but, in the early part of his
reign, the inhabitants of Lubec had the monopoly of the foreign trade of
Stockholm. This sovereign, in 1540, entered into a commercial treaty with
Francis I., King of France; the principal article of which was, that the
Swedes should import their wine, salt, &c. directly from France, instead of
obtaining them indirectly from the Dutch. The conquest of Revel by Sweden,
and the consequent footing obtained in Livonia, in 1560, greatly increased
its commerce and wealth; while important improvements were introduced into
its manufactures of iron a few years afterwards by the Flemings, who fled
there on the destruction of Antwerp. Prior to their arrival, most of the
Swedish iron was forged in Dantzic and Prussia; but they not only taught
the Swedes how to forge it, but also how to make iron cannon, and other
iron, copper, and brass articles. The Swedes had from an early period, been
sensible of the real riches of their territory, and how much their timber,
iron, pitch, and tar, were converted for maritime and other purposes. The
pitch and tar manufacture especially had long constituted a very
considerable part of their commerce. In 1647, Queen Christiana very
unwisely granted a monopoly of these articles, which was productive of the
usual effects, injury to commerce, without a correspondent benefit to those
who held it. In the beginning of the eighteenth century, the tar company in
Sweden not only put a very high price on their goods, but refused to sell
them, even for ready money, unless they were exported in Swedish vessels.
In consequence of this, England began at this period to encourage the
importation of tar, pitch, hemp, and naval timber, from her American
colonies.

The commerce of Denmark, besides its common origin with that of the rest of
Scandinavia, seems, in the middle ages, to have been chiefly nourished by
two circumstances:--The trade which Iceland carried on, and the
establishment of Bergen, first as the staple of the German merchants, and
afterwards as the chief factory of the Hanse merchants. In 1429, it was
also established by the king of Denmark, as the sole staple for the fish
trade. In 1553, its trade began to decline, in consequence, it is said, of
its being deserted by the Hanseatics. The historian of the Hanseatic League
adds, that "whereas the ancient toll of the Sound had been only a golden
rose-noble on every sail, which was always understood to be meant on every
ship;