Extra Credits
Published on 23 Sep 2017Charles XII narrowly escaped the Russian pursuit, with help from the Ottoman Empire. But the weak points in his army had been clearly exposed. Northern Europe united against him – but of course, Charles XII responded by launching a fateful counter-offensive into Norway.
September 25, 2017
Great Northern War – V: Rise and Fall – Extra History
Comments Off on Great Northern War – V: Rise and Fall – Extra History
QotD: IKEA’s shady history
IKEA itself serves as a fitting symbol of the middle-class masquerade. The company’s well-managed brand obscures the fact that its founder, Ingvar Kamprad, at the time that he founded the store in 1943, was a member of Sweden’s pro-Nazi fascist party, in which he continued to be active at least until 1948 and which he continued to praise for decades after; or that the company used forced prison labor in East Germany until the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is fitting that IKEA’s current worth is unknown, since it is technically owned by a phony-charity shell company incorporated in the Netherlands, enabling Kamprad to evade Swedish taxes. This is not to single out IKEA for particular scorn: one could write an equally lurid laundry list about almost any large corporation; a fascist undertone usually lurks beneath the surface of mass-production and mass-marketing. Consider the fact that Apple uses what is slave labor in all but name in China yet none of their customers seem to care.
Samuel Biagetti, “The IKEA Humans: The Social Base of Contemporary Liberalism”, Jacobite, 2017-09-13.
Comments Off on QotD: IKEA’s shady history
September 18, 2017
Great Northern War – IV: Clash of Kings – Extra History
Extra Credits
Published on 16 Sep 2017Charles XII had gone to the Ukraine hoping for supplies and reinforcements, especially from the cossacks led by Ivan Mazeppa. But Peter the Great was hot on his trail, and had no intention of letting him off that easy.
Comments Off on Great Northern War – IV: Clash of Kings – Extra History
September 13, 2017
The Thirty Years War
Published on 10 Nov 2014
The Thirty Years’ War was fought from 1618-1648 (Thirty Years!) in the Holy Roman Empire. It began as a conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Bohemia, but grew to involve Denmark, Sweden, and France. After the French began helping Gustavus Adolphus, the Protestant king of Sweden, the lines became blurry and the war became more about the balance of power in Europe than about religion. The Peace of Westphalia paved the way for France to become the dominant power in Western Europe and for the permanent decline of the Holy Roman Empire as a political institution.
If you like this lecture, check out my other lectures for AP European History and Western Civilization!
September 12, 2017
Great Northern War – III: Young and Violent – Extra History
Published on 9 Sep 2017
Flush from his victories against Poland-Lithuania, Charles XII of Sweden sets his eyes on an even greater enemy: Russia. But its ruler, Peter the Great, is no pushover: as the Swedish troops advance, he burns down the countryside and leaves them starving and exposed as a ferocious winter sets in.
Comments Off on Great Northern War – III: Young and Violent – Extra History
September 9, 2017
The Seven Years’ War
Published on 19 Nov 2016
The Seven Years’ War essentially comprised two struggles. One centered on the maritime and colonial conflict between Britain and its Bourbon enemies, France and Spain; the second, on the conflict between Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia and his opponents: Austria, France, Russia, and Sweden. Two other less prominent struggles were also worthy of note. As an ally of Frederick, George II of Britain, as elector of Hanover, resisted French attacks in Germany, initially only with Hanoverian and Hessian troops but from 1758 with the assistance of British forces also. In 1762, Spain, with French support, attacked Britain’s ally Portugal, but, after initial checks, the Portuguese, thanks to British assistance, managed to resist successfully.
Comments Off on The Seven Years’ War
August 28, 2017
Great Northern War – II: A Good Plan – Extra History
Published on 26 Aug 2017
The wrath of Charles XII was now aimed directly at Poland-Lithuania. But their leader had a plan! ..A terrible plan.
Augustus the Strong was determined to prove his might by defeated Charles XII on the battlefield. He gathered his Polish-Lithuanian forces, met the Swedes, and proceded to… lose. And lose. And lose. Then he got deposed and started a civil war which of course he also lost.
