Sweden Absolutist
Gustav III., 1772-1792 		Sweden 1810-1840






Sweden, 1792-1809



A.) Domestic Policy

The Riksdag of 1789, still under Gustav III., had passed major reforms, which improved the status of the peasants and reduced the privileges of nobility. The Council of the Realm, a bastion of nobility, was abolished, replaced by a High Court only half of its members were noble. Many nobles regarded this a breach of the Swedish constitution and Gustav III. a tyrant. Disgruntled Finnish noblemen (of Swedish nationality) had conspirated at Anjala. Another disgruntled nobleman, Jacob Johan Anckarstroem, fatally shot Gustav III. during a masquerade at the Opera on March 16th 1792.
However, both the ANJALA CONSPIRACY and the assassination of the king were condemned by Swedish public opinion who stood loyal to the popular king. The murderer was executed and his own family felt so disgraced by his act that it altered its name.
Gustav III.'s son, Gustav IV. Adolf, was 13 years old when his father was shot. During the years of his minority, Sweden's most influential politician was GUSTAV ADOLF REUTERHOLM, a man who had spent several years abroad, partially in Paris where he had witnessed episodes in the French Revolution.
Reuterholm, who was in charge from 1792 yo 1796, lifted the restrictions imposed on press freedom by Gustav III., abolished book censorship (1792). Yet Reuterholm was suspicious both of nobles favoured by late King Gustav III. and of radical intellectuals; in 1795 he suspended the Swedish Academy. In 1794 the dress code (indicating the status of a person) was abolished.

In 1796 King GUSTAV IV. ADOLF, now 16, took over government. In 1799/1800, riots caused by the famine occurred. When Riksdag was called to assemble in 1800. a group of radical noblemen, among them HANS HIERTA and GEORG ADLERSPARRE, renounced their noble privileges - a step which was condemned by the king who had them arrested ("Jacobinism").
In 1806, Swedish Pomerania's autonomy was abolished, Swedish law, church ordinance, were introduced, the land reorganised in departments. Serfdom was abolished, the partition of domain land in plots was prepared. On the other hand, under Gustav IV. Adolf press freedom was restricted, the import of French newspaper forbidden.

A group of enlightened Swedes of noble background acted in consensus. Georg Adlersparre, commander of the Swedish forces at the Norwegian front, signed a standoff agreement and marched with his 2.900 men toward Stockholm, abandoning the front. On March 13th 1809, General Adlercreutz, accompanied by six officers, went to the king's room and arrested him. On March 22nd, Adlersparre entered Stockholm, on March 29th Gustav IV. Adolf abdicated. The Riksdag was assembled and a constitutional committee was formed, consisting of 15 members. Its driving force was HANS JAERTA, one of the so-called JACOBINS of 1800 (who had renounced his status as a nobleman and changed the spelling of his name from Hierta), the secretary of the committee, but himself not a member. After 14 days a constitutional draft was presented to the Riksdag who approved it on June 5th. Sweden again was a CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY.
The chairman of the committee is quoted as saying : We were 30 in the committee - fifteen members, and Hans Jaerta, our secretary, who was another fifteen . The constitution stayed in force until 1970, foresaw the separation of powers, defined the roles of the king and the estates. Duke Karl was crowned as King Karl XIII. The question now was who would become the next king, the heir apparent (Karl had no children). The choice fell on prince Christian August of Denmark, the leader of the Norwegian army. Many Swedes hoped that his candidature would bring with it the peaceful acquisition of Norway, thereby compensating for the loss of Finland. Prince Christian August was duly elected as heir-apparent Karl August, but the acquisition of Norway did not materialize. The new king died shortly afterwards in an accident - he fell of his horse (1810). Axel von Fersen, marshal of the realm (and close friend of Marie Antoinette) was to lead the funeral procession. During that procession, von Fersen's carriage was stoned and he himself wounded. He tried to flee into a nearby house, but was dragged out and beaten to death while soldiers and police looked on, remaining inactive (supporters of Christian August suspected him of having poisoned the deceased heir apparent). The Swedish throne was vacant again, and Duke Frederik Christian of Augustenborg, a relative of the deceased heir-apparent, was chosen as the candidate to succeed. Yet the Swedish politicians did not want to act without having consulted Napoleon Bonaparte. Lieutenant Otto Moerner, 29 years old, was dispatched to Paris.
It turned out that Napoleon was not pleased and suggested, Sweden should choose a French marshal instead; Moerner, acting on his own, suggested to French marechal JEAN BAPTISTE JULES BERNADOTTE to become heir to the throne of Sweden. Napoleon gave his permission, and on August 21st 1810 the Riksdag elected him heir to the throne of Sweden (he chose the name Karl Johan).
King Karl XIII. (1809-1818) was king only in name; the function ascribed to the king in the constitution of 1809 was exercised by the heir-apparent; in August 1810 Bernadotte thus became the most influential man in Sweden.


