Honestly? It wouldn't have lasted. Sweden just lacked the population to be a true great power. In any protracted war its population would be easily stretched to the limit.WI Sweden had been able to defeat Russia & created a Swedish Empire in the 17th-18th century?
Hmm, maybe a Dutch Empire might be more likely then?Honestly? It wouldn't have lasted. Sweden just lacked the population to be a true great power. In any protracted war its population would be easily stretched to the limit.
If the Netherlands can keep at least a portion of modern day Belgium it has a good chance of being able to both expand further in the colonial sphere as well as industrialize faster than anyone bar Britain.Hmm, maybe a Dutch Empire might be more likely then?
Honestly? It wouldn't have lasted. Sweden just lacked the population to be a true great power. In any protracted war its population would be easily stretched to the limit.
And, of course, to become a king of the PLC and to be able to rule it were not the same thing. 🤪There is a certain neighboring country with a substantial population and a history of electing Swedes to the throne. What Sweden could not hold on her own, perhaps a Polish-Lithuanian-Swedish Commonwealth could. It would be difficult to get Charles XII onto the Polish throne, though--not that he couldn't smash Augustus' armies, but the rampant looting and plunder tended to turn the populace against him. EDIT: And, of course, that Charles was a devout Lutheran.