Sweden Research Paper

Sweden is a country located in Europe, and is part of the Nordic countries. Sweden is rich with history and economy, and has impacted the world in quite a few different ways.

After the ice age, the first humans arrived, in around 9,000 BC, due to the area being warm enough. Most Swedes were hunters, and eventually farming came around in 4,000 BC. After 2,000 BC, bronze was introduced. In about 500 BC, iron was also introduced. This was also when the Swedes got in contact with the Romans. The Swedes and the Romans very often traded with each other, with things such as metals, gems, fur, slaves, and other luxuries. After that, in around the 9th century, the viking era began. While the Norwegians and the Danes invaded and raided Western Europe, the Swedish vikings were more interested in trading. They crossed the West and sailed seas. Sweden was very agricultural and was divided into three parts, with the slaves and/or thralls. Above them were the freemen, and above the freemen were jarls or earls, though by the 9th century, Sweden became one kingdom. Sadly, the kings were

quite weak, though as centuries passed, they grew in power. By the 12th century, Sweden was converted to Christianity, though it was tough to get ALL the Swedes converted. To add onto weakness, the Black Death plague struck. It killed ⅓ of the population of Sweden. In 1350, the Swedish king at the time created laws for the whole country, including rights for women. In 1397, for a certain amount of time, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark became one kingdom. It was known as the Union of Kalmar. In the 16th century, after the Union of Kalmar crumbled, after a large battle and a bloodbath, Sweden became an Independent country.

The current prime minister of Sweden is Stefan Lofven, who rules Sweden as a democratic country. As of 2016, 9.903 million people live in Sweden. They use Swedish Krona as currency. Sweden has actually impacted the world, in a way. The world-famous furniture store, Ikea, originated from Almhult, Sweden. To add onto that, the famous, addictive mobile game Candy Crush also originated from Sweden. The creator of the classic building game, Minecraft, Markus ‘’Notch’’ Persson, is also Swedish. Sweden also has an interesting cuisine, such as the classic Swedish meatballs, blood pudding, isterband (a thick sausage), and Ostkaka (a variation of American cheesecake). Most Swedish dishes have simple, but different flavors. Sweden’s economy is actually quite stable, and added onto that, guns are mostly illegal, unless its for legal purposes. This causes a quite low crime rate, but sadly, over the past couple of years, gang shootings, arson, and sexual assault have increased. As for the climate, Sweden has a relatively mild climate. In conclusion, Sweden has a pretty mild economy.

Swedens bordering countries are Norway and Finland.

It’s also quite close to Denmark and Iceland. Unlike Sweden, Finland has about 5 million people, while Sweden has around 9 million people. Like Sweden, though, the first humans in Finland began arriving in 9,000 BC. The two also had the powerful vikings, who raided Europe. However, Finland has an area of 338,424 km, and on the other hand, Sweden has an area of 450, 295 km. It’s true that the two countries have a close relationship. As for Norway, it has a population of also 5 million, unlike Sweden. Though like Finland, and also Sweden, Norway also had a viking age. The two, along with Denmark, were all part of the Kalmar Union at one point in time. Financially, though, Norway is 39% richer than Sweden. Sweden and Denmark, though, have a long history together. For a couple centuries, the two countries fought against eachother in wars many

times