An Unofficial Alliance, Scotland and Sweden 1569-1654

Book excerpt: This work reveals the hitherto unrepresented relationship that developed between Scotland and Sweden during the second half of the sixteenth and first half of the seventeenth centuries. Sweden's emergence as an independent Nordic, and indeed European, power required continual military and economic growth, which in turn necessitated a constant supply of manpower. The initially piecemeal migration of private individuals from Scotland bringing both martial and mercantile skills to Sweden gradually grew into an informal alliance, albeit officially sanctioned by the Swedes, based on personal networks. Equally the impact of Sweden's support for the Scottish Covenanting movement on British state-formation is scrutinized. This fresh perspective on Scottish-Swedish connections is aimed at those interested in state-formation, migration studies, diplomatic developments, and military history.