398 against generals.^^ Over the course of the seventeenth century, during which Sweden was at war so much of the time, the krigskollegium came to occupy a leading position in the central administration. On the eve of the Polish campaign (1655—57) and of the two wars against Denmark (1657—58 and 1658—60), the krigskollegium was given responsibility for mobilizing the army and organizing its marches and naval transportation to the theaters of war. The college developed an efficient military adminlstration during this period, and historians have argued that its activities were of prime importance for Sweden’s military and political successes during the reign of Charles X Gustav. With the accession of Charles XI and the introduction of an absolutist form of government, however, the Importance of the krigskollegium dedined. Its responsibilities were reduced, and the king communicated directly with the various regimental commanders, rather than via the college. The decline in the importance of the college was also clear from the fact that it took no part in the organization of the military allotment system, which was to serve as he new fiscal backbone of the army. In addition, the college lost its status as the supreme military court, since that function was transferred to an independent general court martial under the direction of Charles XI himself. Under the absolute regime, therefore, the krigskollegium was no longer an organ of central importance for the army; it had been reduced to the status of just another administrative authority with greatly limited responsibilities. When the Great Northern War broke out in 1700, all the Swedish colleges were given the authority, in the absence of the king, to deliberate and act upon all the business presented to them which had previously required the king’s personal approval. This authorization extended to the krigskollegium, as well, once again giving it an important position of power. However, this sudden extention of the jurisdiction and responsibilities of the krigskollegium existed only in theory. In reality, the college witnessed a further decline in its influence at the hands of a newly created administrative organ known as the defense commission, or defensionskommissionen, which was charged with finding the means for turning out a sufficient number of soldiers and sailors to defend the country. The defense commission, made up of eight members of the Council, had originally been planned as an extraordinary administrative organ, but it became more permanent when it was given the task of seeing to it that its recommenda- *•'* SRF, 10—11; Birger Steckzén, Krigskollegii historia (2 v., Stockholm, 1930— 1937), I, 86—98. For an introductory overview of the genesis of the krigskollegium, see idem, “Till frågan om krigskollegii uppkomst," Historisk tidskrift, 51 (1931), 78—85. Steckzén, I, 105. Ibid., 463, 473, 495.
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