Count Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna (1623–1702) was a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
soldier and statesman, who served as Foreign Minister from 1680 to 1697. During this period, he ensured Sweden remained neutral and moved away from its traditional French alliance.
Life
Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna was born in
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropoli ...
on 16 July 1623, eldest surviving son of
Gabriel Bengtsson Oxenstierna
Gabriel Bengtsson Oxenstierna af Korsholm och Wasa, 1st Count of Korsholma and Vaasa, Finnish: ''Gabriel Pentinpoika Oxenstierna'', (18 March 1586 at Lindholmen Castle, Västergötland – 12 December 1656 at Edsberg Manor, Sollentuna) was a ...
(1586–1656), and Anna Gustafsdotter Banér (1585-1656). He had eleven brothers and sisters.
He was married twice, to Eva Juliana Wachtmeister (1639-1666), then
Magdalena Stenbock
Magdalena Stenbock (14 September 1649 – 24 January 1727), was a politically active Swedish countess and salon holder. She was married to Council President Count Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna. She was recognized as an important contact by forei ...
(1649-1727); the two marriages produced over 20 children in all. His marriage to Eva connected Oxenstierna to
Hans and
Axel Wachtmeister
Axel may refer to:
People
* Axel (name), all persons with the name
Places
* Axel, Netherlands, a town
** Capture of Axel, a battle at Axel in 1586
Arts, entertainment, media
* ''Axel'', a 1988 short film by Nigel Wingrove
* ''Axel'', a Cirque d ...
, senior Swedish nobles who were both anti-French.
His second wife Magdalena came from one of the leading families in Sweden; she was an intelligent and influential individual in her own right and often acted as his political colleague.
Career
After being educated abroad, he began his diplomatic career at the discussions which led to the 1648
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...
that ended the
Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an es ...
. During this time, he became a trusted confidant of the future
Charles X of Sweden. Two years after Charles became king in 1652, Oxenstierna represented Sweden at the Kreistag of
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
.
When the
Second Northern War began in 1655, he took part in the Swedish invasion of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
and became Governor of the newly-conquered
Duchy of Lithuania
The Duchy of Lithuania ( la, Ducatus Lithuaniae; lt, Lietuvos kunigaikštystė) was a state-territorial formation of ethnic Lithuanians that existed from the 13th century to 1413. For most of its existence, it was a constituent part and a nucl ...
. In July 1658, he commanded the garrison of
Thorn, now Toruń when it was besieged by an Imperial-Polish force, surrendering in December; he later helped negotiate the peace of
Oliva
Oliva () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of La Safor in the Valencian Community, Spain. To its east lie of coastline and beaches fronting the Mediterranean Sea, and eight kilometres to the north is Gandia.
The ''Passeig'' (promenade) run ...
that ended the war.
Oxenstierna generally supported closer relations between Sweden and the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
, placing him in opposition to the pro-French faction headed by
Magnus de la Gardie. When Charles X died in 1660, his son
Charles XI of Sweden
Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721).
He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein- ...
was four years old and ruled through a Regency; Oxenstierna was sidelined by de la Gardie and served as Governor-general of
Livonia
Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...
from 1662 to 1666.
He recovered some of his influence when Charles XI attained his majority in 1672 and was Ambassador to Vienna, 1674 to 1676. While there, he presented a 'Memorial' or paper to
Emperor Leopold
Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...
titled ''The case of the persecuted and oppressed Protestants in some parts of Germany and Hungary,'' which was later published in London. During the 1675 to 1679
Scanian War
The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...
, most of
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held ...
was captured by
Brandenburg-Prussia
Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...
and
Denmark-Norway. Oxenstierna helped negotiate the 1679
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris.
Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...
, which restored most of these losses.
When his chief minister
Johan Göransson Gyllenstierna
Johan Göransson Gyllenstierna (18 February 1635 – 10 June 1680) was a Swedish statesman.
Biography
He completed his studies at Uppsala University and then visited most of the European states, which laid the foundation for his deep insight int ...
died in 1680, Charles appointed Oxenstierna President of the Court of Chancery, a position that traditionally controlled foreign policy. A contemporary observed their personalities were very different, describing Oxenstierna as 'sluggish and formal', but that both shared a passion for horses. They also shared a belief Sweden needed peace to restore its economy and society, a guiding principle followed for the 17 years.
Oxenstierna moved Sweden away from its traditional pro-French alliance, instead following a policy of friendship with
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
and the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
. This culminated in the 1681 Treaty of the Hague between Sweden, the Dutch Republic and Emperor Leopold, although he ensured Sweden remained neutral in the 1688 to 1697
Nine Years War
The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...
.
As President of the Court of Chancery, he was also de facto Minister of Culture, approving all publications; author and military engineer
Erik Dahlbergh
''
Count Erik Jönsson Dahlbergh (10 October 162516 January 1703) was a Swedish military engineer, Governor-general and Field marshal. He rose to the level of nobility through his military competence. As an architect and draftsman, he was reno ...
, (1625-1703), dedicated a number of books to him.
When Charles XI died in 1697, Oxenstierna was one of the regents during the minority of his son
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...
, a talented soldier of great energy and ambition. Charles launched the
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...
in 1700 and Oxenstierna retired from office; he died in July 1702 and was buried in
Uppsala Cathedral
Uppsala Cathedral ( sv, Uppsala domkyrka) is a cathedral located between the University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in the Lutheran tra ...
, where his grave monument can still be seen.
The
1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' describes him as "a shrewd and subtle little man, of gentle disposition, but remarkable for his firmness and tenacity of character."
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oxenstierna, Bengt
Governors-General of Sweden
Swedish nobility
Bengt
1623 births
1702 deaths
17th-century Swedish politicians