Axel Oxenstierna

Swedish diplomat and statesman

• Born: June 16, 1583
• Birthplace: Fånö, near Uppsala, Sweden
• Died: August 28, 1654
• Place of death: Stockholm, Sweden

Combining intellect, courage, humor, and integrity, Oxenstierna mastered every aspect of state service and helped Gustavus II Adolphus to produce Sweden’s age of greatness. As chancellor for Queen Christina, he was largely responsible for New Sweden on the Delaware in North America.

Early Life

Axel Oxenstierna (AK-sehl OOHK-sehn-shehr-nah) was born to Gustavus Oxenstierna and Barbro Bielke, who came from ancient noble families. During his youth, Oxenstierna experienced a Sweden torn by conflict between the monarchy and the aristocracy. His father died early in 1597, and because civil war had broken out, young Axel was sent to Germany to study. He studied history, languages, and practical politics. In 1602, he returned to Sweden and swore allegiance to Charles IX. His diplomatic skills were rewarded with a post on the exchequer. He married Anna Boot in 1608 and in the following year became a member of the Swedish Council of State.

Life’s Work

Oxenstierna began his forty-two-year career as chancellor in 1612, following the death of Charles IX in 1611. Gustavus II Adolphus , Charles’s successor, appointed Oxenstierna, who had confirmed him as king and convinced him to issue a charter protecting against royal abuses. Oxenstierna’s appointment came at a time of great internal and external unrest. On the domestic front, he represented the aristocracy in its struggle against the monarchy—his success already demonstrated by the king’s protective charter. Oxenstierna’s skill as a diplomat also began to surface in his interactions abroad.

Oxenstierna spent the next several years negotiating war settlements with Denmark, Russia, and Poland. The Peace of Knäred was signed with Denmark in 1613. By 1617, the Treaty of Stolbovo was agreed to by Russia, cutting that country off from the Baltic by extending Swedish control around the Gulf of Finland. Poland’s interests in using Russia to place Sigismund’s heirs on the Swedish throne were effectively delayed at this time, keeping that war in abeyance.

Oxenstierna now turned his attention toward domestic reform. He wrote the riksdagsordning (parliamentary law) in 1617. Development of towns to increase the middle class and commerce was the focus of his work in 1619, followed by local government reform in 1623. He was behind the reorganization of the nobility into three classes in 1626.

Meanwhile, diplomatic negotiations continued with Poland and Denmark. In 1626, the king shifted his war against Poland to Prussia and appointed Oxenstierna governor-general of the newly occupied territory. Oxenstierna organized the collection of the tolls from the Baltic ports, which provided much-needed financial support for the Swedish war efforts up to 1635. It was clear that the Swedish dynastic struggles had become deeply involved in the European conflicts of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). In 1629, Oxenstierna negotiated peace with Poland, resulting in the Truce of Altmark.

Oxenstierna entered a new phase of his career when he was called to Germany by Gustavus Adolphus in 1631. He organized and led the army that brought relief to the king at Nürnberg in August of 1632. This military success allowed him to add revenues from occupied territory to port tolls and foreign subsidies to finance Sweden’s war efforts. The string of victories came to an end with the death of Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Lützen in November of 1632. Leadership of Swedish affairs was assumed by Oxenstierna in Germany.

In 1633, he went to Saxony to create the Protestant league that Gustavus Adolphus had planned. The gathering at Heilbronn was led by Oxenstierna, but the Northern German princes never joined. After the military defeat at Nördlingen in 1634, Sweden’s allies were disunited and disloyal, and many signed the Peace of Prague in 1635. Sweden was deprived of large parts of German territory, which had largely subsidized the war. Renewal of a truce with Poland meant relinquishing the Prussian port tolls, also in 1635. These revenue losses, along with military reverses as imperialist forces recovered, forced Oxenstierna to overcome severe difficulties. At one time, he was the prisoner of mutinous troops who had not been paid.

When Oxenstierna returned to Sweden in 1636, he was the prime ruler of the country, the major power in the council and the regency. He tutored the young Queen Christina (Gustavus Adolphus had made him her principal guardian before his death), who proved to be an apt pupil. He spent three hours each day discussing foreign and domestic affairs and explaining Sweden’s international position and European politics. Christina described him as a tall, proper, straight, handsome man with a sober and fixed countenance and a grave and civil carriage. He is described as being very human in his conversation with Christina. They both derived great pleasure from their study sessions, although their relations were not always harmonious as she grew older.

Conflict between the two first came as a result of Oxenstierna’s acceptance of French alliance and support to continue the war after 1638. The opposition of the Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand III, and the imperialist forces had forced Oxenstierna into this alliance, but his enemies in Sweden accused him of prolonging the war for personal gain. Christina was also dissatisfied with Oxenstierna’s actions and wanted peace. This rift pleased Oxenstierna’s opponents in the council. The queen took an active role in all proceedings after this time.

