Swedish Pomerania

'''Swedish Pomerania''' ({{lang-sv|Svenska Pommern}}; {{lang-de|Schwedisch-Pommern}}) was a [[Dominions of Sweden|Dominion]] under the [[Sweden|Swedish Crown]] from 1630 to 1815, situated on what is now the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] coast of [[Germany]] and [[Poland]]. Following the [[Polish-Swedish War|Polish War]] and the [[Thirty Years' War]], Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including [[Pomerania]] and parts of [[Swedish Livonia|Livonia]] and [[Prussia (region)|Prussia]] (''[[dominium maris baltici]]''). Sweden, present in Pomerania with a [[Battle of Stralsund (1628)|garrison at Stralsund since 1628]], had gained effective control of the [[Duchy of Pomerania]] with the [[Treaty of Stettin (1630)|Treaty of Stettin in 1630]]. At the [[Peace of Westphalia]] in 1648 and the [[Treaty of Stettin (1653)|Treaty of Stettin in 1653]], Sweden received Western Pomerania, or ''[[Vorpommern]]'' with the islands of [[Rügen]], [[Usedom]], and [[Wolin]], and a strip of Eastern Pomerania, or ''[[Hinterpommern]]''. The peace treaties were negotiated while the Swedish queen [[Christina of Sweden|Christina]] was a minor, and the [[Swedish Empire]] was governed by members of the high aristocracy. As a consequence, Pomerania was not annexed to Sweden like the French war gains, which would have meant abolition of [[serfdom]] which since the Pomeranian peasant laws of 1616 was practiced there in its most severe form. Instead, it remained part of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], making the Swedish rulers ''Reichsfürsten'' (imperial princes) and leaving the nobility in full charge of the rural areas and its inhabitants. While the Swedish Pomeranian nobles were subjected to [[Reduction (Sweden)|reduction]] when the late 17th century kings regained political power, the provisions of the peace of Westphalia continued to prevent the pursuit of the [[uniformity policy]] in Pomerania until the Holy Roman empire [[Holy_roman_empire#French_Revolutionary_Wars_and_final_dissolution|was dissolved]] in 1806. In 1679, Sweden lost most of her Pomeranian possessions east of the [[Oder]] river in the [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1679)|Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye]], and in 1720, Sweden lost her possessions south of the [[Peene]] and east of the [[Peenestrom]] rivers in the [[Treaty of Stockholm (Great Northern War)|Treaty of Stockholm]]. These areas were ceded to [[Brandenburg-Prussia]] and were integrated into [[Province of Pomerania (1653-1815)|Brandenburgian Pomerania]]. Also in 1720, Sweden regained the remainder of her dominion in the [[Treaty of Frederiksborg]], which had been lost to [[Denmark]] [[Siege of Stralsund (1711–1715)|in 1715]]. In 1814, as a result of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] Swedish Pomerania was ceded to Denmark in exchange for [[Norway]] in the [[Treaty of Kiel]], and in 1815, as a result of the [[Congress of Vienna]], transferred to [[Prussia]]. ==Geography== The largest cities in Swedish Pomerania were [[Stralsund]], [[Greifswald]] and, until 1720, [[Stettin]] (now Szczecin). [[Rügen]] is today Germany's largest island. ==Acquisition during the Thirty Years' War== [[Image:Gustav II of Sweden.jpg|150px|left|thumb|[[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden|Gustav II Adolf]]]] {{main|Treaty of Stettin (1630)|Peace of Westphalia|Treaty of Stettin (1653)}} Pomerania became involved in the [[Thirty Years' War]] during the 1620s, and with the town of [[Stralsund]] under siege by imperial troops, its ruler [[Bogislaw XIV]], [[Duchy of Stettin|Duke of Stettin]], concluded a treaty with King [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden]] in June 1628. On 10 July 1630, the treaty was extended into an 'eternal' pact in the [[Treaty of Stettin (1630)]]. By the end of that year the Swedes had completed the military occupation of Pomerania. After this point Gustavus Adolphus was the