Government.-The crown is hereditary in the male line. The king must be a member of the Lutheran Church, and has to swear fidelity to the laws of the land. His prerogatives consist of the right to preside in the high court of justice, to grant pardons, to conclude treaties with foreign powers, to declare war and peace, to nominate to all appointments civil and military and to veto absolutely any decree of the Diet or Parliament of the kingdom. He also possesses a power of administrative legislation. The princes of the blood-royal are excluded from all civil employments. The Diet consists of two chambers, which are both elected. The first or upper chamber consists of 150 members. The members are elected by 25 provincial landstings (or provincial assemblies) and the corporations of Stockholm, Göteborg, Norrköping, Malmö and Gefle. All the members must be above 35 years of age, and a property qualification is required to the taxed value of 50,000 kronor, or $13,885 in real property, or an annual income of 3,000 kronor or $830. They are elected for six years. The second chamber, elected on universal male suffrage for three years, contains 230 members, 150 elected by the rural population, being one for each 40,000 inhabitants; and 80 by the towns, being one for every 10,000 inhabitants. Members of both houses are paid 1,200 kronor or $335 per session of four months, in addition to traveling expenses. The election is by ballot on a basis of proportional representation. The executive power is in the hands of the king, under the advice of a council of state consisting of 11 members, eight of whom are departmental heads. The eight departments are: The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Marine, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture. All the ministers are responsible for the acts of the government. The administration of justice is controlled independently of the government by the Justitie Kansler, appointed by the king, who acts for the Crown; and the Justitie Ombudsman, appointed by the Diet, who exercises a supervision over the lawcourts.

Finances. A large part of the revenue is derived from national property, including railways; the remainder from customs, excise, income tax, etc. The total estimated revenue for 1917 amounted to $107,000,000 and the expenditure was rather more. Part of the expenditure - civil, military and ecclesiasticalis defrayed from Crown lands and does not appear in the public accounts. The public debt is over $225,000,000. Sinking funds are provided for the payment of the debt.

The Riksbank, or National Bank of Sweden, belongs entirely to the state and is managed by directors elected for three years by the Diet, except one, the president, who is designated by the king.

Army and Navy. The army has hitherto consisted of enlisted troops, a militia maintained by landowners and Crown domains, and conscription troops, drawn by annual levies; but it is now undergoing reorganization, which will take some years to complete, the result being an increase in numbers. Military service is compulsory. The active military force in 1916

consisted of 2,657 officers, 537 non-commissioned officers, 16,370 volunteers and a contingent of recruits. The total (including conscripts) was 83,000 men. The naval strength includes 15 armored coast defense vessels, four old torpedo gunboats, 10 torpedo-boat destroyers, 45 torpedo boats and submarines.

Ethnology. Almost all the inhabitants of Sweden, with the exception of the Laplanders and Finns, found only in the north, are of Teutonic origin, and preserve the original features of the race in great purity, particularly in the central and southern provinces, where they are characterized by a tall, robust stature, light hair, blue eyes and light complexion. They are active and enterprising, and manifest a marked predilection for scientific pursuits. The state of morality is on the whole favorable. Heinous crimes are few, but a great number of minor delinquencies figure in the calendar and are evidently accounted for by the far too prevalent use of ardent spirits; but a considerable improvement in respect of the consumption of intoxicants seems to have taken place in recent times.

Religion and Education.-Almost all the inhabitants belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is the religion of the state, at the head of which is the archbishop of Upsala. Other religions are tolerated; but appointments in the public service can be held by Lutherans only. Education is gratuitous and compulsory. Primary education is well diffused. In 1916 there were 704,000 pupils in the elementary schools. The proportion of illiterates among recruits is 0.16 per cent. The University of Upsala (2,344 students in 1916) has done much to foster the cultivation of the higher departments of science and scholarship. There is also a university at Lund (1,341 students in 1916). Language and Literature. See SWEDISH LANGUAGE; SWEDISH LITERATURE.

