When people ask who the most important monarch in Swedish history is, usually they'll likely say Gustav II Adolf, who's political impact and victories in the 30 years war turned Sweden into a nation to be feared in Europe, and while I do agree he was important for that country, I think his son Gustav III Erik was more important, or atleast just as much as his father. His political reforms and delving into colonialism made gave everyone more of a reason to consider Sweden one of the great powers of Europe. His conquest outside of the continent especially, with New Sweden in North America, the Gold Coast in Africa, the Naledives in India and more, Sweden, while not a colonial empire on the same level as the British or Spanish and more so with the Netherlands and Denmark-Norway, did compete fairly well and maintained itself until around the 20th century with the former colonies still in contact with the mainland even after independence. Gustav was also rather keen on trying to secure the Vasa dynasty for as long as he could maintain, having two sons and three daughters. The dynasty of course wouldn't be forever as long after his death in the mid-1700s, Sweden's queen Margaret married Prince Henry of Prussia-Brandenburg and birthed Frederick I, ending the reign of the Swedish branch of the house of Vasa and the beginning of the Swedish branch of the house of Hohenzollern. Now, with the legacy that Gustav III left behind, that made me think if he either died in his youth or was born female. How would Sweden fair if the Vasa dynasty ended 100 years earlier? What would this ATL Gustav do? What happens to the nation (and Europe) as a whole?
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