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Axel Oxenstierna
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| Biography: Count Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna |
The Swedish statesman Count Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna (1583-1654) was a major architect of his country's brief rise to greatness among the powers of 17th-century Europe.
Axel Oxenstierna was born at Uppsala on June 16, 1583. His was among the most influential families of the Swedish nobility. His social background, as well as a quick intelligence honed by education in German universities, enabled Oxenstierna to enter top government circles at an early age. He received his first appointment in 1605; by the decade's end he was the leader of the nobility in the Royal Council.
As in other states of eastern and central Europe, the relative weakness of the local bourgeoisie had enhanced the standing of the Swedish nobility. This enabled the aristocracy to wrest concessions from the monarchy, the better to be able to exploit the peasantry. Nevertheless, a dispute within the reigning Vasa dynasty during the 1590s had split the nobility along religious lines, thus shifting the balance of forces back in the King's favor.
King Sigismund Vasa (III), a Catholic who had also been elected King of Poland, tried to bring Lutheran Sweden back into the Roman fold. The result was a coup (1598) which put his uncle into power as Charles IX and led to a purge of the aristocratic minority loyal to Sigismund. Such a purge could only strengthen the incoming King. However, Charles IX and led to contend with Sweden's relatively weak power position with respect to other Baltic states, especially Denmark. Too weak to challenge Denmark's hold over the Baltic Sound (and thus over revenues from the wealthy Baltic commerce), he attacked Muscovy. He was in Moscow in 1610 and was planning to add the Czar's domains to his own, when death cut short further expansion.
His youthful heir, Gustavus Adolphus (Gustavus II), now had to face the power of a reunited nobility under Oxenstierna's leadership. A first round of concessions was granted in the charter of 1611; in 1612 Oxenstierna was made the King's chancellor, and a noble monopoly of higher state offices was secured by the formal coronation oath of 1617. Yet, for all this, Sweden did not suffer the fate of Poland and other countries where the nobility ran unchecked. The chancellor and the king found it more convenient to collaborate than quarrel. The pressure to bolster Sweden's security by territorial expansion and to augment its wealth by exploiting its mineral resources and metallurgical industries (chiefly gun manufactures) made for sufficient cooperation among the country's leaders to thrust Sweden dramatically on the stage of European Great Power politics.
At home, succeeding years brought administrative measures similar to those applied by centralizing monarchies to the West. Central and local government, the Estates (Riksdag), and the judiciary were all affected. Oxenstierna played a key role in all decisions taken. Particularly significant was his reorganization of the nobility itself. By the Riddarhusordning of 1626 it was restructured according to criteria for membership in one of three newly formed aristocratic subclasses.
When Gustavus came to power, Sweden was at war with Denmark. Oxenstierna was instructed to conclude the 1613 Peace of Knäred with that country. This removed the Danish threat and gave some concessions to Sweden with respect to Baltic commerce. Gustavus now resumed the Swedish march to the east. By the time Oxenstierna negotiated the Treaty of Altmark with Poland (1629), his country was in effective command of eastern Baltic commerce. The impetus provided by this aggressive policy, coupled with the outbreak of the Thirty Years War in 1618, sufficed to draw Sweden into the broader conflict in Germany. Oxenstierna now added the duties of war leader to those of administrator and diplomat. In 1630, with financial support from Russia, France, and the Dutch, Gustavus marched into Germany; in 1631 he called Oxenstierna to his side; and when the King was slain at the battle of Lützen (November 1632), his chancellor assumed control of the Swedish war effort.
By that date, Sweden had become the strongest power inside Germany. After Gustavus's death, however, Sweden's position began to slip. Oxenstierna's armies were badly defeated at Nördlingen (1634), and his German allies made their separate Peace of Prague with the emperor in 1635. But the war went on, with France playing a role on the "Protestant" (anti-Hapsburg) side equal to Sweden's. Denmark took Austria's side in 1643 but was handily defeated by the Swedes. In the same year (1645) in which the two countries signed the Treaty of Brömsebro, Swedish armies marched all the way to Vienna. Oxenstierna now retired from the war with profit and honor. After 1648, strengthened by acquisitions from Denmark and the German princes, Sweden emerged as the greatest Baltic power.
