Wounded Veterans and the State : The precursor of the veteran’s home in Sweden (1560–1650)

The aim of this article is to explain the prehistory of the veteran’s home in Sweden. In the 16th century the Swedish army was reorganized and conscripted soldiers became an important part of the army. The conscripted soldiers were peasants, and in 1620 King Gustavus Adolphus reorganized the army so that the peasantry became the major source of soldiers to the army. The system was quite different from others in Europe, most countries having armies based on mercenaries. In 1622, the king started a fund for wounded soldiers and launched a plan for a veteran’s home in the old monastery buildings in Vadstena, which was opened in the years around 1640. The fund and the plans for the veteran’s home can thus be said to have come from the fact that the Swedish king raised his army from the peasants, and this in turn meant that he had a stronger responsibility for them than other kings in Europe. The wounded soldiers therefore became a category of the poor that society thought were qualified for help in 17th-century Sweden