History: World War II Photography, Finnish Defense Forces, Finland

• Finland as a part of Sweden
During the several following centuries, a gradual and slow process of Swedish expansion in today's Finland and the formation of Sweden took place, not through wars fought between the Finns and the Swedes, but rather by various levels of wars and skirmishes between the Finns themselves, others - in the west, such as the people of Häme - sympathising with the Catholic Swedes, and others - in the eastern parts, particularly the Karelians - cooperating with the Orthodox Russians.
Furthermore, during the first several centuries of the Swedish expansion to the traditional lands of the Finns - up to the 16th century and beyond - only the south-western parts of the area known today as Finland (then the lands of the Finns reached also beyond today's borders of the Republic of Finland) had been reached by the Swedish expansion and thus had become part of the Swedish realm.
From 1352 until 1808 Finland was officially an integral part of the Swedish Realm, including first only the south-western lands inhabited by the Finns but expanding east as time went by.