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The Northern war is one of the most
significant events in Russian and European history. It may be regarded as a
main political background of Peter the Great's reforms, which drastically
changed his country. Undoubtedly the struggle between Peter and the Swedish
king Charles XII produced intensified demands for labor and service of many
kinds, it was the great impetus for the political, economic and military
development of "Moscovia" and stimulated her transformation to the
Russian empire. At last the results of this protracted (1700-1721) war brought
about the establishment of a new geo-political situation in Europe.
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The Northern war was not only a series of
campaigns and battles, it was also a part of complex knot of contradictions in
international diplomacy. All European countries were involved in this conflict.
One of its main aspects was the struggle over the Spanish succession. The
English and Dutch governments wanted to use the German state's troops in the
impending fight against the French king, Louis XIV, who indeed had a claim on
the Spanish treasure. But by this time one great power had emerged in Europe,
the Swedish empire led by Charles XII.
He was born 17 June 1682 and seems to have been one those who needed the
control of a firm and steady hand. His mother Queen Ulrica Leonora tried to
stimulate his son by a noble example and she printed for this aim the diary
written by his grandfather Charles X, in which he had kept a records of his
studies and travels. Very early Charles expressed precocious manliness. In
spite of constant changes of teachers, he made rapid progress in his studies.
In a very short time he had studied Latin and Greek and could read works of
Caesar, Justin, and Cornelius. After the death of his mother in 1693, his
father took him in hand and did much to make of him the man he was to be.
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Young Charles took an active part in
conducting maneuvers, weddings and funerals, moreover he tried to be occupied
with various fields of state life inspecting factories and stores. The young
king sometimes was present in the Council, where he spoke and discussed to the
point on all subjects except foreign affairs. Simultaneously he could spend his
time in break-neck riding or simply testing the sharpness of his sword by
decapitating sheep or dogs by the end of which the rooms of the king's palace
resembled a shambles. Often he was occupied with inspecting army and fleet. He
surrounded himself with talented heros, among them were for instance A.
Levenhaupt, M. Stenbock, C. Rehnskjold and some others. Magnus Stenbock one of
the brilliant military leader of the Caroline period began his service as
ensign in the guards of William of Orange, and during 6 years he had service
under the Dutch flag and in time of Charles XII became already a colonel.
Gustav Rehnskjold entered the army in 1673 and took part in the Danish war
(1673-79) including great victories at Halmstadt, Lundand, and Landscrona. As
to Adam Levenhaupt, he was well educated officer and for many years held
independent commands, but belonging to the cautious Dutch school he was he was
never outstanding and his sober personality very often was in shades of
exploits of others. Arvid Horn was forced to enter the army as a private and
kept away from church for want of decent clothes. He had served in the Low
Countries. Charles XII made him a captain and baron. In the XVII century the
Swedes had won several victories in European wars and reached a remarkable peak
of their might. The Swedish monarchy was considered to be an almost ideal
bureaucratic and military machine. Sweden endeavored to dominate in the
Northern Europe and extend the influence over the whole continent. Such policy
indeed promoted the creation of anti-Swedish coalition. The problems of the
Russian diplomacy which Peter inherited were connected with the fight for
outlets to the Baltic and Black Seas. By sword and negotiations with Turkey
Peter had succeeded to settle the "Black Sea" problem. But the
"Baltic question" had remained unsolved.
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The Swedish empire by its possession of
Karelia, Ingria, and Livonia denied Russian access to the Baltic. Ivan the
Terrible, during the Livonian war (1558-1583), attempted to recover the Baltic
shores for Russia. Later these territories were captured at last but in
accordance with the Stolbovo treaty 1617 Jam, Kopor'ye, Korela and Ivangorod
had to be passed to Sweden. Tzar Alexei Michailovich in 1655-1661 carried on a
long unsuccessful struggle against the Swedish king for a Baltic coastline.
Notwithstanding, Peter decided to solve this "eternal" problem.
Meanwhile the prospects of success of this action seemed good because the
domination of the Swedes had made them unpopular with all their neighbors.
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The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Denmark
and Saxony were bitterly hostile. A Danish-Saxon anti-Swedish treaty was signed
in March 1698. The month later Peter and Augustus, the Polish king and Kurfurst
of Saxony, formed an alliance against Charles XII. Augustus dreamed about
Livonia, meanwhile Danish kings Christian and Frederic had been composing the
plan of capture of Holstein. Peter was confident that he had a moral claim to
Ingria as a territory held traditionally by Russian rulers. In this way the
Northern Alliance had been formed by 1699. In 1698 Peter began to prepare for
the protracted war against Sweden. In August 19th 1700 he had received news of
the treaty with Turkey and after that he declared war on Sweden. Several months
earlier in February and March 1699 Augustus and the Danes had began military
actions in Livonia and Holstein. The Northern war had broken out.
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Link to Part 1 Great Northern War
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Link to Part 2 Great Northern War
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Link to Part 3 Great Northern War
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Link to part 4 Great Northern War
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Link to a bibliography for the Great Northern
War
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