Quote:
Originally Posted by Astromancer
True enough, Sweden had a vital legislature and a proto-party system. They could have evolved into something more like a democracy. Still it's a low order possibility. But a stable Swedish Empire from the Baltic to the Black sea might mean a far better life for the peoples of Eastern Europe.
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It wasn't great for the Eastern Europeans in Shikaku-Mon.
I think today we have a very positive view of Sweden, because of present-day Sweden - I don't know that they were so nice centuries ago. They did provide Vikings, after all.
A stable Swedish Empire could still oppress non-Swedes, even with a parliamentary system. It could be like how Britain treated the Irish - part of the country, but definitely second-class, with land-owning Swedish aristocracy ruling in places like Poland. Especially as there would be not just religious differences, but also linguistic.
And Sweden couldn't rule all of Eastern Europe (just too big an area) - there would always be Eastern European states beyond its borders, rabble-rousing among the oppressed Slavs in the Swedish Empire. Like Russia and Ukraine do on Shikaku-Mon.
A Swedish Empire could even lean into Nazi-like racism, promoting the Germanic Swedish/Scandinavians as 'superior' to the Slavs.