Civilization V: The Swedish Saga, part 2 (430 A.D. to 1702 A.D.)

We don't need no education... but it helps, I will give you that

1120 A.D.: Sweden becomes the first nation to develop a formal education system. It is led mostly by monks of Awesomeness, who later that year begin traveling across Sweden to spread the Awesome word to the outlying Westerland and Stormland domains.

Since I'm getting tithes from every follower, I don't want to wait around for Awesomeness to spread on its own. I'll start with my own cities, then move on to Denmark and Austria. Converting Vienna, still the largest city in the world by population, would be a huge coup. In the meantime, I'm turning my tech path toward guilds to supplement my huge religious income with additional secular income.

1150 A.D.: The first Swedish war fleet is launched from Helsinki.

Naval units haven't been much of a priority in this game so far, but it would be just a little too easy for the Celts to raid my coast as-is. And besides, before we know it, we'll start making contact with whatever civs lie across the ocean.

Awesomeness becomes the majority religion in bustling Sigtuna (second only to Vienna in terms of population) and in Uppsala, where most of the Northern Stormlander lords have adopted it. Long in danger of falling to Celtic Christianity, the Awesome Pope expresses his pleasure that they have chosen the true, Swedish religion. The Westerlands remain largely unswayed by the Church of Awesome.

1190 A.D.: Nine Great Guilds rise to power in the Stockholm Valley, and are granted large freedoms to manage coin and trade by the Lord Governors. Sweden's economy booms, and the royal treasuries overflow with more gold than anyone knows what to do with.

1220 A.D.: The burgeoning Swedish navy wipes out a troublesome band of corsairs off the coast of Austria.

The University of Sigtuna becomes the first institution of its kind in the known world.