sovereign nations of Western Europe together, raising great hopes and fevered debates in the following two years for further European integration. It has since been a broad forum to further cooperation and shared issues, achieving things like the 1950-signed European Convention on Human Rights.

Essential for the actual birth of the institutions of the EU was the 9th of May 1950 Schuman Declaration (on the day after the fifth Victory Day, today's Europe day – of the EU). On the basis of that speech, France, Italy, the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg) together with West Germany signed the Treaty of Paris (1951) creating the European Coal and Steel Community the following year; this took over the role of the International Authority for the Ruhr and lifted some restrictions on German industrial productivity. It gave birth to the first institutions, such as the High Authority (now the European Commission) and the Common Assembly (now the European Parliament). The first presidents of those institutions were Jean Monnet and Paul-Henri Spaak respectively. The founding fathers of the European Union understood that coal and steel were the two industries essential for waging war, and believed that by tying their national industries together, a future war between their nations became much less likely. Backed by the Marshall Plan with large funds coming from the United States since 1948, the ECSC became a milestone organization, enabling European economic development and integration and being the origin of the main institutions of the EU such as the European Commission and Parliament.

The formation of the European Coal and Steel Community was advanced by American Secretary of State George C. Marshall. His namesake plan to rebuild Europe in the wake of World War II contributed more than $100 billion in today's dollars to the Europeans, helping to feed Europeans, deliver steel to rebuild industries, provide coal to warm homes, and construct dams to help provide power. In doing so, the Marshall Plan encouraged the integration of European powers into the European Coal and Steel Community, the precursor to present-day European Union, by illustrating the effects of economic integration and the need for coordination. The potency of the Marshall Plan caused former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt to remark in 1997 that "America should not forget that the development of the European Union is one of its greatest achievements. Without the Marshall Plan it perhaps would never have come to that."

Paralleling Schuman, the Pleven Plan of 1951 tried, but failed to tie the institutions of the developing European community under the European Political Community, which was to include the also proposed European Defence Community, an alternative to West Germany joining NATO which was established 1949 under the Truman Doctrine. In 1954 the Western European Union was founded, after NATO took over competences from the WU, and West Germany joined. This prompted the Soviet Union to form the Warsaw Pact in 1955, allowing it to enforce its standing in Eastern Europe.

The attempt to turn the Saar protectorate into a "European territory" was rejected by a referendum in 1955. The Saar was to have been governed by a statute supervised by a European Commissioner reporting to the Council of Ministers of the Western European Union.

After the failed attempts at creating defence (European Defence Community) and political communities (European Political Community), leaders met at the Messina Conference and established the Spaak Committee which produced the Spaak report. The report was accepted at the Venice Conference (29 and 30 May 1956), which decided to organise an Intergovernmental Conference. The Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom focused on economic unity, leading to the Treaties of Rome being signed in 1957 - this established the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) among the members.

1958–1972: Three communities
The two new communities were created separately from ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The executives of the new communities were called Commissions, as opposed to the "High Authority". The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein (Hallstein Commission) and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand (Armand Commission) and then Étienne Hirsch. Euratom would integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union between members.

Throughout the 1960s tensions began to show with France seeking to limit supranational power and rejecting the membership of the United Kingdom. However, in 1965 an agreement was reached to merge the three communities under a single set of institutions, and hence the Merger Treaty was signed in Brussels and came into force on 1 July 1967 creating the European Communities. Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission (Rey Commission).

While the political progress of the Communities was hesitant in the 1960s, this was a fertile period for European legal integration. Many of the foundational legal doctrines of the Court of Justice were first established in landmark decisions during the 1960s and 1970s, above all in the Van Gend en Loos decision of 1963 that declared the "direct effect" of European law, that is to say, its enforceability before national courts by private parties. Other landmark decisions during this period included Costa v ENEL, which established the supremacy of European law over national law and the "Dairy Products" decision, which declared that general international law principles of reciprocity and retaliation were prohibited within the European Community. All three of these judgments were made after the appointment of French judge Robert Lecourt in 1962, and Lecourt appears to have become a dominant influence on the Court of Justice over the 1960s and 1970s.

1973–1993: Enlargement to Delors
After much negotiation, and following a change in the French Presidency, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom (with Gibraltar) eventually joined the European Communities on 1 January 1973. This was the first of several enlargements which became a major policy area of the Union (see: Enlargement of the European Union).

In 1979, the European Parliament held its first direct elections by universal suffrage. 410 members were elected, who then elected the first female President of the European Parliament, Simone Veil.

