Biography
Jacob De la Gardie was born in Reval (today Tallinn), Estonia (then part of the Swedish Empire), as a son of Pontus De la Gardie and Sofia Johansdotter Gyllenhielm, the illegitimate daughter of king John III of Sweden. His mother died giving birth, and his father perished two years later in Narva. Jacob was raised in Finland (then part of Sweden proper) by his grandmother Karin Hansdotter, the mistress of king John III.
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