B.) Foreign Policy

In 1793 (revolutionary) France (i.e. Danton) and Sweden signed an alliance treaty in which France promised to pay Sweden considerable subsidies - shortly after Swedish nobleman AXEL VON FERSEN twice had organized attempts to liberate the royal family (the FLIGHT TO VARENNES); he had operated with the knowledge and approval of late King Gustav III. However the treaty was never ratified.
In 1793 war again broke out between France and Britain, the latter again confiscating Swedish goods on high seas. In 1794, Sweden and Denmark signed an ALLIANCE OF ARMED NEUTRALITY; Denmark and Sweden provided warships which guarded convoys of merchant ships. In 1795 a treaty with France was signed, Sweden being the first monarchy to diplomatically recognize the French Republic; in 1796 Sweden dropped her alliance with France and the future king visited St. Petersburg, where the attempted arrangement of a marriage to Russian princess Alexandra failed. Then Catherine II. died, the Russian marriage no longer discussed, in 1797 Gustav IV. Adolf married FREDERIKA DOROTHEA WILHELMINA VON BADEN. The Danish-Swedish cooperation on high seas was continued (convoys to the West Indies, 1797-1799). In 1800 a Russo-Swedish LEAGUE OF ARMED ALLIANCE was formed, which soon was joined by Denmark and Prussia, all signatories being sceptical of Great Britain.
Gustav IV. Adolf succeeded Gustav III. as King of Sweden at the age of 16, was regarded a weak king. He undertook steps to improve relations with Russia, signing an act of armed neutrality with Russia, Denmark and Prussia. Britain interpreted this a hostile act and attacked Kopenhagen (1801); an attack on the Swedish naval base at Karlskrona was expected. However, Tsar Paul died, his son Alexander did not pursue the neutrality pact and, Sweden swung to the British side.
In 1805, Sweden (allied with Britain, Austria and Russia) attacked France (without accomplishing anything; in Sweden the war is called Pommerska Kriget - War of Pomerania). Napoleon met Alexander at Tilsit (1807), where Napoleon agreed on Russia taking Finland. When the Russians attacked FINLAND in 1808, Gustav IV. Adolf held back a part of his forces, fearing a Danish attack on Scania. The Swedish commander in Finland fought valiantly, but after the capitulation of Sveaborg castle Finland was lost to Sweden.
In 1810 Sweden signed a peace treaty with France, according to which Sweden obliged herself to join the CONTINENTAL BLOCKADE. Sweden regained Swedish Pomerania, occupied by French troops since 1807.
Succession to the Swedish throne being offered to a French officer was a diplomatic act by itself; Sweden hoped for a capable military leader who could prevent the Russians to take more, and who eventually could gain Norway from Denmark. French support was also hoped for.
Karl Johan pursued a careful policy, avoiding an alliance with France and seeking understanding with Russia (against the expectations of some Swedes, who dreamt of regaining Finland). In 1812, before marching into Russia, Napoleon had SWEDISH POMMERANIA occupied. Sweden was now on the side of France's enemies. Once the Russians had defeated Napoleon's Grand Armee at the Beresina, a coalition of Russians, Prussians, Austrians, Swedes and British took up arms against the French. Command was given to Karl Johan (Bernadotte), who defeated Napoleon's forces in the BATTLE OF LEIPZIG. Sweden then focussed on defeating one of France's remaining allies, Denmark, forcing it to cede NORWAY to Sweden, sought after by the Swedes as a compensation for the loss of Finland. Sweden, on the other hand, sold Swedish Pomerania to Prussia.