A further enlargement took place in 1981 with Greece joining on 1 January, six years after applying. In 1982, Greenland voted to leave the Community after gaining home rule from Denmark (See also: Special member state territories and the European Union). Spain and Portugal joined (having applied in 1977) on 1 January 1986 in the third enlargement.

Recently appointed Commission President Jacques Delors (Delors Commission) presided over the adoption of the European flag by the Communities in 1986. In the first major revision of the treaties since the Merger Treaty, leaders signed the Single European Act in February 1986. The text dealt with institutional reform, including extension of community powers – in particular in regarding foreign policy. It was a major component in completing the single market and came into force on 1 July 1987. In 1987 Turkey formally applied to join the Community and began the longest application process for any country. After the 1988 Polish strikes and the Polish Round Table Agreement, the first small signs of opening in Central Europe appeared. The opening of a border gate between Austria and Hungary at the Pan-European Picnic on August 19, 1989 then set in motion a peaceful chain reaction, at the end of which there was no longer a GDR and the Eastern Bloc had disintegrated. Otto von Habsburg and Imre Pozsgay saw the event as an opportunity to test Mikhail Gorbachev`s reaction to an opening of the Iron Curtain. In particular, it was examined whether Moscow would give the Soviet troops stationed in Hungary the command to intervene. But with the mass exodus at the Pan-European Picnic, the subsequent hesitant behavior of the Socialist Unity Party of East Germany and the non-intervention of the Soviet Union broke the dams. So the bracket of the Eastern Bloc was broken and as a result the Berlin Wall fell together with the whole Iron Curtain. Germany reunified and the door to enlargement to the former Eastern Bloc was opened (See also: Copenhagen Criteria).

With a wave of new enlargements on the way, the Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 which established the European Union when it came into force the following year.

1993–2004: Creation
On 1 November 1993, under the third Delors Commission, the Maastricht Treaty became effective, creating the European Union with its pillar system, including foreign and home affairs alongside the European Community. The 1994 European elections were held resulting in the Party of European Socialists maintaining their position as the largest party in Parliament. The Council proposed Jacques Santer as Commission President but he was seen as a second choice candidate, undermining his position. Parliament narrowly approved Santer but his commission gained greater support, being approved by 416 votes to 103. Santer had to use his new powers under Maastricht to flex greater control over his choice of Commissioners. They took office on 23 January 1995.

On 30 March 1994, accession negotiations concluded with Austria, Sweden and Finland. Meanwhile, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein joined the European Economic Area (which entered into force on 1 January 1994), an organisation that allowed European Free Trade Association states to enter the Single European Market. The following year, the Schengen Agreement came into force between seven members, expanding to include nearly all others by the end of 1996. The 1990s also saw the further development of the euro. 1 January 1994 saw the second stage of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union begin with the establishment of the European Monetary Institute and at the start of 1999 the euro as a currency was launched and the European Central Bank was established. On 1 January 2002, notes and coins were put into circulation, replacing the old currencies entirely.

During the 1990s, the conflicts in the Balkans gave impetus to developing the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The EU failed to react during the beginning of the conflict, and UN peacekeepers from the Netherlands failed to prevent the Srebrenica massacre (July 1995) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest mass murder in Europe since the Second World War. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) finally had to intervene in the war, forcing the combatants to the negotiation table. The early foreign policy experience of the EU led to foreign policy being emphasised in the Treaty of Amsterdam (which created the High Representative).

However, any success was overshadowed by the budget crisis in March 1999. The Parliament refused to approve the Commission's 1996 community's budget on grounds of financial mismanagement, fraud and nepotism. With Parliament ready to throw them out, the entire Santer Commission resigned. The post-Delors mood of euroscepticism became entrenched with the Council and Parliament constantly challenging the Commission's position in coming years.

In the following elections, the Socialists lost their decades-old majority to the new People's Party and the incoming Prodi Commission was quick to establish the new European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). Under the new powers of the Amsterdam Treaty, Prodi was described by some as the 'First Prime Minister of Europe'. On 4 June, Javier Solana was appointed Secretary General of the Council and the strengthened High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy admitted the intervention in Kosovo – Solana was also seen by some as Europe's first Foreign Minister. The Nice Treaty was signed on 26 February 2001 and entered into force on 1 February 2003 which made the final preparations before the 2004 enlargement to 10 new members.