History.—In the case of Sweden, as of many other countries, the industry of chroniclers has supplied details about ages with which they were unacquainted. These early chronicles, called Sagas, contain lists of kings at variance with each other, and stories of adventure of the kind to which the epithet heroic is usually applied, in which it is impossible to separate the fabulous from the historical. The first dynasty of Swedish kings, according to the legendary chronicles, belonged to a family called Ynglings, from their founder, Freyer Ingve, the reputed grandson of Odin, from whom the family claimed to be descended. The last of them was expelled by Ivar Widfadm, representative of the Danish family of the Skioldings, also descended from Odin, who united Sweden and Denmark under one rule. This event is referred to about 630 a.d. Near the end of the following century Ragnar Lodbrok, the reigning representative of this house, fell in battle on the English Coast, and his second son, Biorn Ironside, inherited_Sweden, which was again separated from Denmark. Christianity was introduced under his grandson, Biorn II; but it was first established by Olaf, who reigned in the beginning of the 11th century (1001-26 A.D.). Until the beginning of the 12th century the chronicles contain rival lists of kings. From the first appearance of Sweden in history two rival tribes or confederacies, both of German origin, the Goths and

the Swedes, contended for ascendency, and the confusion of the chronicles is probably due to the mingling of the lines of separate chiefs or monarchs reigning simultaneously in different districts. Emund Slemme, the last of the descendants of Biorn, was defeated and killed by the Goths in 1056, when the two nations were united under Stenkil, the Gothic monarch. On the death of his descendant, Inge II, in 1129, the Swedes raised a private individual, Sverker I, to the throne. To conciliate the Goths it was agreed that Erik, a descendant of Stenki in the female line, should succeed Sverker, and that the two families should reign alternately. This arrangement, which seems to indicate that the power of the monarchs was merely that of leading chiefs, was continued, though the cause of much dissension and civil war, for several reigns. During the reign of Sverker the kingdom was divided into four dioceses (1152). Erik IX, called Saint Erik, succeeded about 1155. In his reign the Finns were conquered and converted to Christianity. Charles VII, son of Sverker, who succeeded about 1162, was defeated and killed by Knut Erikson, who succeeded in 1168. Sverker II, the son of Charles, was likewise defeated and killed by Erik X, son of Knut, who succeeded him in 1210. John I, son of Sverker II, and the last of his line, was succeeded in 1253 by Erik XI, the last of his, who died in 1260. Waldemar I, nephew of Erik, was raised to the throne by election, and founded the dynasty of Folkungar. Waldemar made a voyage to the Holy Land, leaving his brother Magnus regent, in 1272; on his return a civil war took place, but Waldemar abdicated in favor of Magnus in 1279 and failed in subsequent attempts to recover the throne. Magnus assumed the title of king of the Swedes and the Goths. His son, Birger II, in whose reign the conquest of Finland was completed, was expelled by the people in 1319, who chose his nephew, Magnus Snek, an infant, as his successor. He had already succeeded, in right of his mother, to the crown of Norway, which he gave to his son Haco in 1344. Scania, consisting of the two southern provinces, Malmöhus and Kristianstadt, which then belonged to Denmark, yielded to him in 1332, but he restored them on affiancing his son Haco to Margaret of Denmark. Magnus was deposed by the states and obliged to carry on a civil war for the crown with his son Erik, whose death again left him in possession of the kingdom; but aiming at absolute power, he was again deposed in 1365 in favor of his nephew, Albert of Mecklenburg, who had already been in possession, since 1363, of the supreme authority. Albert formed a league with Schleswig, Holstein, Mecklenburg and the Hanse towns against Denmark and Norway. He succeeded in driving the king of Denmark out of his dominions, but was defeated by the king of Norway, who besieged him in his own capital. Peace was concluded; but Albert, aiming, like his predecessor, at absolute power, made himself unpopular with his own subjects, who invited Margaret of Denmark and Norway, the Semiramis of the North, who had united the crowns of these kingdoms, to replace him. Albert, though supported by Holstein, Mecklenburg and the Hanse towns, was finally overcome and returned to Mecklenburg. Margaret succeeded in 1389, and by the union of Calmar

