Charles I

A portrait of Charles I

**Charles I** was the sixth monarch of Sweden, reigning from 28 November 1536 to 1 February 1556.

## Early Life

Charles I was born on 28 November 1521 to Magnus IV, then the King of Sweden, and Anne I, his wife. When Magnus IV died suddenly on 4 August 1529, Anne stepped in as regent until Charles became of age.

## Rule

### Religious Conflicts

*Main article: Swedish Wars of Religion*
Charles reached the age of majority on 28 November 1536, and was crowned King Charles I. He ascended to rule a realm rife with a disloyal nobility, religious disunity, and rebellious vassals (specifically Estonia, whose independence was supported by Lithuania).

Just a few months into his reign, on 3 February 1537, religious conflicts reached a tipping point, and orthodox zealots rose up in Nya Stockholm. The young king was immediately tasked in resolving this conflict,

Meanwhile, on 3 October, he announced the abolition of the Council of Nobles and replaced it with the Riksdag, thus ending traditional noble control of many Swedish provinces and replacing it with a more modern system of government. It was agreed upon that the King (or Queen) would still have power to pass their own Royal Decrees, whereas the Riksdag would be able to pass their own Laws. The first instance of a royal decree was passed on 11 April 1538, the Blasphemy Act, which made blasphemy a common law and thus punishable. On 2 May 1539, he announced a reform of the navy.

On 2 February 1540, Charles I announced the nation would embrace the counter-reformation. Following this, numerous separatist revolts rose up in Swedish Novgorod and Muscovy, but they were all crushed. Soon, more and more of the Russian territories converted to Catholic.

On 31 December 1547, Charles I passed the Act of Uniformity, which enforced church attendance and standardized the prayers used in the Holy Eucharist. On 12 August 1550, following the conversion of Gustavstad, the religious conflicts finally ended.

### Infinite War

Sweden was in a very sorry state after the Wars of Religion: the nation had taken multiple loans just to pay for missionaries, the nation was a rival to over five countries, and it looked like the era of Swedish dominance would end. But Charles I refused to let this happen. On 3 November 1550, the country finally embraced Colonialism, ended the period of technological backwardness in Sweden. Shortly after, Sweden became a great power.

On 12 November 1551, Charles I declared the Second Pomeranian War to take over the rest of eastern Pomerania. Just like the original Pomeranian War, the war was short and led to the gain of a large amount of provinces - Kolberg, Uckermark, and Stolp. Just a few days after the end of that war, on 14 June 1553 he declared the Lithuanian War to end Lithuania's manipulation of Estonia.

### Death

While marching back to the Swedish mainland to quell Danish rebels, on 1 February 1556, Charles I unexpectedly died and was succeeded by his brother Johan III.

## Personal life

On 9 June 1544, Charles I married Christina Brahe, a lowborn from Dalaskogen. This caused some turmoil from the Riksdag in Stockholm but this was short lived. He did not have any children.