Baltic
Book Review: The Baltic Story - A Thousand Year History of its Lands, Seas and Peoples, by Caroline Boggis-Rolfe
Unusually, I stumbled upon this randomly in Waterstone's and decided to indulge my curiosity. We've visited a few places on or around the Baltic over the years, and I hoped this might stitch some things together. I think it succeeded in that.
In the introduction, Boggis-Rolfe announces that the flow will be more or less chronological, and that each chapter will be self-contained, so there may be some repetition when reading from end to end. This was true, but it wasn't irritating, as it had been called out earlier. She begins with a brief overview of the Hanseatic League, but most of the book focuses on the various royal households, their shifting allegiances, skirmishes and borders over the years. Initially, Poland and Denmark were the major powers in the region, later usurped by Sweden and Russia, and later still by Prussia. England would often come to the aid of one or other country - it felt like never the same one twice, perfidious Albion indeed - and Napoleon stormed through most of the region, only then to be beaten all the way back. (In a bizarre sub-plot, one of his generals began the Bernadotte ruling dynasty of Sweden, arguably more successful in the long term than Bonaparte himself.) Norway and Finland changed hands between their more belligerent neighbours, and for a time Poland vanished off the map altogether. Among the lesser-known conflicts, I am now better acquainted with the Lingonberry War; and whilst I claim no expertise, I gained a bit of background on the Schleswig-Holstein question.
Unusually, I stumbled upon this randomly in Waterstone's and decided to indulge my curiosity. We've visited a few places on or around the Baltic over the years, and I hoped this might stitch some things together. I think it succeeded in that.
In the introduction, Boggis-Rolfe announces that the flow will be more or less chronological, and that each chapter will be self-contained, so there may be some repetition when reading from end to end. This was true, but it wasn't irritating, as it had been called out earlier. She begins with a brief overview of the Hanseatic League, but most of the book focuses on the various royal households, their shifting allegiances, skirmishes and borders over the years. Initially, Poland and Denmark were the major powers in the region, later usurped by Sweden and Russia, and later still by Prussia. England would often come to the aid of one or other country - it felt like never the same one twice, perfidious Albion indeed - and Napoleon stormed through most of the region, only then to be beaten all the way back. (In a bizarre sub-plot, one of his generals began the Bernadotte ruling dynasty of Sweden, arguably more successful in the long term than Bonaparte himself.) Norway and Finland changed hands between their more belligerent neighbours, and for a time Poland vanished off the map altogether. Among the lesser-known conflicts, I am now better acquainted with the Lingonberry War; and whilst I claim no expertise, I gained a bit of background on the Schleswig-Holstein question.