It is important to know how Charles XII father Charles XI reformed Sweden. First he secured our borders through military supremacy towards Denmark. Then he invented a new system for how to get the soldiers the army needed, there were no mercenarys, all soldiers and officers were sweeds. He taxed the gentry and used the money to build the most efficient and well trained army in Europe. BUT he had no intention of starting war or gain more territories. He avoided conflicts but had to fight and defeat Denmark one last time. The way todays Sweden is organized is more or less the work of him. When he died his son, Charles XII, became king. Unfortuntly the new king was forced to war by the coalition of Russia, Poland, Denmark and Saxonia. His mistake was that he was determied to defeat all his enemies and brake their backs once and fo all. When he died it was Swedens back that was broken.

The thing with the swedish warrior kings was that they never lived in luxury and realised that if a small country like Sweden should develop, you must let gifted people from the lower classes be a part of the power structure. So the kings were not popular with the gentry but had support from the larger part of the population.

Today sadly king Charles XII has become a “hero” for right wing extremists and racists. The king himself would be very upset if he knew that, he was very open to different cultures, intrested in sience and gained greate respect in the Ottoman empire. The turks still call him “the iron head” and perhaps it is the best description of the man. Perhaps it was fortunate that he lost the empire, the land he had to give away is land that has seen two world wars and the holocaust. Those terrible historic events is not a part of Swedens history.

It’s so mindblowingly eye opening it’s awesome like finding out that quiet idyllic snow capped mountain you’ve gazed upon ever since you were a childs’ actually a seething volcano.

It reaks of savage millennia old just out of sight arcane beliefs and given in the modern age so many of our most powerful political leaders rush at the drop of a hat to confirm everything they do’s informed by the Will of God why would anyone struggle to accept the possibility of such motivations back then.

When you think of Kennedy and the potential collapse of the American Empire as it attempts to stare down China it’s enormously contemporary but perhaps most contemporary’s the fate of Baron Goertz daring to think of making the rich pay their way.

That was what finally did for Thatcher daring to point out fining a guy on the dole £50 nicker wiped him out so for the rich to feel commensurately punished it was logical to scale their fine up to match their income.