Gustavus was succeeded by his daughter, Queen Christina, and Oxenstierna remained the dominant figure in the regime throughout her reign. He died in Stockholm on Aug. 28, 1654.
Further Reading
The leading English-language expert on the period of Oxenstierna and Gustavus Adolphus is Michael Roberts; see his Gustavus Adolphus: A History of Sweden 1611-1632 (2 vols., 1953-1958). See also I. Anderson, A History of Sweden (1956).
Additional Sources
Roberts, Michael, From Oxenstierna to Charles XII: four studies, Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
| German Literature Companion: Axel Oxenstierna |
Oxenstierna, Axel, Count (Län Uppsala, 1583-1654, Stockholm), who studied at the German universities of Rostock, Wittenberg, and Jena, became in 1612 chancellor to King Gustavus Adolphus. After Swedish intervention in Germany (see Dreissigjähriger Krieg) he worked for the realization of the King's German policy. Unlike Gustavus Adolphus (d. 1632) he was not a great military leader, but he was a determined and gifted diplomat. Through the formation of the League of Heilbronn (see Heilbronner Bund), without the Elector Johann Georg I of Saxony, he became the leader of German Protestantism. But partly through military defeat at Nördlingen and partly through the divergent interests of his French ally Richelieu, his influence was checked. He approached the negotiations leading to the Peace of Westphalia for which the Swedish Queen Christina pressed, primarily from the standpoint of his country's prestige and of war reparation. At first regent for the Queen, he became, after her majority, her chancellor. In 1645 he was created count. He is a minor figure in Brecht's play Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Count Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna |
Oxenstierna, Count Axel Gustafsson (äk'səl gʊs'täfsən ŭk'sənshĕr'nä), 1583-1654, Swedish statesman. Named chancellor in 1612, he was the actual administrator of Sweden because Gustavus II was continually occupied with foreign campaigns. Oxenstierna also organized the conquered territories, skillfully managed financial affairs, and aided Gustavus's wars by his diplomacy. In 1629 he arranged a favorable truce with Poland, freeing the army for the campaign in Germany. Habitually cautious, he opposed Sweden's entry into the Thirty Years War, but he acceded to the king's wishes and devoted his energies to keeping supplies and troops at the command of the king. After the death (1632) of Gustavus II at Lützen, the diet granted Oxenstierna full control of Swedish affairs in Germany. At a congress at Heilbronn (1633), he managed to weld the German Protestant princes into some semblance of unity. The Swedish defeat at Nördlingen (1634) forced Oxenstierna to solicit direct assistance from France. From Cardinal Richelieu he secured enlarged subsidies and the open entry (1635) of France into the conflict. As the dominant member of the council of regency in the minority of Christina and virtual ruler of Sweden (1632-44), he followed a cautious foreign policy and distinguished himself by his great program of reforms, including commercial, administrative, and social improvements. He was the author of the constitution of 1634, which centralized administration. He planned and directed the war against Denmark (1643-45) and brought it to a successful conclusion in the Peace of Bromsebro, by which Sweden gained several Danish provinces. Clashes between Oxenstierna and the young queen led to the decline of his power. He himself took no part in the negotiations of the Peace of Westphalia (1648), but his son was one of the Swedish representatives. Oxenstierna opposed the abdication of Christina in 1654, but for the short remainder of his life he served Charles X well in attempts to rehabilitate Sweden financially.
| History 1450-1789: Axel Oxenstierna |
Oxenstierna, Axel (1583–1654), Swedish diplomat and statesman. The son of Gustaf Gabrielsson Oxenstierna and Barbo Axelsdotter Bielke, and a contemporary of Richelieu and Mazarin, Oxenstierna was a major figure in Swedish history for over half a century. The leading member of the family in this period, he served as governor of several Swedish imperial territories in the Baltic region including Prussia, director of Sweden's war efforts in Germany, member of the council of state, head of the regency for Christina from 1632 to 1644, and chancellor from 1612 to 1654. During this time, Oxenstierna redefined Sweden's constitution through a series of documents and helped to design and implement reforms in almost every aspect of state affairs. His efforts contributed importantly to Sweden's successes in the seventeenth century.
