The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa (1889)

Paul Barron Watson (1861-1948) was the American author of: Life of Marcus Aurelius (1884), Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa (1889). He was a member of the American Historical Association. No name in history lies deeper in Swedish hearts than the name Gustavus Vasa. Liberator of Sweden from the yoke of Denmark, and founder of one of the foremost dynasties of Europe, his people during more than three centuries have looked back fondly to the figure of their great ruler, and cherished with tender reverence every incident in his romantic history. This enthusiasm for Gustavus Vasa is more than sentiment; it belongs to him as leader in a vast political upheaval. When Gustavus came upon the stage, the Swedish people had long been groaning under a foreign despotism. During more than a century their political existence had been ignored, their rights as freemen trampled in the dust. They had at last been goaded into a spirit of rebellion, and were already struggling to be free.