the three kingdoms were formally united, each retaining its own constitution. Under the reign of her grandnephew Erik (1412-41) the Swedes revolted under Engelbrecht (1433). The union was renewed 1436, but both Danes and Swedes revolted against Erik, and Charles Knutson, grand mareschal of Sweden, was chosen regent. His rule proving oppressive, the joint crown was conferred in 1441 upon Christopher of Bavaria, nephew of Erik. On his death in 1448 Charles VIII (Knutson) was chosen king of Sweden. Norway also acknowledged him, but soon threw off the yoke. The severance of the union also produced a war with Denmark. Charles' reign was stormy and his subjects repeatedly revolted against him. He died in 1470. Christian I, king of Denmark, had been crowned king of Sweden in 1458 by the party opposed to Knutson, but on the death of Knutson his party chose his nephew, Sten Sture, administrator of the kingdom. Christian attempted to take possession of the kingdom, but was defeated and forced to retire. In 1483 John I, son of Christian, was recognized as king of Sweden in virtue of the Union of Calmar. The country was divided between the Danish and the national parties, but Sture contrived to hold the administration, and raised an army to drive the Russians out of Finland. In 1497 John invaded Sweden with a powerful army. Sture was completely defeated at Rotebro, 28 October. John conferred on him the government of Dalecarlia; but the Swedes again revolted and proclaimed him administrator in 1501. He died in 1503 and was succeeded in the administration by Svante Sture, who concluded peace with Russia and formed an alliance with the Hanseatic towns in order to prosecute the war with Denmark. The clergy and a large portion of the Senate favored the Danish alliance, but the peasantry were strongly opposed to it. Svante Sture died in 1512 and was succeeded by his son, Sten Sture the Younger. In the following year Christian II succeeded to the crown of Denmark. After the death of Sture, Gustavus Vasa raised the peasants of Dalecarlia, defeated the Danes, and, having embraced the Lutheran religion, was crowned king by a Protestant archbishop of Upsala in 1528. Lutheran religion was formally established in Sweden in 1529. Christian II having been driven from Denmark, his title was acknowledged by his successor, Frederick I, and in 1544 was declared hereditary in his house. He died in 1560. His son, Erik XIV, reigned only eight years. Erik was one of the candidates for the hand of Queen Elizabeth of England and also of Queen Mary of Scotland.

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To balance the power of the great nobles Erik created a secondary nobility and introduced the titles of count and baron into Sweden. A war with Russia, undertaken for the protection of the Teutonic order, resulted in the acquisition of Esthonia by Sweden; but war having subsequently broken out with Denmark was, in the confusion caused by the king's insanity, ill-conducted, and resulted in repeated disasters to the Swedes. John III, the brother of Erik, succeeded him on his deposition. By the peace of Stettin with Denmark, 13 Dec. 1570, Sweden renounced her claims to Norway, and surrendered a large part of Götland, including the west coast to Denmark. This treaty was made with a view to a war with

Russia. In this war the Swedes were successful in foiling the designs of Ivan IV on Livonia. Peace was concluded in 1582. John had married Catherine Jagellon, daughter of Sigismund, king of Poland, and through her influence endeavored to restore the Catholic religion in Sweden. A formidable opposition arising, headed by his brother Charles, and the queen dying, he abandoned the project. Sigismund, his son, was, however, brought up in the Catholic faith, and in 1587 he was elected king of Poland under the title of Sigismund III; John died 1592. Charles, Duke of Sudermania, who held the regency in the absence of his nephew Sigismund, endeavored to deprive him of his crown on the ground of his religion, but on the return of Sigismund with an army he was compelled to relinquish the government to him. Sigismund, on receiving the crown, returned to Poland, and left his uncle Charles regent. Charles again attempted to seize the crown and defeated Sigismund in the battle of Stängbro (September 1598). The states now conferred on him the title of hereditary prince, and insisted upon Sigismund sending his son to Sweden to be educated in the evangelical faith. Failing to comply, he and his posterity were excluded from the crown, and in 1604 Charles was acknowledged as kingelect of the Swedes, Goths and Vandals, and his son, Gustavus Adolphus, was recognized as his successor. He took the title of Charles IX. From these events arose a war with Poland, which was not terminated by a permanent peace till 1660. Wars also with Denmark and Germany continued till the end of Charles' reign. Charles IX died 1611, and was succeeded by his son, Gustavus Adolphus, then engaged in conducting the war with Denmark. One of the first acts of Gustavus was to select as his chancellor Alex Oxenstiern, who became one of the first statesmen of Europe. Failing to make peace with Denmark, Gustavus took the field in person, and nearly lost his life in the battle of Widsji; but in 1613 he succeeded through the mediation of England in making peace. The Russian throne was then vacant. The Swedes and Poles each set up candidates for it, Charles Philip, brother of Gustavus and Ladislaw, son of Sigismund. Both had invaded the country and made extensive conquests and Gustavus granted favorable terms to Denmark that he might turn his attention to this quarter. Michael Romanoff, elected in 1613, was compelled to make peace with Sweden by the cession of all his Baltic provinces; and Sweden, which notwithstanding internal troubles had been advancing in political importance since the time of Gustavus I, now became the leading power of the North. The war of succession with Poland still continued and in 1621 Gustavus turned his arms against that country and captured Riga. The war continued for nine years, and was concluded by the six years' truce of Altmark in 1629. Gustavus retained four frontier towns - of East Prussia.

