The march of the Swedish army towards captured cities during the Polish-Swedish War of 1625–1629

Abstract

The article will analyse the differences in the advance of Gustav II Adolf ’s Swedish troops in the places he occupied during the Polish-Swedish War in 1625–1629. The activities of the occupiers towards the city authorities, residents, as well as existing traditions and existing privileges will be analysed. Representative examples of Elbląg, Braniewo and Puck will be presented. At the time in question, all these centres were seized by Swedish troops under various circumstances. Some of them were to play an important role in Swedish strategic plans in the future; others were acquired for short-term purposes. In each of these cases, military commanders had to structure their relations with the conquered cities and adapt them to the requirements of the situation. The preserved sources show that they were able to deal completely differently with the population of the conquered areas. This article aims to explain why cities such as Elbląg and Malbork were promoted to become new administrative and commercial centres, while others, such as Braniewo, were ruthlessly repressed, and further cities, such as Puck or Brodnica retained their current status or were treated as front lines. Due to the limited length of the article, other cities were omitted, such as Malbork, because the patterns of relations between townspeople and authorities were similar there to the above-mentioned settlements.