2004–2007: The great enlargement and consolidation
On 10–13 June 2004, the 25 member states participated in the largest trans-national election in history (with the second largest democratic electorate in the world). The result of the sixth Parliamentary election was a second victory for the European People's Party-European Democrats group. It also saw the lowest voter turnout of 45.5%, the second time it had fallen below 50%. On 22 July 2004, José Manuel Barroso was approved by the new Parliament as the next Commission President. However, his new team of 25 Commissioners faced a tougher road. With Parliament raising objections to a number of his candidates he was forced to withdraw his selection and try once more. The Prodi Commission had to extend their mandate to 22 November after the new line-up of commissioners was finally approved.

A proposed constitutional treaty was signed by plenipotentiaries from EU member states on 28 October 2004. The document was ratified in most member states, including two positive referendums. The referendums that were held in France and the Netherlands failed however, killing off the treaty. The European Council agreed that the constitution proposal would be abandoned, but most of its changes would be retained in an amending treaty. On 13 December 2007 the treaty was signed, containing opt-outs for the more eurosceptic members and no state-like elements. The Lisbon treaty finally came into force on 1 December 2009. It created the post of President of the European Council and significantly expanded the post of High Representative. After much debate about what kind of person should be President, the European Council agreed on a low-key personality and chose Herman Van Rompuy while foreign policy-novice Catherine Ashton became High Representative.

The 2009 elections again saw a victory for the European People's Party, despite losing the British Conservatives who formed a smaller eurosceptic European Conservatives and Reformists grouping with other anti-federalist right wing parties. Parliament's presidency was once again divided between the People's Party and the Socialists, with Jerzy Buzek elected as the first President of the European Parliament from an ex-communist country. Barroso was nominated by the Council for a second term and received backing from EPP who had declared him as their candidate before the elections. However, the Socialists and Greens led the opposition against him despite not agreeing on an opposing candidate. Parliament finally approved Barroso II, though once more several months behind schedule.

In 2007, the fifth enlargement completed with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania on 1 January 2007. Also, in 2007 Slovenia adopted the euro, Malta and Cyprus in 2008 and Slovakia in 2009.

2008–2016: European crisis
However, trouble developed with existing members as the eurozone entered its first recession in 2008. Members cooperated and the ECB intervened to help restore economic growth and the euro was seen as a safe haven, particularly by those outside such as Iceland. With the risk of a default in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and other members in late 2009–10, eurozone leaders agreed to provisions for loans to member states who could not raise funds. Accusations that this was a U-turn on the EU treaties, which rule out any bail out of a euro member in order to encourage them to manage their finances better, were countered by the argument that these were loans, not grants, and that neither the EU nor other Member States assumed any liabilities for the debts of the aided countries. With Greece struggling to restore its finances, other member states also at risk and the repercussions this would have on the rest of the eurozone economy, a loan mechanism was agreed. The crisis also spurred consensus for further economic integration and a range of proposals such as a European Monetary Fund or federal treasury.

The European Union received the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for having "contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe." The Nobel Committee stated that "that dreadful suffering in World War II demonstrated the need for a new Europe [...] today war between Germany and France is unthinkable. This shows how, through well-aimed efforts and by building up mutual confidence, historical enemies can become close partners." The Nobel Committee's decision was subject to considerable criticism.

On 1 July 2013, Croatia joined the EU, and on 1 January 2014 the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte was added as an outermost region.

2016–2020: Brexit
On 23 June 2016, the citizens of the United Kingdom voted to withdraw from the European Union in a referendum and subsequently became the first and to date only member to trigger Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). The vote was in favour of leaving the EU by a margin of 51.9% in favour to 48.1% against. The UK's withdrawal was completed on 31 January 2020.

2020–2022: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

After the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic the EU leaders agreed for the first time to emit common debt to finance the European Recovery Program called Next Generation EU (NGEU).

2022–present: Impact of the Russo-Ukrainian War
On 24 February 2022, after massing near the borders of Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces undertook a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The European Union imposed heavy sanctions on Russia and agreed on a pooled military aid package to Ukraine for lethal weapons funded via the European Peace Facility off-budget instrument. Likewise, neighbouring EU member countries received a mass influx of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict over the course of the first weeks of the war. The conflict exposed the EU energy dependency on Russia, deemed as a supplier "explicitly" threatening the EU. This development injected a sense of urgency in the switch towards alternative energy suppliers and further development of clean energy sources.

Reform
Multi-speed Europe is a concept of differentiated integration currently in operation that has recently been given renewed emphasis by a team of independent experts in a report presented at a council meeting in Brussels in September of 2023. "France and Germany are pushing for a larger EU reform before any new member joins the bloc."

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: History of the European Union