Oxenstierna was the primary proponent of Swedish aristocratic constitutionalism during this period. His position was formalized in Gustavus II Adolphus's accession charter (1611), by which the king promised to "rule with the council's advice" and honor the legal, tax, property, and career privileges of the nobility, and in the 1634 Form of Government. Oxenstierna's views were also manifested in his definitions of the parliament, the estate of the nobility, the justice system, and provincial administration. He was most able to implement his views during the reign of Gustavus II Adolphus (1611–1632) and Christina's regency period (1632–1644).
Despite holding a constitutional view that, if carried to the extreme, would relegate the crown to the role of figurehead, Oxenstierna was able to work effectively (to varying degrees) in all manner of state business with Charles IX, Gustavus II Adolphus, and Christina. He established a truly remarkable partnership with Gustavus Adolphus in which the roles of leader and follower blurred and were often indistinguishable. They effected an end to the crown–noble conflict that had marred much of the sixteenth century, created a new high court system, regularized the makeup and roles of the parliament, systematized the central administration and revised regional government, reformed the military, made peace with Denmark and Russia, concluded a six-year truce with Poland, extended Sweden's holdings in the southeastern Baltic region, intervened in and made substantial gains for Sweden in the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), and nurtured the development of Sweden's economy and educational institutions.
During the years of Christina's minority, Oxenstierna was the most powerful person in Sweden and effectively its leader. It was then that he secured acceptance of the 1634 Form of Government, a sixty-five-paragraph constitutional document that defined Sweden's political system, probably written by Oxenstierna, which he claimed carried Gustavus Adolphus's approval. The king's right to rule was clear, and ordinary business was entrusted to the five great officers of state (chancellor, steward, treasurer, marshal, and admiral), each of whom headed one of the "colleges" (departments). The competencies and review procedures for each were defined. The parliament's place in the system was affirmed. Overall, it spelled out existing trends in political development and assured the continuance of government during the absence of a monarch or during a minority.
In this same period, Oxenstierna directed Sweden's involvement in Germany, negotiated new subsidies from the French, and engineered a brief war with Denmark (1644–1645). He also worked successfully to improve the state's economic situation, which was accomplished by encouraging the immigration of experts in banking, trade, mining, and manufacturing (many from the Netherlands), helping to found commercial companies (such as the New Sweden Company), supporting monopolies (such as those in the copper, iron, and grain trades), and revising the toll systems in Swedish-held ports in the Baltic to increase revenues.
During the last decade of his life, Oxenstierna's health and powers declined. Christina did not share his constitutional views, and she asserted her independence via court favorites and clever political manipulations. She opposed him on the war in Germany, financial policies, her marriage, and the succession issue. Her abdication and the accession of Charles X Gustav in 1654 were both defeats for the aging statesman.
Historians vary in their assessments of Oxenstierna. Some argue that he was power-hungry and wanted to create a dynasty, if not to gain the throne, then to control it. Others believe he hoped to make Sweden an aristocratic republic, on the model of Poland but more effective. There are also those who claim he epitomizes the selfless public servant working for the good of his state. There is no consensus, and the truth probably lies in a mixture of these views. Whatever his motives were, it is clear that he devoted his entire professional life to the development of Sweden.
Bibliography
Jespersen, Leon, ed. A Revolution from Above? The Power State of 16th- and 17th-Century Scandinavia. Odense, 2000.
Nilsson, Sven A. "Gustav II Adolf och Axel Oxenstierna: En studie i maktdelning och dess alternativ." Scandia, 62 (1996), 169–194.
Roberts, Michael. Gustavus Adolphus. London and New York, 1992.
——. Sweden as a Great Power. New York, 1968. This collection of documents includes translations of Gustavus Adolphus's accession charter and parts of the 1634 Form of Government.
