"Not much is known of the early history of Finland; but the country was governed in tribes by chiefs, or kings. They took to the water very naturally, and became pirates, harassing the Swedes to such a degree, that Eric, their king, sent an expedition to Finland in the twelfth century, where he established Swedish colonies, and introduced Christianity. One of the colonies was planted here in Åbo, where the first Christian church in the country was built. From this time the Swedes and Finns blended, and the history of Finland was merged in that of Sweden. Birger Jarl built Tavastehus, and confirmed the conquest. But Russia coveted this desolate region, and first conquered Wyborg, its most eastern province, and the Finns fought with Sweden in the various wars with her powerful neighbor. The people suffered terribly from these wars, and from famine. From 1692 to 1696, sixty thousand perished from famine in the province of Åbo alone. In the wars of Charles XII., thousands of Finns were sacrificed, and five regiments of them were killed or captured during the march into the Ukraine, and in the battle of Pultowa. After this battle, in 1709, in which Charles XII. was totally defeated, the Russians invaded the whole of Finland, and held it until 1721, when, with the exception of Wyborg, it was restored to Sweden. "In 1741 the Swedes made an attempt to recover what they had lost, but utterly failed. Again, in 1788, Gustavus III., commanding the Swedish army in person, tried to regain the ancient province of Wyborg; but a conspiracy at home compelled him to return, and the favorable opportunity was lost. In 1790 the king renewed the attack by sea, and his fleet of thirty-eight vessels was blockaded at Wyborg by a Russian squadron of fifty-one ships. The Swedes cut their way out of the trap, but with the loss of fifteen ships. The fleet, reduced by these heavy losses, was again attacked by the Russians in overwhelming force; but the result was a glorious victory for the Swedes, in which their enemy lost fifty-three vessels and four thousand men. This event ended the war for the time, and a treaty honorable to the Swedes was signed. In 1808 Finland was again invaded by the Russians, without even the formality of a declaration of war. The Swedes were unprepared for the contest, and slowly retired to the north, fighting several battles, and gaining some unimportant victories, but were completely overwhelmed in the battle of Orawais. By the treaty which followed, all of Finland and the Aland Islands were ceded to Russia.