Comments Off on Great Northern War – II: A Good Plan – Extra History
August 26, 2017
When is an archaeological artifact merely “recyclable”?
In Sweden, apparently, it’s actually becoming a common practice to discard “excess” metal artifacts for literal recycling:
One of the amulet rings from the Iron Age that archaeologists are recycling. Previously, this type of object was saved, says archaeologist Johan Runer.
(Photo from Svenska Dagbladet, caption from Never Yet Melted)
Rough translation from Swedish language article in Svenska Dagbladet:
While the debate about burning books is raging in the media, Swedish archaeologists throw away amulet rings and other ancient discoveries. It feels wrong and sad to destroy thousands of years of ritual arts and crafts, and I’m not alone in feeling so.
“What you do is destroy our history! Says Johan Runer, archaeologist at Stockholm County Museum.
Amulet rings from the Iron Age, like Viking weights and coins, belong to a category of objects that, as far as Runer knows, were previously always saved.
He tried to raise the alarm in an article in the journal Popular Archeology (No. 4/2016), describing how arbitrary thinning occurs. Especially in archeological studies before construction and road projects, the focus is on quickly and cheaply removing the heritage so that the machine tools can proceed.
He works himself in these kinds of excavations. Nobody working in field archeology wants to get a reputation as an uncooperative “find-fanatic” but now he cannot be quiet any longer.
“It’s quite crazy, but this field operates in the marketplace. We are doing business,” says Runer.
Often, especially in the case of minor excavations, there is a standing order from the county administrative boards that as few discoveries as possible should be taken.
If you think it seems unlikely, I recommend reading the National Archives Office’s open archive, such as report 2016: 38. An archaeological preamble of settlement of bronze and iron age before reconstruction by Flädie on the E6 outside Lund.
In the finds catalog, coins, knives, a tin ornament, a ring and a weight from the Viking Age or early Middle Ages have been placed in the column “Weeded Out”.
Comments Off on When is an archaeological artifact merely “recyclable”?
August 25, 2017
Great Northern War – I: When Sweden Ruled the World – Extra History
Published on 19 Aug 2017
A young boy king had inherited the crown of the Swedish Empire, and his neighbors saw an opportunity to attack. To their surprise, young Charles XII of Sweden turned out to be a fearsome opponent who quickly repelled their assaults – and then sought revenge.
Comments Off on Great Northern War – I: When Sweden Ruled the World – Extra History
August 10, 2017
The Treaty of Westphalia
Published on 20 Nov 2008
Treaty of Westphalia
Comments Off on The Treaty of Westphalia
March 21, 2017
Icelandic standup about Nordic neighbours in general and Finnish language in particular
Published on Dec 1, 2016
H/T to Colby Cosh for the link.
Comments Off on Icelandic standup about Nordic neighbours in general and Finnish language in particular
February 16, 2016
September 20, 2015
Interview with Indy Neidell I THE GREAT WAR – Special
Published on 19 Sep 2015
THANK YOU FOR 150.000 SUBSCRIBERS!
Our producer David sat down with Indy in his garden for an interview that answers a few questions you all have been dying to ask. Why Stockholm? Why The Great War Channel? Are you a Historian?
Comments Off on Interview with Indy Neidell I THE GREAT WAR – Special
September 19, 2015
September 15, 2015
Sweden during World War 1 – Balancing Neutrality I THE GREAT WAR Special
Published on 14 Sep 2015
Sweden was neutral during the Great War and like all neutral countries in World War 1 it was affected by the global conflict. Balancing neutrality between the Central Powers and the Entente while also maintaining trade with both sides was not easy – but very profitable. Especially the trade with Germany was very lucrative since it was circumventing the British Naval Blockade. But that was not the only effect the war had on Sweden which became the nation it is today during WW1.
Comments Off on Sweden during World War 1 – Balancing Neutrality I THE GREAT WAR Special