—BYRON J. NORDSTROM
| Quotes By: Count Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna |
Quotes:
"The quantity of books in a person's library, is often a cloud of witnesses to the ignorance of the owner."
"Behold, my son, with what little wisdom the world is ruled."
| Wikipedia: Axel Oxenstierna |
| The High Well Born Count Axel Oxenstierna |
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| In office 1612 – 1654 |
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| Preceded by | Svante Turesson Bielke |
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| Succeeded by | Erik Oxenstierna |
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| In office 1622 – 1626 |
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| Preceded by | ? |
| Succeeded by | ? |
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| In office 1626 – 1631 |
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| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | None |
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| Born | June 16, 1583 Fånö, Uppland, Sweden |
| Died | August 28, 1654 (aged 71) Stockholm, Sweden |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Åkesdotter Bååt |
| Children | Gustaf Oxenstierna, Johan Oxenstierna, Catharina Oxenstierna, Christina Oxenstierna, Beata Oxenstierna, Barbro Oxenstierna, Åke Oxenstierna, Maria Oxenstierna, Gabriel Oxenstierna, Jakob Oxenstierna, Erik Oxenstierna |
| Residence | Tidö Palace |
| Occupation | Statesman |
Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre (/ˈʊksɛnˌʃɛrna/) (
pronunciation (help·info)) (June 16, 1583 – August 28, 1654), Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman.[1] He became a member of the Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of both Gustavus Adolphus and later Queen Christina.[2]
Oxenstierna is widely considered one of the most influential people in Swedish history. He played an important role during the Thirty Years' War and was appointed Governor-General of occupied Prussia; he also laid the foundations of Swedish central government administration.
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Early life and education
Oxenstierna was born on June 16, 1583, at Fånö in Uppland, the son of Gustaf Gabrielsson Oxenstierna (1551-1597) and Barbro Axelsdotter Bielke (1556-1624). He was the oldest of nine siblings.[3] After the death of her husband Gustaf, Axel's mother Barbro decided to let Axel and his brothers Christer and Gustaf finish their studies abroad. Thus, the brothers received their education at the universities of Rostock, Wittenberg and Jena. On returning home in 1603 he took up an appointment as kammarjunkare to King Charles IX of Sweden.[4]
Career
1606-1611: Becoming diplomat and Privy Councillor
In 1606 he undertook his first diplomatic mission, to Mecklenburg and other German royal courts. While on diplomatic duty abroad, Oxenstierna gained appointment to the Privy Council (Riksrådet).[4] Henceforth, Oxenstierna became one of the king's most trusted servants.[5] In 1609 he travelled to Reval (present day Tallinn) to, on King Charles's behalf, receive tributes from the city of Reval and the Estonian knighthood.[1] Together with other councillors, Oxenstierna tried to warn the king of Denmark and the intentions of Danish King Christian IV.[6] In 1610, Oxenstierna travelled to Copenhagen with the aim of preventing war with the neighbours, but unsuccessfully.[5] The following year, Danish forces crossed the border, initiating the Kalmar War. In the fall of 1611, King Charles died. Around New Year 1611-12, the parliament had to deal with the situation. According to the rules, the 17-year-old Gustavus Adolphus had not reached the proper age to be considered adult enough to rule as king. However, the estates agreed to disregard those rules. In return, the young king agreed to ensure the nobles further privileges and appoint Axel Oxenstierna Lord High Chancellor.[6]
1612-1629: Becoming Lord High Chancellor and Governor-General
On 6 January, 1612 Oxenstierna became Lord High Chancellor (Rikskansler) of the Privy Council.[3] His controlling, organizing hand soon became apparent in every branch of the administration.[5] Sweden was at the time troubled by three wars against Denmark (Kalmar War), Poland-Lithuania (Polish-Swedish War) and Russia (Ingrian War). Oxenstierna's first big task as Chancellor was to achieve peace in some of the wars. The war against Denmark was considered the most dangerous of the three as the enemy controlled parts of Sweden itself.[6] Negotiations began in Knäred and Oxenstierna was first Swedish plenipotentiary. The negotiations led to the Treaty of Knäred in 1613. For his efforts regarding these negotiations, Oxenstierna received the title of district judge in the hundred of Snävringe and, eventually, the barony of Kimito.[1]
