surnamed the ministers “tribunes of the people.” The burghers, touched by the patriotic spirit, developed great energy during this period, trade and commerce having a devoted patron in the king, who, besides the new Gothenburg, founded twelve other towns in Sweden and Finland. The miners occupied of old an uncertain position between burghers and yeomen. They were strengthened and encouraged by the personal interest which the king took in the mining industry. He visited the mines repeatedly, descending into the bowels of the earth to inspect the ore and the new methods introduced from abroad by foreign miners. Among the latter the immigrated Dutchman, Louis de Geer, exerted a beneficial influence upon that industry. The factories producing clothing and weapons for the army were also encouraged. The yeomen occupied a difficult, almost desperate position between the increasing privileges of the nobility and the increasing taxes of the crown. Their burdens were doubled and their rights reduced; yet sustained by the church, and believing in the lofty ideals of the king, they persevered, fulfilling their duties with a high degree of patriotism. No Swedish king has done so much for education as Gustavus Adolphus. To the University of Upsala he donated 300 of his hereditary estates, founding its library, improving its courses, banishing misrule, and appointing his old teacher, John Skytte, its chancellor. He created the German University of Dorpat in Esthonia, in 1632; later for some time moved to Pernau. Colleges were established in the larger towns. The king was, through his thorough studies of Swedish laws and conditions, in a position to take an active part in the reforms which he promulgated, never resting long in one place, but travelling from one point to another, where his presence was most necessary; shaping plans and reforms by his own judgment, to have them indorsed by the next Riksdag, and then enforcing them himself. Especially the army passed through an evolution, thanks to new methods, devised by the king, who was to win his victories through the introduction of improved tactics and divisions, by means of which the troops were easier to move and the co-operation between the various weapons increased.