The Great Northern War begins between Sweden and the coalition of Russia, Saxony, Poland, and Denmark-Norway, during the reign of Peter I of Russia (Peter the Great), who wanted to gain access to the Black Sea.
In 1715 Prussia and Hannover joined the war against Sweden. The King of Hannover was also King George II of Great Britain. Many battles were fought over the 21 years, but Russia finally defeated Sweden at the Battle of Poltava in 1709, although a formal peace treaty was not signed until 1721. More