effective ruler of the country, and even though the rights of succession to Pomerania, held by [[George William, Elector of Brandenburg]] due to the [[Treaty of Grimnitz]], were recognised, the Swedish king still demanded that the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]] break with Emperor [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand II]]. In 1634 [[the Estates]] of Pomerania assigned the interim government to an eight member directorate, which lasted until Brandenburg ordered the directorate disbanded in 1638 by right of Imperial investiture. As a consequence Pomerania lapsed into a state of anarchy, thereby forcing the Swedes to act. From 1641 the administration was led by a council ("Concilium status") from [[Szczecin|Stettin (Szczecin)]], until the peace treaty in 1648 settled rights to the province in Swedish favour. At the peace negotiations in [[Osnabrück]], [[Brandenburg-Prussia]] received [[Farther Pomerania]] (''Hinterpommern''), the part of the former [[Duchy of Pomerania]] east of the [[Oder]] River except Stettin. A strip of land east of the [[Oder River]] containing the districts of [[Damm]] and [[Gollnow]] and the island of [[Wolin]] and [[Western Pomerania]] (''Vorpommern'') with the islands of [[Rügen]] and [[Usedom]], was ceded to the Swedes as a [[fief]] from Emperor [[Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand III]]. The [[Treaty of Stettin (1653)|recess of Stettin in 1653]] settled the border with Brandenburg in a manner favourable to Sweden. The border against [[Mecklenburg]], along the [[Trebel (river)|Trebel]] and the [[Recknitz]], followed a settlement of 1591. ==Constitution and administration== [[Image:Pomerania 1653.PNG|thumb|right|270px|The former [[Duchy of Pomerania]] (center) partitioned between the [[Swedish Empire]] and [[Brandenburg]] after the [[Treaty of Stettin (1653)]]. Swedish Pomerania ([[Western Pomerania|"West Pomerania"]]) is indicated in blue, [[Province of Pomerania (1653-1815)|Brandenburgian Pomerania]] ([[Farther Pomerania|"East Pomerania"]]) is shown in orange.]] The [[nobility]] of Pomerania was firmly established and held extensive privileges, as opposed to the other end of the spectrum which was populated by a class of numerous [[serfs]]. Even by the end of the 18th century, the serfs made up two-thirds of the population of the countryside. The estates owned by the nobility were divided into districts and the royal domains, which covered about a quarter of the country, were divided into ''amts''. One fourth of the "knightly" estates (''Rittergut'') in Swedish Pomerania were held by Swedish nobles. The ducal estates (''Domäne''), initially distributed among Swedish nobles (two thirds) and officials, became in 1654 administered by the former Swedish queen [[Christina of Sweden|Christina]]. Swedish and [[Pomeranians (German people)|Pomeranian]] nobility intermarried and became ethnically indistinguishable in the course of the 18th century. The position of Pomerania in the Swedish Realm came to depend on the talks that were opened between the [[Estates of Pomerania]] and the [[Privy Council of Sweden|Government of Sweden]]. The talks showed few results until the [[Instrument of Government (1663)|Instrument of Government]] of 17 July 1663 (promulgated by the recess of 10 April 1669) could be presented, and only in 1664 did the Pomeranian Estates salute the Swedish Monarch as their new ruler. The Royal Government of Pomerania (''die königliche Landesregierung'') was composed of the [[Governor-General in the Swedish Realm|Governor-General]], who always was a [[Privy Council of Sweden|Swedish Privy Councillor]], as chairman and five Councillors of the Royal Government, among them the President of the Appellate Court, the Chancellor and the Castle Captain of Stettin, over inspector of the Royal Amts. When circumstances demanded, [[Estates of the realm|the estates]], nobility, [[burgess (title)|burgess]]es, and — until the 1690s — the clergy could be summoned for