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First Northern War
Europe [1655ā1660]
First Northern War, (1655ā60), final stage of the struggle over the Polish-Swedish succession. In 1655 the Swedish king Charles X Gustav declared war on Poland on the pretext that Polandās John II Casimir Vasa had refused to acknowledge him; the real reason was Charlesās desire to aggrandize more Baltic territories. The Swedes, allied with Brandenburg, invaded Poland with initial success; but then Russia, Denmark, and Austria declared war on Sweden, and Brandenburg deserted the Swedes to join the coalition. The Swedes were driven from Poland but twice invaded Denmark. The war ended with the Polish sovereigns renouncing their claim to the Swedish throne and the Swedes acquiring SkĆ„ne from Denmark.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
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