During the frequent absences of Gustavus in Livonia and in Finland (1614-1616) Oxenstierna acted as his viceroy.[5] One assignment Oxenstierna received while the king was in Livonia, was the task to finalize the negotiations regarding the marriage of John Casimir and the king's sister, Princess Catharina.[4] At the coronation of Gustavus Adolphus, in October 1617, Oxenstierna was knighted.[3] In 1620 he headed the embassy dispatched to Berlin to arrange the nuptial contract between Gustavus and Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg. During the king's Russian and Polish wars he had the principal duty of supplying the armies and the fleets with everything necessary, including men and money.[5] Oxenstierna's ways of carrying out his assignments apparently gained King Gustavus's appreciation, since the king, in 1622, asked Oxenstierna to accompany him to Livonia and appointed him Governor-General and commandant of Riga, a strategically important town during the on-going war against Poland.[1][5] His services in Livonia gained him the reward of four castles (among others Burtnieki and Valmiera)[3] and the whole bishopric of Wenden. Entrusted with the peace negotiations which led to the truce with Poland in 1623, he succeeded in averting a threatened rupture with Denmark in 1624. The Polish-Swedish War was reinitiated in 1626, and on 7 October that year, Oxenstierna became Governor-General in the newly-acquired Swedish possession of Prussia. In 1629 he concluded the advantageous Truce of Altmark with Poland-Lithuania. Prior to this, in September 1628, he arranged a joint occupation of Stralsund with Denmark in order to prevent that important fortress from falling into the hands of the Imperialists.[5]
Oxenstierna was not only highly successful within the diplomacy. During these years, he was entrusted with various important assignments in which he succeeded, such as gathering money and troops for the attack in Prussia in 1626. He played the leading organizational and administrational role in Prussia, as he had done earlier in Livonia. He was in charge of, for example, tolls, fortifications and the entire state grain trade.[1] During the latter part of the 1620's, Elbląg (German: Elbing), where Oxenstierna resided and from where he governed the Swedish parts of Prussia, became a major Swedish centre of power, second only to Stockholm.[7]
1630-1636: Oxenstierna in the Thirty Years' War
When Sweden entered the Thirty Years' War in the summer of 1630, tolls from Oxenstierna-controlled Prussia, as well as food supplies acquired by Oxenstierna, were pivotal assets.[1] He had also obtained credits from foreign businessmen, ensuring large sums of money making it possible to buy mercenary soldiers to the army used in Germany.[7]
After the Battle of Breitenfeld on 7 September, 1631, Oxenstierna received a summons to assist the king with his counsels and co-operation in Germany. During the king's absence in Franconia and Bavaria in 1632 he held the appointment of legatus in the Rhineland, with plenipotentiary authority over all the German generals and princes in the Swedish service. Although he never fought a battle, he frustrated all the efforts of the Spanish troops by using strategically successful regulations. He managed to conduct large reinforcements to King Gustavus through the heart of Germany in the summer of 1632.[5]
In the Battle of Lützen (1632), on 6 November, 1632, Gustavus Adolphus died.[8] This meant that Oxenstierna became supreme commander of the Swedish troops in Germany, although he let his subordinate generals be responsible for the military operations on a lower level. He moved his headquarters to Mainz, which in practice became the new Swedish capital.[7] Oxenstierna was now absolute ruler of the significant area that the Swedish army had conquered in Germany. He was offered the position as prince-elector of Mainz, but, after serious considerations, the offer was turned down.[1]
