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( Swedish empire)
Sweden was, between 1611 and 1718, one of the great powers of Europe. In modern historiography this period is known as the Swedish Empire, or Stormaktstiden ("the era of great power"). During the 17th century Sweden emerged as a European great power. Before the emergence of the Swedish Empire, Sweden was a very poor, sparsely populated, barely known of country in northern Europe with no significant power or reputation what so ever. It was suddenly brought up to be one of Europe's leading nations by the genius Axel Oxenstierna and the present king Gustavus Adolphus, thanks to territories seized from Russia and Poland-Lithuania but also greatly thanks to his involvement in the Thirty Years' War, which also made Sweden the continental leader of Protestantism until the Empire's collapse in 1721. At the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War, the Peace of Westphalia Congress in 1648 granted Sweden territories as war reparations. Sweden demanded Silesia, Pomerania (which had been in its possession since the Treaty of Stettin (1630)), and a war indemnity of 20,000,000 Riksdaler. Through the efforts of Axel Oxenstierna and Johan Banér it obtained
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