Charles XI, king of Sweden

Charles XI, 1655–97, king of Sweden (1660–97), son and successor of Charles X. Charles ascended the throne at the age of five, so a council of regency ruled until 1672. The regency ended Swedish wars with favorable peace treaties (see Charles X Charles X, 1622–60, king of Sweden (1654–60), nephew of Gustavus II. The son of John Casimir, count palatine of Zweibrücken, he brought the house of Wittelsbach to the Swedish throne when his cousin, Queen Christina , abdicated in his favor.
..... Click the link for more information. ), but mismanaged internal affairs. On reaching his majority Charles obtained from the Riksdag the restitution of the crown lands that had been given away. Sweden was involved in the third of the Dutch Wars Dutch Wars, series of conflicts between the English and Dutch during the mid to late 17th cent. The wars had their roots in the Anglo-Dutch commercial rivalry, although the last of the three wars was a wider conflict in which French interests played a primary role.
..... Click the link for more information. as an ally of Louis XIV. Charles was defeated (1675) at Fehrbellin by Frederick William Frederick William, known as the Great Elector, 1620–88, elector of Brandenburg (1640–88), son and successor of George William.
..... Click the link for more information. of Brandenburg, who overran Swedish Pomerania, known also as Hither Pomerania. Against Denmark Charles was more successful, particularly at Landskrona (1677). At the Treaty of Saint-Germain (1679) with Brandenburg, Charles, through the influence of Louis XIV, regained Hither Pomerania. The Peace of Lund (1679) with Denmark drew the Scandinavian nations closer together, and in 1680, Charles married Princess Ulrika of Denmark. In Sweden Charles set about increasing the royal power at the expense of the nobles. The Riksdag of 1682 gave him absolute power, which he used efficiently. His son succeeded him as Charles XII.

Charles XI

Swedish Karl

(born Nov. 24, 1655, Stockholm, Swed.—died April 5, 1697, Stockholm) King of Sweden (1660–97). At age five he succeeded his father, Charles X Gustav, and the kingdom was ruled under a regency of aristocrats until Charles came of age in 1672. The regents drew Sweden into the Dutch War (1672–78), but Charles took control of the armies and won favorable results for Sweden by the Treaties of Nijmegen, after which he maintained a foreign policy of neutrality. Within Sweden, Charles expanded royal power at the expense of the higher nobility and established an absolutist monarchy.