The Second Treaty of Brömsebro (or the Peace of Brömsebro) was signed on 13 August 1645, and ended the
Torstenson War, a local conflict that began in 1643 (and was part of the larger
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
) between
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and
Denmark–Norway
Denmark–Norway (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ) is a term for the 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (includ ...
. Negotiations for the treaty began in February the same year.
Location
The eastern border between the then Danish province of
Blekinge
Blekinge () is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second-smallest provin ...
and the Swedish province of
Småland
Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name ''Småland'' literally means "small la ...
was formed by the creek
Brömsebäck. In this creek lies an islet that was connected to the Danish and Swedish riversides by bridges. On the islet was a stone that was supposed to mark the exact border between the two countries. By this stone, the delegates met to exchange greetings and, at the end of the negotiations, the signed documents.
The Danish delegation stayed in
Kristianopel while the Swedish side had their accommodation in
Söderåkra.
Delegations
Sweden's highest ranking representative was
Lord High Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna. He was accompanied by, among others,
Johan Skytte, who died during the negotiations and was replaced by Ture Sparre.
and Chancellor
Christen Thomesen Sehested were the chief negotiators of the Danish delegation.
The French diplomat Gaspard Coignet de la Thuillerie was head mediator and observers from
the Hanseatic League,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
,
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...
and
Mecklenburg followed the negotiations.
Results
The military strength of Sweden ultimately forced Denmark–Norway to give in to Swedish demands.
* Denmark–Norway ceded the Norwegian provinces of
Jämtland and
Härjedalen as well as the Danish
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
islands of
Gotland
Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...
and
Saaremaa (Ösel). The Norwegian regions
Idre & Särna were conquered by
Dalecarlian peasants at the suggestion of the Swedish government. The concession of this region was not formally recognised until 1751.
*
Christian IV son,
Frederick II Administrator of the
Prince-Bishopric of Verden (1634–1645) and of the
Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (1635–1645), had to resign, with the two prince-bishoprics being occupied by the Swedes.
* Sweden was exempted from the
Sound Dues, a toll on foreign ships passing through Danish waters into the Baltic Sea, and
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
was exempted from the “
Elbe
The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
dues”, a toll levied until then on ships to that city by the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen.
* Sweden received the Danish province of
Halland
Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Skåne, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Br ...
for a period of 30 years as a guarantee of these provisions.
The treaty was to be followed by the
Treaty of Roskilde of 1658, which forced Denmark–Norway to further concessions.
See also
*''
dominium maris baltici''
*
First Treaty of Brömsebro (1541)
*
List of Swedish wars
*
List of Danish wars
*
List of Norwegian wars
*
List of treaties
Notes
References
*''History of the Norwegian People'' by Knut Gjerset, The MacMillan Company, 1915, Volume I.
*''Nordens Historie'', ved Hiels Bache, Forslagsbureauet i Kjøbenhavn, 1884.
*''The Struggle for Supremacy in the Baltic: 1600–1725'' by Jill Lisk; Funk & Wagnalls, New York, 1967.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Second Treaty of Bromsebro (1645)
Bromsebro
Bromsebro
Bromsebro
1645 in Denmark
1645 in Norway
1645 treaties
Treaties of the Swedish Empire
Treaties of Denmark–Norway
1645 in Sweden