Ja, i's Sweden

Name: Berwald Oxenstierna

Representative of: Sweden

Gender: The Male variety

Age: Human about 30 some (I know canon is younger, but I like to think canon was a while ago). Historically, at least 1,500 years

Brief personality: Sweden is a quiet man who holds his interests close to his heart. He loves debating and becomes very talkative for subjects he is knowledgeable about, can verbally kick your ass when he wants to. His side hobbies include secretly playing Sims and Minecraft. He loves his children, he would honestly die for them. He loves animals and thinks they're all beautiful blessings of nature. He's actually surprisingly good at baking. He does suffer from PTSD and has some anger issues, which he manages to control most of the time.

Brief physical description: This man is yuge, stands at about 6 foot 7 (because canon heights are kinda stupid imo), has aquamarine eyes and wears a thin pair of glasses. His hair is a soft kind of blond, little messy, almost like he doesn't brush it in the morning, just kinda leaving it. He likes to wear soft sweatpants to bed because they make him comfy. His day to day outfits vary between business casual and "I only got out of bed because I had to this morning". You wouldn't know, but he keeps a flip knife hidden on him at all times, just in case. He also wears a Nordic cross necklace that's always hidden under his shirt, for "Aesthetic".

Brief history: By the 9th century Sweden had become one kingdom. However Swedish kings had little power. When a king died his eldest son did not necessarily inherit the throne. It might go to a younger son or even to the dead kings brother. However as the centuries passed the kings power slowly increased.

In the 11th century Sweden was converted to Christianity. Afterwards it became a part of Western civilization. A missionary called Ansgar went to Sweden in 829 but he had little success in converting the Swedes. However a Swedish king, Olof Stokonung, became a Christian in 1008. However it was a long time before all Swedes were converted. Paganism lingered on in Sweden until the end of the 11th century. Nevertheless by the middle of the 12th century Sweden had become a firmly Christian country.

In 1157 King Eric led Sweden in a crusade to convert the Finns. (Although whether the crusade was really motivated by religion or by politics is debatable. After his death in 1160 Eric became the patron saint of Sweden. In the 13th century the Swedes conquered Finland. (The church feared that the Finns would be converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity and so looked with favor upon a Swedish invasion). A second crusade was launched in 1249. The Russian fought the Swedes for control of Finland. However by 1323 Finland was in Swedish hands. Finland remained a province of Sweden until 1809.

Meanwhile the Swedes and the Danes fought another war in 1643-45. Then in 1655 King Charles X Gustavus invaded Poland and conquered most of the country. In 1657 the Danes went to war against Sweden. At first the Swedes had some success. However in August 1658 tried unsuccessfully to capture Copenhagen. He died in February 1660 and the war with Denmark ended in May 1660. By then Sweden was the dominant power in northern Europe.In 1697 Charles XII became king of Sweden.In 1700 Denmark, Poland and Russia attacked Sweden. The ensuing war became known as the Great Northern War. Charles XII led an army to Zealand in Denmark. As a result the Danes quickly capitulated. Afterwards the Swedes crushed the Russians at the battle of Narva in Estonia. From 1702 to 1706 Charles fought the Poles.

However in 1707 Sweden invaded Russia with disastrous results. In 1708 he marched into the Ukraine. On 28 June 1709 Charles attached the Russians at Poltava and was routed. His army was captured but he fled to Moldavia (then part of the Turkish Empire).

In 1710 the Russians captured Tallinn (Estonia), Riga (Latvia) and Viipuri (Finland) from the Swedes. The Danes also attacked Sweden but they were severely defeated at Halsingborg in 1710 and Gadesbusch in 1712. Charles then attacked Norway. In November 1718 he was killed while besieging the fortress at Fredriksten.

In 1720 Sweden made peace with Denmark. Then in 1721, by the treaty of Nystad, Sweden was forced to give up the Baltic provinces and part of Finland to Russia. For Sweden the age of greatness was over.
In January 1814 the Danes surrendered Norway to Sweden.
Sweden again remained neutral during the Second World War. Sweden had maintained a policy of neutrality since 1814 and this policy had served the country well. Nevertheless in the late 1930s the Swedish government increased military spending in case of attack.

In the late 1940s and 1950s a strong welfare state was created in Sweden. Reforms included more generous old age pensions, child allowances and health insurance. In 1974 a new constitution was introduced and the minimum age for voting was reduced to 18.

Religious affiliation: The country is Lutheran, but doesn't see much importance in religion for himself anymore. (Still holds onto some beliefs for nordic gods though)

Any special powers or abilities: Can see fae creatures same as Norway and Iceland. Is really good at building furniture. 10/10 Horse riding skills if you count that

Current relationship: Married to Guiomar
(War Horseman of the Apocalypse -Owned by Roselle Guillory [No longer a member]