Treaty of Stettin (1630)

Following the Capitulation of Franzburg in 1627, the Duchy of Pomerania was occupied by forces of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, under command of Albrecht von Wallenstein. The Swedish intervention in the Thirty Years' War began with the active military support of Stralsund, a Pomeranian Hanseatic port which since the Battle of Stralsund successfully resisted imperial occupation with Danish and Swedish support. Sweden and Stralsund concluded an alliance scheduled for twenty years. The Danish campaigns in Pomerania and other parts of the Holy Roman Empire ended with the Battle of Wolgast in 1628 and the subsequent Treaty of Lübeck in 1629. Except for Stralsund, all of Northern Germany was occupied by forces of the emperor and the Catholic League. In 1629, the emperor initiated the Re-Catholization of these Protestant territories by issuing the Edict of Restitution. The Truce of Altmark ended the Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629) in September 1629, releasing the military capacities needed for an invasion of the Holy Roman Empire. On 26 June (O.S.) or 6 July (N.S.) 1630, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden with a fleet of 27 ships arrived at the island of Usedom and made landfall near Peenemünde with 13,000 troops The western flank of the Swedish invasion force was cleared from Stralsund, which served as the basis for Swedish forces clearing Rügen and the adjacent mainland from 29 March until June 1630. The officially stated Swedish motives were: • Exclusion of Sweden from the Treaty of Lübeck (1629), • Imperial support for Poland in the Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629), Large parts of the imperial army were pinned down in Italy and unable to react. Wallenstein, who two years before had expelled the Danish landing forces at the same place was about to be dismissed. On 9 July, Swedish forces took Stettin (now Szczecin), but throughout 1630 were content with establishing themselves in the Oder estuary. ==The treaty and amendments==

The first draft of a Swedish-Pomeranian alliance, which the Pomeranian ducal councillors had worked out since 20 July 1630 (N.S.), was rejected by Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. The treaty also included the alliance with Stralsund of 1628, which was concluded when the town resisted the Capitulation of Franzburg and was thus besieged by Albrecht von Wallenstein's army. of 30 August 1630 (O.S.), and the "Quartering Order" of 1631. while the political and ecclesial power remained with the dukes, nobles, and towns. ==The alliance==

Implementation in Pomerania , 1635 When Bogislaw XIV, Duke of Pomerania had concluded the alliance, he immediately wrote a letter to Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, reading "This union is not directed against the majesty of the Emperor or the Empire, but is rather designed to maintain the constitution of the Empire in its ancient state of liberty and tranquillity, and to protect the religious and secular settlements Bogislaw XIV further blamed the "barbarities and cruelties of the Imperial soldiers" for leaving him no choice. Yet, Ferdinand II did not forgive Bogislaw XIV, and instead the imperial occupation forces in Pomerania were instructed to act even more harshly. With the aforementioned treaties, Sweden included the Pomeranian duchy in her military contributions' system, enabling her to triple the size of her forces there within a short period. who in 1630 was the Swedish commander in Stralsund. The Pomeranian towns of Gartz (Oder) and Greifenhagen (now Gryfino), both south of Stettin, were attacked on 4 and 5 January 1631. With these taken, Sweden was able to advance further south into Brandenburg, and west into Western Pomerania and Mecklenburg. ruling and restricting the interaction of soldiers and burghers, The larger towns often refused to fulfill the demands of the Swedish military. In April 1631, at a convention in Leipzig, they decided to set up a third front on their own, and except for Magdeburg, who had allied with Sweden already on 1 August 1630, and in the summer of 1631, the town was taken and looted by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly's forces. After Gustavus Adolphus' death in Wolgast on transit to Sweden, 1633. Painting by Carl Gustaf Hellqvist. Gustavus Adolphus was killed in the Battle of Lützen on 6 November 1632. George William, Elector of Brandenburg, joined the obsequies in Stettin on 31 May, and proposed joining the Alliance of Stettin if he would in turn participate in the Pomeranian succession. reformed the administration of the duchy of Pomerania. The riksråd considered to abandon all of Pomerania except for Stralsund. After Bogislaw XIV's death – Confrontation with Brandenburg On 10 March 1637, Bogislaw XIV died without issue. While Bielke clarified on 3 April, that he does not per se challenge the Brandenburgian claim, but rather Brandenburg's disregard of Swedish claims, Wrangel on 12 April definitely rejected any Brandenburgian claim and advised the Pomeranian nobility to remain loyal to Sweden. The Pomeranian government resigned in March. Neither did attempts of Sweden and the Pomeranian nobility to re-establish a civilian government succeed. Yet negotiations in February 1642 and April 1643 did not result in a settlement. ==Aftermath==

When peace talks started in Osnabrück to end the Thirty Years' War, a Pomeranian delegation was present in early 1644 and from October 1645 to August 1647. Swedish field-marshal Carl Gustaf Wrangel was appointed general governor of Pomerania in 1648. Swedish-Brandenburgian negotiations about the definite frontier started in early 1650, resulting in another Treaty of Stettin which defined the exact border on 4 May 1653. ==See also==