When King Gustavus died in November 1632, his only legitimate and surviving child, Christina, was almost six years old. Until her declaration of majority at age 18, a regency ruled Sweden. This regency was headed by Lord High Chancellor Oxenstierna. During the years after the king's death, it became appearant that differences of opinion existed within the regency. Some of Oxenstierna's colleagues recommended that Sweden should seek peace and withdraw from the war in Germany, not least after the defeat at Nördlingen in 1634. However, Oxenstierna's opinion, that Sweden should remain in the war to ensure compensation for the sacrifices made, prevailed.[7] The, for the Swedish side, disastrous outcome at Nördlingen brought him, for an instant, to the verge of ruin and compelled him for the first time so far to depart from his policy of independence as to solicit direct assistance from France. But, well aware that Richelieu needed the Swedish armies as much as he himself needed money, he refused at the Conference of Compiègne in 1635 to bind his hands in the future for the sake of some slight present relief. In 1636, nevertheless, he concluded a fresh subsidy-treaty with France at Wismar.[5] Swedish troops remained in Germany all the way until 1648 and the Thirty Years' War's end.[9] Oxenstierna, however, left Germany and returned to Stockholm in 1636, after ten years duty as premier Swedish representative in Prussia and Germany.[7]
1636-1654: Back in Sweden
Oxenstierna more directly claimed his place within the regency of Queen Christina and became the young queen's teacher in statesmanship.[1][6] His presence at home dominated all opposition, and such was the general confidence for Oxentierna, that for the next nine years his voice, especially as regarded foreign affairs, remained omnipotent in the Privy Council.[5]
The Torstenson War
In May 1643, the Swedish Privy Council decided to attack Denmark. The Torstenson War was at large parts the work of Oxenstierna. The purpose was to gain territories from Denmark and be released from the Danish Sound Dues.[7] Other factors might have been a will to revenge the tough peace treaty of Knäred in 1613. Whatever the reason, Oxenstierna regarded the time was right to finally settle the score with Denmark. Swedish troops led by Field Marshal Lennart Torstensson attacked Danish Jutland from Germany, while Field Marshal Gustav Horn was in charge of the troops that attacked Scania. When the Netherlands came to Sweden's aid, the outcome of the war was settled.[10] Oxenstierna was personally involved in the negotiations leading to the Treaty of Brömsebro, with which Sweden gained Gotland, Saaremaa (Ösel), Jämtland, Härjedalen and for thirty years Halland.[7][10] Shortly after the peace treaty, Oxenstierna was appointed Count of Södermöre.[1]
Queen Christina and her abdication
When Christina came to age, she tried to push Oxenstierna, her old mentor, aside.[6] The relations between the two was not good and Oxenstierna always attributed the exiguity of Sweden's gains by the Peace of Westphalia following the conference in Osnabrück to Christina's undue interference, which merely gave Sweden Pomerania, Usedom, Wollin, Wismar and Bremen-Verden.[5] When the queen a few years later wanted to abdicate, Oxenstierna at first opposed this because he feared mischief to Sweden from the unruly and adventurous disposition of her appointed successor, Charles X Gustav. The chancellor changed his mind about Charles Gustav, and decided to give Christina the help she needed to carry through her abdication. A couple of months after the inauguration of the new king, Oxenstierna died.[5][6]
Death
Oxenstierna died in Stockholm on August 28, 1654. He was interred in Storkyrkan, Stockholm on March 18, 1655. His body was then moved to Jäders kyrka in Eskilstuna Municipality,[3] where a vault had been built in accordance with his wishes. In the vault, Oxenstiernska gravvalvet, several members of the Oxenstierna family have been buried, including Axel and his spouse Anna.[11]
Personal life
Family
On June 5, 1608, Axel Oxenstierna married Anna Åkesdotter Bååt, the daughter of nobleman Åke Johansson Bååt and Christina Trolle. The wedding took place at Fiholm Castle, owned by the Oxenstierna family. Axel and Anna had 13 children, of which five survived their childhoods. Gustaf (1609-1629), the oldest child, became a chamberlain. Johan (1611-1657), the second son to receive that name (the first died as an infant) became a privy councillor.[3] Twin sisters Catharina (1612-1661) and Christina (1612-1631), married noblemen; Catharina was the spouse of Johan Jespersson Cruus and Christina married Field Marshal and Lord High Constable Gustav Horn.[12][13] The youngest child, Erik (1624-1656), served as a Lord High Chancellor after the death of his father Axel in 1654. Axel Oxenstierna's wife Anna died in 1649.[3]
Properties