Sweden was now about to take for the first time a leading part in the affairs of Europe. Gustavus had been watching with anxiety the course of events in Germany, and had determined to interfere on behalf of the interests of religion and the political rights of the Prot

estant princes. (For the events of this war and the effects of the intervention of Sweden in the affairs of Europe see GUSTAVUS; PRUSSIA; RICHELIEU; THIRTY YEARS' WAR, and other articles). The body of Gustavus, who fell at the battle of Lützen, was brought back to Sweden in 1632, and his daughter Christina was recognized as his successor. She was a minor, and the management of affairs devolved upon the Chancellor Oxenstiern. He confirmed his alliance with the German rulers, and made arrangements to prosecute the war with vigor. His power continued absolute till 1644, during which time the war in Germany continued. At the beginning of this year a war broke out with Denmark, provoked by the scheming of the queen-mother, who was jealous of the power of Oxenstiern. Denmark was suddenly invaded by Torstenson. Christina_assumed the reins of government on 5 Dec. 1644, her 18th birthday. The peace party now prevailed, and the treaty of Brömsebro was concluded with Denmark, which ceded to Sweden the greater part of her possessions in Götland, and exempted Swedish vessels from Sound and Belt dues. The peace of Westphalia, 24 Oct. 1648, gave Sweden western Pomerania, the duchy of Bremen and other acquisitions in Germany, with a seat and triple vote in the diet.

The reign of Christina began under favorable auspices. She had received a masculine education, and showed great attention to business and determination in supporting her views. Contrary to the advice of Oxenstiern she exerted herself to promote peace both with Denmark and Germany. She patronized learning, and drew many distinguished men to her court; but she was extravagant in her expenditure, licentious in her behavior, and soon brought herself into inextricable difficulties by the profusion with which she lavished the crown domains on worthless favorites. In these circumstances she renounced the crown in 1654 in favor of her cousin Charles Gustavus, son of the count palatine, professed the Catholic religion, and after an extraordinary career died at Rome in 1689. The short reign of Charles X was distinguished by some brilliant military enterprises, which extended to Poland, Prussia, Russia and Denmark. In January 1658 he crossed the sea on the ice, and occupying the island of Fünen without resistance, advanced to Copenhagen. By the mediation of England and France peace was concluded at Roeskilde, 8 March 1658, Denmark surrendering the remainder of her possessions in Götland. Charles, however, had set his heart on the conquest of Denmark, and was not long in recommencing operations against that country. He died suddenly on 13 Feb. 1660, leaving a son, Charles XI, only four years of age. A council of regency was appointed, which soon concluded peace with Poland, the emperor and the elector of Brandenburg. Peace with Russia was not concluded till 1661. Sweden formed an alliance with England against Holland in 1665, and took part in the triple alliance against France in 1668. The common policy of Sweden was to ally herself with France, and her change of policy was due to the failure of French subsidies. By the treaty of Stockholm, 14 April 1672, she agreed to assist France if attacked by