Why did Sweden not fortify Swedish Livonia along its eastern frontier, including the approaches to Riga?
Upvote:6
The apparent cause was Sweden's transition into the Swedish Empire or "Great Power" phase beginning in 1611, during which Sweden shifted from a defensive to offensive posture, one that was not entirely under her control.
The earlier fortresses (those begun before 1611) were built along the seacoasts, and intended to protect Sweden's share of the Baltic maritime trade. Indirectly, this protected Sweden's military interests as well. Although Riga was an important "standalone" city, it was at the edge of Swedish holdings, and the loss of that city was less of an existential threat than say the loss of Narva or Tallinn (Estonia), which connected Sweden to the southern shores of the Baltic.
Ironically, the Empire period began (in 1611) with a defeat by Denmark that impoverished Sweden by forcing her to pay reparations for several years, until 1619. This caused the young King, Gustav Adolphus to rebuild the Swedish army (but not its fortresses), and wage an ultimately successful war against Poland. Later, he stepped into the breach on the Protestant side of the 30 Years' War after the defeat of Denmark by Catholic forces. Gustavus Adolphus won a series of spectacular, but short-lived victories, ending in his death in in 1632 (aged 37).
The next four reigns were a regency for his 6 year old daughter Christina (1632-1644), the reign of young Christina herself (from 1644-1654, aged 18 to 28), and Christina's cousin Charles X (1654-1660), and another regency for Charles X's minor son, Charles XI, from 1660-1675. During this time, Sweden won a favorable peace in the 30 Years' War, and enjoyed other military and diplomatic triumphs, but operated largely at the behest of a much more powerful ally, France, and on the basis of French financial subsidies, rather than under Sweden's own power.
In my comment to this question, I estimated that Sweden's GDP was only 8% the size of France, meaning that if it was playing in the same "league," it was clearly "punching above its weight." More to the point, Sweden's ties to France directed its military and foreign policy to the west, away from Russia, and toward Denmark and Germany.
During the period of peace in Charles XI's last years, rebuilding efforts were directed at Sweden's navy, not its army or land fortifications, underscoring the importance of the northern Baltic ports. More to the point, the offensive and western military orientations continued under the Charles XII, the last king of the Swedish Empire (reigned 1697-1718). Fighting on several fronts, he prioritized campaigns against, Denmark, Poland, and German Saxony, letting Russia ravage his eastern holdings, before launching an unsuccessful counter-invasion of Russia.
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