meetings of a local parliament called the ''[[Landtag]]''. The nobility was represented by one deputy per district, and these deputies were in turn mandated by their respective district [[convent of nobles|convents of nobles]]. The estate of the burgesses consisted of one deputy per politically franchised city, particularly Stralsund. The ''Landtag'' were presided over by a marshall (''Erb-landmarschall''). A third element of the meeting of the Estates were the five, initially ten, ''Landtag'' councillors who were appointed by the Royal Government of Pomerania following their nomination by the Estates. The Landtag councillors formed the ''Land Council'', which mediated with the Swedish Government and oversaw the constitution. The Estates, which had exercised great authority under the Pomeranian dukes, were unable to exert any significant influence on Sweden, even though the Constitution of 1663 had provided them with a veto in as far as Pomerania was affected. Their rights of petition were however not limited, and by the privileges of King [[Frederick I of Sweden]] in 1720 they also had an explicit right to participate in legislation and taxation. The towns of [[Stralsund]], [[Stettin]], [[Greifswald]] and [[Anklam]] were granted autonomous jurisdiction. ==Legal system== The legal system in Pomerania was in a state of great confusion, due to the lack of a consistent legislation or even the most basic collection of laws and instead consisting of a disparate collection of legal principles. The Swedish rule brought, if nothing else, at least the rule of law into the court system. Starting in 1655, cases could be appealed from the first instance courts to the appellate court in [[Greifswald]] (located in [[Wolgast]] from 1665–80), where sentences were issued under the appellate law of 1672, a work conducted by [[David Mevius]]. Cases under [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|canon law]] were directed to a consistorium in Greifswald. From the appellate court cases could be appealed to the supreme court for the Swedish dominions in Germany, the [[High Tribunal in Wismar|High Tribunal]] in [[Wismar]], which had opened in 1653. ==Second Northern and Scanian Wars== From 1657 to 1659 during the [[Second Northern War]], [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth|Polish]], [[Habsburg Monarchy|Austrian]], and Brandenburger troops ravaged the country. The territory was occupied by [[Denmark]] and Brandenburg from 1675–1679 during the [[Scanian War]], whereby Denmark claimed Rügen and Brandenburg the rest of Pomerania. Both campaigns were in vain for the winners when Swedish Pomerania was restored to Sweden in the [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1679)|Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1679]], except for Gollnow and the strip of land on the east side of the Oder, which were held by Brandenburg as a pawn in exchange for reparations, until these were paid in 1693. Because Pomerania had been hit hard by the Thirty Years' War already and found it hard to recover during the following years, the Swedish government in 1669 and 1689 issued decrees (''Freiheitspatente'') freeing anyone of taxes who built or rebuilt a house. These decrees were in force, though frequently modified, until 1824. ==Territorial changes during the Great Northern War== {{see|Siege of Stralsund (1711–1715)|Treaty of Frederiksborg|Treaty of Stockholm (Great Northern War)}} The first years of the [[Great Northern War]] did not affect Pomerania. Even when Danish, [[Russian Empire|Russian]], and Polish forces had crossed the borders in 1714, the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] first appeared as a hesitant mediator before turning into an aggressor. King [[Charles XII of Sweden]] in the [[Battle of Stralsund (1715)|Battle of Stralsund]] led the defence of Pomerania for an entire year, November 1714 to December 1715, before fleeing to [[Lund]]. The Danes seized Rügen and [[Western Pomerania]] north of the [[Peene]] River (the former Danish [[Principality of Rugia]] that later would become known as ''Neuvorpommern''), while the Western Pomeranian areas south of the river (later termed ''Altvorpommern'') were taken by Prussia. Danish Pomerania was since April 1716 governed by a governmental commission seated in [[Stralsund]], consisting of five members. In contrast to the Swedish administration, the commission exerted both judiciary and executive power. Denmark thereby drew from the experiences in Danish-occupied [[Bremen-Verden]] (1712–1715), the setting of the Danish chancellery, and the contemporary [[Danish absolutism]] under king [[Frederik IV of Denmark-Norway]]. The commission consisted of [[landdrost]] [[von Platen]], later [[von Kötzschau]], councellors [[Heinrich Bernhard von Kampferbeck]], [[J. B. Hohenmühle]] and [[Peter von Thienen]], and chancellor secretary [[August J. von John]]. In 1720, von Kampferbeck died and was replaced by [[Andreas Boye]]. By the [[Treaty of Frederiksborg]], 3 June 1720, Denmark was obliged to hand back control over the occupied territory to Sweden, but in the [[Treaty of Stockholm (Great Northern War)|Treaty of Stockholm]], on 21 January the same year, Prussia had been allowed to retain its conquest, including Stettin. By this, Sweden ceded the parts east of the [[Oder]] River that had been won in 1648 as well as Western Pomerania south of the Peene and the islands of Wolin and Usedom to [[Brandenburg-Prussia]]. Denmark returned her Pomeranian territories to Swedish administration on 17 January 1721. The administrative records from the Danish period were transferred to [[Copenhagen]] and are available at the [[Danish National Archives]] (rigsarkivet). ==Seven Years' War== A feeble Swedish attempt to regain the lost territories in the Pomeranian campaigns of the [[Seven Years' War]] (1757–1762, "[[Pomeranian War]]") failed. Swedish troops struggled to co-ordinate with their French and Russian allies, and what had begun as a Swedish invasion of Prussian Pomerania soon led to the Prussian occupying much of Swedish Pomerania and threatening Stralsund. When Russia made peace with Prussia in 1762, Sweden also dropped out of the war with a return to the [[status quo ante bellum]]. Sweden's disappointing performance in the war further hurting its international prestige. ==Integration in the eleventh hour== [[Image:Swedish Pomerania 1812.png|thumb|right|270px|Swedish Pomerania (centre-right) in 1812]] By royal proclamation on 26 June 1806, the Constitution of Pomerania was declared to have been suspended and abolished. The Swedish [[Instrument of Government (1772)|Instruments of Government]] of 1772, the [[Act of Union and Security]] of 1789, and the Law of 1734 were declared to have taken precedence and were to be implemented following 1 September 1808. The reason for perpetrating this royally sanctioned coup d'état was that the estates, despite a royal prohibition, had taken to the courts to appeal against royal statutes, specifically the statute of 30 April 1806 regarding the raising of a Pomeranian army. In the new order, King [[Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden]] attempted to introduce a government divided into departments. Swedish church law was introduced. The country was divided into four provincial districts (''[[Härad]]'') and congregational districts (''[[Socken]]'') complying with the Swedish model of administration. The Estates of Pomerania could only be called regarding questions that specifically concerned Pomerania and Rügen. The new order of the Landtag was modelled on the Swedish [[Riksdag of the Estates]] and a meeting according to the new order also took place in August 1806, which declared its loyalty to the king and hailed him as their ruler. In the wake of this revolution, a number of social reforms were implemented and planned; the most important was the abolishment of serfdom by a royal statute on 4 July 1806. Also in 1806, [[Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden]] started