Helsinki was founded in 1550 by Swedish King Gustav I under the name Helsingfors, with the goal of creating a strategic trading hub to compete with the Hanseatic city of Reval (modern-day Tallinn). Located on the southern coast of Finland, the town was intended to consolidate trade in the region. To boost its population, the king ordered residents from nearby towns to relocate to Helsingfors, but this effort was largely unsuccessful.
When Sweden acquired Reval and northeastern Estonia in 1561 during the Livonian War, interest in developing Helsinki as a rival port waned. As a result, the town remained a small and relatively insignificant fishing village for more than two centuries. Despite its early struggles, Helsinki would later grow into a major city and eventually become the capital of Finland.