"Valdemar Atterdag imposes a levy on Visby, 1361" by
Carl Gustaf Hellqvist (1880)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikings#/media/File:WikingerKarte.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden#/media/File:Vikings-Voyages.png
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden#/media/File:Swedish_Empire_%281560-1815%29_en2.png
«Suionum hinc civitates ipso in Oceano praeter viros armaque classibus
valent. Forma navium eo differt, quod utrimque prora paratam semper
adpulsui frontem agit. Nec velis ministrantur nec remos in ordinem
lateribus adiungunt: solutum, ut in quibusdam fluminum, et mutabile, ut
res poscit, hinc vel illinc remigium. Est apud illos et opibus honos,
eoque unus imperitat, nullis iam exceptionibus, non precario iure
parendi. Nec arma, ut apud ceteros Germanos, in promiscuo, sed clausa
sub custode, et quidem servo, quia subitos hostium incursus prohibet
Oceanus, otiosae porro armatorum manus facile lasciviunt. Enimvero neque
nobilem neque ingenuum, ne libertinum quidem armis praeponere regia
utilitas est.» Tacitus «Germania» (98 a. C.)
«And now begin the states of the Suiones,
situated on the Ocean itself, and these, besides men and arms, are
powerful in ships. The form of their vessels is peculiar in this
respect, that a prow at either extremity acts as a forepart, always
ready for running into shore. They are not worked by sails, nor have
they a row of oars attached to their sides; but, as on some rivers, the
apparatus of rowing is unfixed, and shifted from side to side as
circumstances require. And they likewise honour wealth, and so a single
ruler holds sway with no restrictions, and with no uncertain claim to
obedience. Arms are not with them, as with the other Germans, at the
general disposal, but are in the charge of a keeper, who is actually a
slave; for the ocean forbids the sudden inroad of enemies, and, besides,
an idle multitude of armed men is easily demoralized. And indeed it is
by no means the policy of a monarch to place either a nobleman, a
freeborn citizen, or even a freedman, at the head of an armed force.» Tacitus «Germania» (98 a. C.)
"A civilized
and humane country like Sweden cannot accept that accommodation for
asylum-seekers is set on fire." Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom (
Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti,
SAP)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_L%C3%B6fven#/media/File:L%C3%B6fven_Cabinet_okt_2014.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olof_Palme#/media/File:Palme_Trauer_1986.jpg
Scandinavian Monetary Union https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sweden#/media/File:Two_20kr_gold_coins.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavian_Monetary_Union#/media/File:Scandinavia_M2002074_lrg.jpg