Oxenstierna was in possession of large estates and many mansions. During his life he owned palaces in, among others, Estonian Otepää, in Livonian Burtnieki, Ropaži and Valmiera, in Finnish Nousiainen (Nousis) and in Stockholm (Oxenstiernska Palace).[3] The foremost of the mansions was Tidö Palace in Västmanland.[7]
Impact and legacy
The modernization of Sweden
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Axel Oxenstierna is perhaps mostly remembered for the establishment of a uniformed administrative system.[2] He was ever-present during the vast reform work in the 1610s and 1620s, when the Swedish government machine was hugely modernized and made more effective. This was a necessity for the politics of war that built the Swedish Empire. Among the areas that were affected by the reforms, were the army's and navy's organization and recruiting, the politics concerning trade and industries, the regional and local administration as well as the higher educational system and judicial system.[7]
Relationship with King Gustavus Adolphus
Oxenstierna would not have had such an impact unless he had won the king's trust. From 1612, when Oxenstierna was appointed Lord High Chancellor, until 1632, when King Gustavus Adolphus died, the two men struck a long and successful partnership. They seem to have complemented each other. With Oxenstierna's own words, his "cool" balanced the king's "heat". More than once, the chancellor had to realize plans of the king, plans that sometimes were highly spontaneous and far from ready to be implemented in reality. When it came to entering the Thirty Year's War, Oxenstierna was not as enthusiastic as the king, but since the king's will was decisive, Oxenstierna accommodated to Gustavus's wish. At times, Oxenstierna stepped in to ease tense relations that the harsh behaviour of the king had caused.[7] He regularly received the highest praise for his work from the king and there were almost no area within which King Gustavus did not consult his Lord High Chancellor Oxenstierna.[1]
The mind behind the Instrument of Government of 1634
The Chancellor made large contributions to the Standing orders of the House of Knights (riddarhusordning) of 1626.[2] After the death of Gustavus Adolphus, Oxenstierna was the mind behind the Instrument of Government of 1634, in which, for example, the organization of the five Great Officers of the Realm was clarified. Five governmental branches, of which the Great Officers became heads, were established.[2][14] Oxenstierna pushed through the Instrument of Government, but not without opposition. He claimed that the new form of government reflected the will of the late King Gustavus, making himself the interpreter of the king's thoughts and wishes, and leaving the opposition no possibility to control the truth in this.[7]
Opinions
Oxenstierna is regarded as having been a brilliant pragmatist, willing to reconsider his positions. There are examples of discussions within the Privy Council when Oxenstierna rejected laws earlier introduced by himself while admitting he did not know better back then. His ways of testing, examining, rejecting and reconsidering, might make that the legacy of Oxenstierna is more his way of tackling problems rather than his thoughts in different points of issue.[6]
When he discovered that there were too few young noblemen to man the governmental positions, he contributed in making it easier for boys outside the noble families to gain education high enough, and gave them the possibility to, in the extension, become raised to the nobility. He could therefore be considered as the father of Swedish meritocracy.[6]
Furthermore, he was a supporter of the mercantilism and a believer in immigration and enterprising.[2]
Opinions about Oxenstierna
Dutch jurist and philosopher Hugo Grotius considered the chancellor to be "the greatest man of the century". French Cardinal Richelieu called Oxenstierna "an inexhaustible source of fine advice" while Richelieu's successor, Cardinal Mazarin, said, that if all ministers of Europe were on the same ship, the helm would be handed to Oxenstierna. Pope Urban VIII claimed that Oxenstierna was one of the most excellent men, the world had seen.[4]
Quotation
"Do you not know, my son, with how little wisdom the world is governed?" (in a letter to his offspring written in 1648, in the original Latin An nescis, mi fili, quantilla prudentia mundus regatur). Although attributed to Cardinal Richelieu as well, this is probably the most famous Swedish quotation in the Anglo-Saxon world. The words were intended to encourage his son, a delegate to the negotiations that would lead to the Peace of Westphalia, who worried about his ability to hold his own amidst experienced and eminent statesmen and diplomats.