Third War of the Coalition
1805 		Swedish-Russian War
1808-1809



C.) The Economy

Under Reuterholm, Sweden's economy profitted from good harvests and favourable trade conditions. The purchase and consumption of COFFEE was forbidden.
Young King Gustav IV. Adolf pursued an economic policy aiming at limiting government expenses and reducing the debt. All pay raises approved by the regency administration (Reuterholm) were cancelled. The ban on coffee was lifted, the customs revenues increased. Then came misharvests in 1798 and 1799, and the war influenced international trade negatively. Banknotes were issued. In order to establish a security for the paper currency, the Swedish city of WISMAR was pawned to Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1803); Sweden would never regain it, formally cede it in 1815.
While the War of Pomerania (1805-1807) by and large was paid for by British subsidies, the War of 1807-1808 was a Swedish affair (still in considerable part paid for by British subsidies); war costs were estimated at 23 million riksdalers, 7 million of which were accounted for by British subsidies. To make matters worse a misharvest added to the difficulties; lack of food caused inflation.
In Scania RUTGER MACLEAN had begun, on his estate, the so-called SOCIO-AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION, which was extended nationwide by legislation of 1803 and 1807. The idea was to redistribute the land (forming cohesive plots) and the rural population so that little time was lost for going to and returning from the fields. At many places it meant breaking up the village community, which the latter resented. Yet the intended effect, increased food production, was achieved.
The Swedish West India Company went bankrupt in 1805.


D.) Intellectual Life

In 1795 Reuterholm suspended the Swedish Academy, her secretary being regarded too crictical.
In 1796 the Svenska Krigsmanna Saellskapet (Swedish War Sciences Association) with seat in Stockholm was founded.
Around 1800 the UNIVERSITY OF UPPSALA was regarded a center of Swedish Jacobinism. Here, since c. 1795 a club called JUNTAN was active, spreading radical opinions, a leading member being Hans Hierta (Jaerta).
In 1807 the Svenska Lakaresallskapet (Swedish Medical Society) with seat in Stockholm was established, followed in 1811 by the Kungliga Skogs- och Lantbruksakademien (Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry), also seated in Stockholm.
Poet ESAIAS TEGNER wrote patriotic poems. In 1810 the CAROLINSKA INSTITUTET (medical, the institution deciding on the Nobel Prize in medicine) was established.



EXTERNAL
FILES 		Swedish Wars, from Hans Hogman, table of Swedish wars 1521-1814, maps, links
Sweden : the Army, from Histofig; Histofig
Biography : Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, from Histofig
Sarah Hale, Relations between Russia and Sweden, 1801-1814. Napoleon Bonaparte's Role in Finnish, Swedish and Russian Foreign Policy, 1801-1814, from Nordic Notes
The Swedish Army, from Napoleonic Wars by Mikael Andersson
Oklarheter kring Axel von Gersen's død, by Per-Erik Karlsson
Chronology of Swedish History : 1750-1800, 1800-1850 by Ken Polsson
Chronocle of Scolarly Societies founded 1780-1799, 1800-1849 from Scholarly Societies Project
DOCUMENTS Etude sur les troupes de Suede en 1805, from Histofig
L'armee suedoise a la bataille de Gross-Beeren le 23 Aout 1813, from Histofig
Report from the H.M.S. Implacable on the Swedish Fleet, August 1808
Reports from H.M.S. Implacable off Helsingborg, April 23td 1808 and May 5th 1808
Report from off the Koll, on the fall of Sveaborg, from May 11th 1808
Proclamation of Gustav IV. on the fall of Sveaborg, from A selection of events and documents on the history of Finland
Medal : Bernadotte (Charles XIV), prince royal de Suede, from Prince d'Essling's Catalogue of medals, coins etc., posted by napoleonicwars.com
Swedish banknotes, from Ron Wise's World Paper Money
Swedish coins 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, 1805, 1806, 1807, 1808, 1812 from Napoleonic Medals
Suede, from Annuaire 1789-1815, in French
REFERENCE Franklin D. Scott, Sweden : The Nation's History, Univ. of Minnesota Press 1977
Sten Carlsson, Svensk Historia, Vol.2, Stockholm : Bonniers, 1970, pp.206-278 (in Swedish)


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on November 8th 2004

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