The Great Northern War was fought between Sweden and a coalition led by Russia, with Denmark-Norway and Saxony-Poland as the other main allies. It began in 1700 when the allies, hoping to take advantage of the youth of the Swedish king Charles XII, attacked Swedish possessions around the Baltic. Charles won a series of early victories, including Narva against the Russians in 1700, but his invasion of Russia ended in his defeat at Poltava in 1709, after which he took refuge in the Ottoman Empire. Peter the Great used the war to gain access to the Baltic and founded Saint Petersburg in 1703. The Treaty of Nystad in 1721 gave Russia Livonia, Estonia and Ingria, and Sweden lost its position as a great power.
Before and after
- 17th centuryFounding of Amsterdam Stock Exchange
- 1700Founding of Brockton
- 17th centuryRakı
- 8 February 1700Birth of Daniel Bernoulli
- from 22 February 1700 to 10 September 1721Great Northern War
- 1701Founding of Yale University
- from 18 January 1701 to 9 November 1918Kingdom of Prussia
- from March 1701 to September 1714War of the Spanish Succession
- 27 November 1701Birth of Anders Celsius
More in Wars, politics & history
- 1534Henry VIII becomes head of the Church of England
- from 17 January 1558 to 26 May 1583Livonian War
- from 2 April 1562 to 30 April 1598French Wars of Religion
- from 28 December 1688 to 1 January 1689Glorious Revolution
- 1713Peace of Utrecht
- from 16 December 1740 to 18 October 1748War of the Austrian Succession
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.