This sentence was also quoted by Adolf Hitler in his book Mein Kampf.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Nordisk Familjebok - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna" (in Swedish). Nordisk Familjebok at runeberg.org. 1914. http://runeberg.org/nfbt/0622.html. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ a b c d e "Axel Oxenstierna" (in Swedish). ne.se. Nationalencyklopedien. http://ne.se/axel-oxenstierna. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Oxenstierna Family Website - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre" (in Swedish/English). oxenstierna.org. http://www.oxenstierna.org/person_card.php?lang=en&pid=243&show_life_events=1&show_literature=1&show_properties=1&sum_properties=1&show_images=1&session_id=. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
- ^ a b c d Hofberg, Herman; Heurlin, Millqvist & Rubensson (1906). "Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon - Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna" (in Swedish). Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon at runeberg.org. http://runeberg.org/sbh/b0252.html. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Encyclopædia Britannica - Oxenstjerna, Count Axel Gustafsson". Encyclopædia Britannica - eleventh edition at us.archive.org. 1910-1911. pp. 401-402. http://ia311327.us.archive.org//load_djvu_applet.cgi?file=2/items/EncyclopaediaBritannica1911HQDJVU/Encyclopedia_Britannica_20_Ode_-_Payment_of_members.djvu. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wetterberg, Gunnar (2005). "Den mäktige Oxenstierna" (in Swedish). popularhistoria.se. Populär Historia. http://www.popularhistoria.se/o.o.i.s?id=43&vid=1205. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ericson Wolke, Lars; Larsson, Villstrand. Historiska Media. ed (in Swedish). Trettioåriga kriget. pp. 145-148. ISBN 91-85377-37-6.
- ^ Ericson Wolke, Lars; Larsson, Villstrand. Historiska Media. ed (in Swedish). Trettioåriga kriget. pp. 125. ISBN 91-85377-37-6.
- ^ Ericson Wolke, Lars; Larsson, Villstrand. Historiska Media. ed (in Swedish). Trettioåriga kriget. pp. 180. ISBN 91-85377-37-6.
- ^ a b Ericson Wolke, Lars; Larsson, Villstrand. Historiska Media. ed (in Swedish). Trettioåriga kriget. pp. 191-199. ISBN 91-85377-37-6.
- ^ "Oxenstierna Family Website - Jäder kyrka" (in Swedish/English). oxenstierna.org. http://www.oxenstierna.org/property_card.php?prid=76&lang=en&show_life_events=1&show_literature=1&show_properties=1&sum_properties=1&show_images=1&session_id=. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
- ^ "Oxenstierna Family Website - Catharina Axelsdotter Oxenstierna af Södermöre" (in Swedish/English). oxenstierna.org. http://www.oxenstierna.org/person_card.php?pid=437&lang=en&show_life_events=1&show_literature=1&show_properties=1&sum_properties=1&show_images=1&session_id=. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
- ^ "Oxenstierna Family Website - Christina Axelsdotter Oxenstierna af Södermöre" (in Swedish/English). oxenstierna.org. http://www.oxenstierna.org/person_card.php?pid=623&lang=en&show_life_events=1&show_literature=1&show_properties=1&sum_properties=1&show_images=1&session_id=. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
- ^ "Nordisk Familjebok - Riksämbetsmän" (in Swedish). Nordisk Familjebok at runeberg.org. 1916. http://runeberg.org/nfcc/0217.html. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Axel Oxenstierna |
- The Correspondence of Axel Oxenstierna - at the National Archives of Sweden
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Svante Turesson Bielke |
Realm Chancellor of Sweden 1612–1654 |
Succeeded by Erik Oxenstierna |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by ? |
Governor-General of Riga 1622–1626 |
Succeeded by ? |
| Preceded by New title |
Governor-General of Prussia 1626–1631 |
Succeeded by Office abolished |
| Titles of nobility | ||
| New title | Count of Södermöre 1st creation 1645–1654 |
Succeeded by Johan Oxenstierna |
| New title | Baron of Kimito 1st creation 1614–1654 |
Succeeded by Johan Oxenstierna |
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