constructing another major port city in Pomerania, [[Gustavia, Rügen|Gustavia]]. Yet already in 1807, French forces occupied the site. ==Loss during the Napoleonic Wars== The entry into the [[Third Coalition]] in 1805, in which Sweden unsuccessfully fought its [[First War against Napoleon]], subsequently led to the occupation of Swedish Pomerania by French troops from 1807 to 1810. In 1812, when French troops yet again marched into Pomerania, the [[Swedish Army]] [[Second War against Napoleon|mobilized and won]] against Napoleon in the [[Battle of Leipzig]] in 1813, together with troops from Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Sweden also attacked [[Denmark]] and, by the [[Treaty of Kiel]] on 14 January 1814, Sweden ceded Pomerania to Denmark in exchange for [[Norway]]. The fate of Swedish Pomerania was settled during the [[Congress of Vienna]] through the treaties between Prussia and Denmark on 4 June and with Sweden on 7 June 1815. In this manoeuvre Prussia gained Swedish Pomerania in exchange for [[Lauenburg]] which was ceded by Prussia to Denmark. Denmark also received 2.6 million [[Thaler]]s from Prussia. 3.5 million Thalers were awarded to Sweden in war damages. "Swedish Pomerania" was incorporated into Prussia as "New Upper Pomerania" (''Neuvorpommern'') within the Prussian [[Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Province of Pomerania]]. ==Population== The population of Swedish Pomerania were 82,827 subjects in 1764, (58,682 rural, 24,145 urban population, 40% of the rural population were ''leibeigen'' [[serf]]s); 89,000 in 1766, 113,000 in 1802, with about a quarter living on the island of Rügen, and had reached 118,112 in 1805 (79,087 rural, 39,025 urban population, 46,190 of the rural population were ''leibeigen'' [[serf]]s). ==List of Governors General== {{main|Governor-General in the Swedish Realm}} * [[Sten Svantesson Bielke]] (1633–1638) * [[Johan Banér]] (1638–1641) * [[Lennart Torstenson]] (1641–1648) * [[Carl Gustaf Wrangel]] (1648–1652) * [[Axel Lillie]] (1652–1654) * [[Arvid Wittenberg]] (1655–1656) * [[Carl Gustav Wrangel]] (1656–1676) * [[Otto Wilhelm Königsmarck]] (1679–1687) * [[Nils Bielke]] (1687–1698) * [[Jürgen Mellin]] (1698–1711) * [[Mauritz Vellingk]] (1711–1713) * [[Johan August Meijerfeldt|Johan August Meijerfeldt the elder]] (1713–1747) * [[Axel von Löwen]] (1748–1767) * [[Hans Henrik von Liewen|Hans Henrik von Liewen the younger]] (1767–1772) * [[Fredrik Carl Sinclair]] (1772–1776) * [[Fredrik Vilhelm von Hessenstein]] (1776–1791) * [[Eric Ruuth]] (1792–1795) * [[Filip Julius Bernhard von Platen]] (1796–1800) * [[Hans Henric von Essen (1755–1824)|Hans Henric von Essen]] (1800–1812) * [[Johan August Sandels]] (1812–1815) * [[Wilhelm Malte zu Putbus]] (1815) ===Danish governors general (1715–1721)=== * [[Franz Joachim von Dewitz]] (1715–1719) * [[Jobst von Scholten]] (1719–1721) ===French governors general (1807–1813)=== * [[Guillaume Marie-Anne Brune]] (August 1807) * [[Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor]] (October 1807) * [[Jacques Lazare de Savattier de Candras]] (November 1807–March 1808) * [[Joseph Morand]] (1812–1813) ==See also== * [[History of Sweden]] * [[Swedish Empire]] * [[Dominions of Sweden]] * [[Pomerania during the Early Modern Age]] ===General reference=== * Andreas Önnerfors: ''Svenska Pommern: kulturmöten och identifikation 1720-1815''. Lund, 2003 ([http://www.lub.lu.se/luft/diss/hum_250/hum_250_transit.html Disseration written in Swedish available as a PDF file]) ==External links== *[http://www.napoleonseries.org/articles/wars/forgotten.cfm Dänholm Island, Swedish Pomerania August 1807] at NapoleonSeries.org *[http://www.napoleon-series.org/reviews/military/c_brunes.html Brune's 1807 Campaign in Swedish Pomerania] at NapoleonSeries.org *[http://wwwtest.library.ucla.edu/libraries/mgi/maps/blaeu/germania-nt.htm Pomeraniæ Ducatus tabula. ''Map of the Duchy of Pomerania.''] at library.ucla.edu {{Pomeranian history|adm}} {{coord missing}}