ABSTRACT
With help from Lubeck, the Swedish aristocracy and part of the peasantry, Gustav Vasa set about a transformation of this early mediaeval society into an absolutist feudal state. The economic base of the empire was founded on an astute coupling of Sweden's mineral resources with the burgeoning industrial markets of Europe. The rising star of vere aureum saeculum heralded liberation from foreign tyranny – ecclesiastical and imperial – and energies were rallied to build and monitor the empire of Sweden backed by a State Church. The successes of Vasa's own military exploits were in large part due to the superiority of the Swedish account keeping and supply-inventories (ordning och reda – order and preparedness). The loss of Finland in 1809 dealt a painful blow to the people of Sweden. It called forth a concerted effort to build a deeper sense of national self-confidence and patriotism. Ambivalent attitudes toward nature and natural science became apparent during the Pro Patria period.
