A break with Poland resulted in internal dissensions, as Erik's brother, Johan, who was duke of Finland, married Katerina, the sister of the Polish king, Sigismund Augustus, and as security for a loan to his brother-in-law. got some Polish castles in Livonia. A brief civil war took place. Erik's troops took Abo, and Johan and Katerina were put in prison, after being tried and sentenced by the Riksdag. Negotiations were entered into with Ivan the Terrible in Russia and ended with a proposal for a treaty con taining the condition—a blot upon Erik's name—that Duke Johan's wife should be handed over to the tsar, evidently to be used as a means of enforcing concessions from the Polish king. The shameful clause may be ascribed to Erik's madness and was never enforced. A severe conflict ensued with Denmark who wished to have the Union preserved and kept Sweden's "Three Crowns" in her coat of arms. Erik wanted to break the cordon in the south and would not recognize Denmark's claims to su premacy over the Baltic. He ostentatiously added the Danish and Norwegian kingdoms' arms to his own. Other disputes fol lowed, and war resulted in 1563. The Swedish fleet won victories but the Danes had the mastery in the war on land which was waged on both sides with grim ferocity. Lubeck and Poland allied themselves with Denmark. In 1567 Erik's insanity became manifest. He had some of the foremost nobles imprisoned, mur dered one of them himself, and had others of them assassinated. He became penitent and set free Duke Johan, who, in alliance with the younger brother Karl and the nobles, dethroned and imprisoned Erik in 1568. He died in prison in 1577.
Johan III. (1568-92), an amiable man, learned in theology, but irresolute and weak, was acclaimed king. The Danish war died a natural death through the economic attrition of both Powers, and in Dec. 157o peace was declared at Stettin through Polish and French mediation ; the frontiers remained the same as before the war. Gottland was allotted to Denmark; Alvsborg on the west coast was to be surrendered by Sweden with a large sum of money ; the question of the Three Crowns was left for later decision but in the meantime Denmark was free to incorpo rate them in her arms, whilst, on the contrary, the Danish and Norwegian arms were to be taken out of the Swedish coat of arms. Sweden's gain consisted in the fact that from this time forward she was to be considered Denmark's equal as a Baltic State. Between Sweden and Poland good relations sprang up at once but war broke out with Russia, waged with changing' f or tunes and occasionally interrupted by armistices. In the result the whole of Estonia, with Narva, was incorporated with Sweden.
The great religious struggle in Europe was followed with interest by Johan, who sought to take up a mediative role and entered into negotiations with the pope. Both papal and Spanish envoys came to Sweden, and it looked as though the king would go over to the Catholic church, but when the pope refused to accept his offer of mediation he changed his tone and entered into definite opposition to Rome. He had previously given out a
liturgy which evoked general displeasure in Sweden by its ap proach to the Catholic form of religious services, and taken as a whole his religious measures caused great unrest. His son Sigis mund adopted the Catholic faith and was elected king of Poland in 1587. The internal administration of the country was marked by continual lack of funds (despite high taxation) and at the same time by extravagance over new buildings. Falls in the cur rency made the matter worse. The nobles were rewarded by spe cial privileges for their part in the overthrow of Erik—a de parture from the more democratic policy of Gustavus and Erik. The nobles now showed a tendency to aggrandize their powers but the peasants never became serfs and the Riksdag of the four estates continued to be called together. There were serious complications when Johan died in 1592.
Duke Charles was not crowned until 1607. He aimed at a monarchical-democratic conception of Government. During the years 1561-93 the Riksdag or other estates were convened 15 times; during Charles's much briefer reign, 1594-1611 they were called together 16 times. New Church dissensions were caused by the fact that Charles cherished Calvinistic ideas while the clergy and the people expressed themselves more and more strongly in favour of evangelical tenets. By the peace with Russia con cluded at Teusina in 1595 Sweden's ownership of Estonia and Narva had been recognised, but the troublous times in the East evoked new conflicts. Swedish troops marched into Moscow and the Russian crown was offered to one of Charles's sons. Novgorod was conquered. War with Poland was waged in Livonia, where the Poles won certain advantages without being able to turn them to account. Owing to Charles's endeavour to extend the region of Finnmark up to the Arctic under the rule of Sweden, and from other causes, war broke out with Denmark in 1611 and Kalmar was taken by the Danes. When Charles died in 1611 he left to his son, Gustavus Adolphus, an inheritance of three un finished wars.