Johan Adler Salvius (born in 1590 in

Strängnäs Strängnäs is a locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 15,363 inhabitants in 2020. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, one of the thirteen dioceses ...

; died on 24 August 1652 in Stockholm) was a Swedish baron of Örneholm, chancellor, confidant and representative of the

Christina, Queen of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December (New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death a ...

at the peace negotiations at Osnabrück and responsible for the Peace of Westphalia. Salvius was, next to Axel Oxenstierna, one of Sweden's most capable and influential diplomats of his time and correspondent of Hugo Grotius.

Life

Salvius was the son of a civil servant. In 1612 he started his studies in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...

, but also visited the Protestant universities of

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

and Helmstedt where he studied philosophy. Then he moved to

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approxima ...

where he studied medicine, and to Montpellier where he received a degree in law. In 1619 he was involved in the transition of

Göteborg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a p ...

into a

free port Free economic zones (FEZ), free economic territories (FETs) or free zones (FZ) are a class of special economic zone (SEZ) designated by the trade and commerce administrations of various countries. The term is used to designate areas in which co ...

. Salvius was appointed baron and in diplomatic service since 1624. He became involved in the military campaigns of Gustavus Adolphus. In 1629, he attended the peace negotiations in

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

and wrote the "war manifesto". Gustavus Adolphus sent this propaganda to the emperor of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

in 1630? Salvius resided in Hamburg from 1631 till 1634 as a general war commissioner in

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 ...

but moved back to Sweden until 1636. For twelve years he was the only Swedish diplomat in Germany. Salvius made a fortune marrying the (much older) widow of a goldsmith who owned several properties in the Salviigränd alley, which was named after him. Apart from his undoubted diplomatic skills, his

greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as und ...

was particularly pronounced. From 1643 he was preparing the peace negotiations at Osnabrück, as a second man behind

Johan Oxenstierna Johan Axelsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre (24 June 1611 – 5 December 1657) was a Count and a Swedish statesman. Biography The son of Lord High Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, he was born in Stockholm. He completed his studies at Uppsala in 1 ...

, as Christina wanted peace at any cost, and therefore sent her own delegate. When it became clear Johan Oxenstierna was not capable to fulfill his task neither diplomatic nor mentally, Salvius managed to push through the view of Queen Christina. In 1648 Salvius considered it “a great miracle that we hear of revolts by the people against their rulers everywhere in the world, for example in France, England, Germany, Poland,

Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 * Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domes ...

, and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

,” and wondered “whether this can be explained by some general configuration of the stars in the sky.” In 1650 he went back to Stockholm.Personalities from Hamburg
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salvius, Johan Adler Swedish diplomats 1590 births 1652 deaths Christina, Queen of Sweden 17th-century Swedish politicians