Relations between the queen and Oxenstierna continued to be capricious. Christina, who had begun to rule independently in 1644, made Oxenstierna a count, granting him several estates and high commendation in an assembly of the Estates following his attack of and subsequent peace with Denmark in the Treaty of Brömsebrö in 1645. Friction resurfaced, however, after the Treaty of Westphalia (terminating the war with the emperor and the German princes) was signed on October 24, 1648. This friction was caused in part by Christina’s growing fondness for France. Oxenstierna had never trusted Cardinal de Richelieu , nor, after Richelieu’s death in 1642, did he trust Jules Mazarin . Swedish aristocrats despised and feared anything, such as French culture, that they considered unnatural and highbrow. Oxenstierna and Mazarin would continue to disagree over foreign policy and over the issue of succession through 1650, when their relations improved.

Oxenstierna’s ongoing efforts to improve Sweden and increase its holdings and wealth were exemplified by his negotiations in the New World. Gustavus Adolphus had been presented with the opportunity to take advantage of trade with the New World as early as 1624. Oxenstierna was looking for a way to increase exports of Swedish copper to help finance the war effort, and, with the help of Peter Minuit, a Dutch colonial official, Oxenstierna’s attention was riveted on the New World. The New Sweden Company was formed, and two vessels left early in November, 1637, entering the South Bay (Delaware River) early in March, 1638. They moved up the river and established Fort Christina, in honor of the twelve-year-old queen. Thus began the Swedish settlement on the Delaware. Trade supplies were slow in arriving, because Sweden’s major attention was focused on the war in Germany. The Dutch in New Netherlands formed a serious threat, finally overcoming the Swedes and Finns in 1655.

Oxenstierna did not live to see the end of New Sweden. He died on August 28, 1654, in Stockholm. The position of chancellor under the new king, Charles X Gustav , who became king upon Christina’s abdication, went to Oxenstierna’s son, Erik.

Significance

Oxenstierna was a great statesman of the seventeenth century. He mastered all aspects of state service, from local government reform to finances. He was successful in organizing and executing military campaigns. Known for his courage, intellect, humor, honesty, and devotion to the Vasa family, he, along with Gustavus Adolphus, pushed and pulled Sweden into an age of greatness, moving it from the edge of European society to center stage in the Thirty Years’ War. He continued his work faithfully as Sweden’s chancellor for forty-two years. It is possible that his most lasting memorial lies along the Delaware River, spreading throughout the United States: the heirs of the New Sweden Company.

Bibliography

Andersson, Ingvar. A History of Sweden. Translated by Carolyn Hannay. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1956. A valuable review of Sweden’s place in history and an assessment of Oxenstierna’s role in Swedish as well as European history. Chapters 16-19 focus on Oxenstierna’s life, with chapter 18 especially valuable on his rule in Sweden during the regency period of Queen Christina.

James, G. P. R. Lives of the Cardinal de Richelieu, Count Oxenstierna, Count Olivarez, and Cardinal Mazarin. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, and Blanchard, 1836. The material on Oxenstierna is in volume 2 and reviews his life with extensive attention to activities during the Thirty Years’ War and Oxenstierna’s efforts on behalf of Sweden after the death of Gustavus II Adolphus.

Losman, Arne, Agneta Lundström, and Margareta Revera, eds. The Age of New Sweden. Translated by Bernard Vowles. Stockholm: Livrustkammaren for the Royal Armoury, 1988. There are five essays in this volume and some excellent illustrations, including one of Oxenstierna’s chapel and his residence, Tidö, in Västmanland. The essays are helpful in presenting Sweden’s developing culture, learning, and social change in the seventeenth century.

Roberts, Michael. From Oxenstierna to Charles XII: Four Studies. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Roberts’s four essays examine Swedish history after the death of Gustavus II Adolphus in 1632. The essay on Oxenstierna focuses on the years 1633 to 1636, when he was based in Germany and managing Sweden’s affairs.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Gustavus Adolphus: A History of Sweden, 1611-1632. 2 vols. London: Longmans, Green, 1953-1958. This definitive biography of Gustavus II Adolphus details his lifelong friendship with Oxenstierna, showing how these two extraordinary men changed the course of Swedish and European history. There are extensive illustrations, maps, bibliography, and a helpful index. Roberts’s work is required reading for understanding this period.

Stolpe, Sven. Christina of Sweden. Edited by Sir Alec Randall. New York: Macmillan, 1966. Many of the myths about Christina are dispelled, and Oxenstierna’s role during the regency period is explained. Contains an excellent review of the literature on Christina. Intended for the general reader.

Weslager, C. A. New Sweden on the Delaware, 1638-1655. Wilmington, Del.: Middle Atlantic Press, 1988. Written for the 350th celebration of the founding of New Sweden by an eminent scholar and historian. Very readable, with excellent sketch maps and sketches, a list of place-names, and a selected reading list.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. The Swedes and Dutch at New Castle. Wilmington, Del.: Middle Atlantic Press, 1987. This study covers the Dutch-Swedish rivalry for control of the Delaware Valley in North America from 1638 to 1664. There is an excellent sketch map of the Delaware River area and eleven other illustrations.