Sweden during the French Revolution : 1792-1809 Sweden 1840-1864









Sweden, 1810-1840



A.) Domestic Policy

Karl XIV. Johan early on attempted to expand the political authority given to the king (the function of whom he exercizsed as heir-apparent until crowned in 1818) by the constitution of 1809. Although neither the Riksdag nor the State Council were reduced in their respective authority, Karl XIV. Johan managed to find politicians obliging and cooperative. Swedish historian Sten Carlsson refers to the period of 1812 to 1840 as allenastyrandets tid" (solitary rule).
Karl XIV. Johan was 54 years old when he was crowned in 1818. Over time, he turned more and more conservative, supporting the nobility, a cameralistic economy. In 1833 an army reform was conducted, in 1834 the currency again set on a firm silver footing; Sweden pursued a protectionist economic policy. A new church ordinance in 1811 abolished exorcism.
A liberal opposition formed; the liberal AFTONBLADET (evening gazette) was founded in 1830.


B.) Foreign Policy

In 1810 the Swedes had elected Napoleon's general, JEAN BAPTISTE BERNADOTTE, heir to the Swedish throne. He took on the name Karl XIV. Johan and realized the Swedish dream of acquiring Norway (1814) as compensation for the loss of Finland (1809). Because of his military experience, he was given command over the victorious allied troops in the BATTLE OF LEIPZIG (1813). Karl XIV. Johan, crowned king of Sweden in 1818, never mastered the Swedish language.
King Karl XIV. Johan pursued a policy of remaining in friendly relations with the Russian Empire. During the POLISH REVOLUTION of 1830, the King sympathized with the Czar (while the Swedish liberals sympathized with the Poles). Sweden was a member of the HOLY ALLIANCE. Karl XIV. Johan's position in the case of the Polish and Belgian Revolution may be explained by fears for a similar event in Norway.
Norway enjoyed political autonomy, based on her constitution of 1814; political tension thus was limited, although the union was not very popular among the Norwegians.
Karl XIV. Johan's foreign policy aimed at preserving peace and gaining international acceptance of the Bernadotte dynasty - in 1823 he had to marry his son and successor Oscar to Princess Josephine von Leuchtenberg, daughter of Napoleon's stepson Eugene de Beauharnais, as he had been unable to find a bride among Europe's traditional ruling families.


C.) The Economy

Early on, Karl XIV. Johan, at the request of Riksdag, pursued a policy of PROTECTIONISM. The import of some 300 goods was prohibited, while tariffs were laid upon the import of others. The export for about 50 articles was also prohibited (1816). Some import barriers were abolished in later years, others undermined by bilateral trade treaties with foreign countries, such as with Britain in 1826.
In 1834 Sweden's economy had sufficiently recovered from the war years so that the currency again could be placed on a solid silver footing.
In 1811 the Agricultural Academy was established; the GÖTA CANAL, connecting the Baltic with Göteborg and circumventing the Sound, was opened in 1832.
In 1810 Sweden had a population of 2.4 million, in 1820 2.57 million, in 1830 2.88 million, in 1840 3.12 million
The INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION affected Sweden rather indirectly, as international demand for Swedish iron ore and pig iron increased.


D.) Intellectual Life

In Swedish literature, GÖTICISM, a branch of Neoromanticism, dominated, among the protagonists historian E.G. GEIJER, professor at Uppsala University, and the Bishop of Växjö, ESAIAS TEGNER. Göticism expressed patriotism and was to grow into Scandinavism. Geijers History of the Swedish People was published 1832-1836; soon it was translated into German by young Karl Marx.
In 1829, at the University of Lund in Scania (a province which had been Danish heartland until 1658), SCANDINAVIANISM was created, a version of partiotism that encompassed Swedes, Danes and Norwegians.
In 1837 the SWEDISH TEMPERANCE SOCIETY (Svenska Nykterhetssällskapet) was founded, predecessors dating back to 1831.
In 1810 the KAROLINSKA MEDICO-KIRURGISKA INSTITUTET was founded in Stockholm, Sweden's medical college, since 1901 the institution deciding who is to win the Nobel Price in Medicine. Here JÖNS JACOB BERZELIUS worked; in 1826 he published a table of atomic weights.







EXTERNAL
FILES 		Biography of Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, from The Napoleonic Guide, focusses on his career in the French Army
1800-talet och nationalismen i Sverige (19th century and nationalism in Sweden), from Univ. Stockholm
Biography of Jöns Jacob Berzelius, from Woodrow Wilson Leadership Program in Chemistry, from wolfram.com
Biography of Erik Gustav Geijer, from Project Runeberg, in Swedish; see also the Erik Gustav Geijer Website
DOCUMENTS Coat of Arms of the combined Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, from Wappenlexikon, comment in German
Downloadable documents from Edward Hertslet: The map of Europe by treaty (Vol.1 London 1875) :
May 30th 1814 : Definitive Treaty of Peace between Great Britain, Austria, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, and France, Paris ( pp.1ff, Additional, Separate, and Secret Articles (pp.18ff)
May 14th 1826 : Boundary. Convention between Russia and Sweden. Lapland, St. Petersburg, (pp.744ff)
General Gazetteer 1823 : Sweden
Swedish banknotes, from Ron Wise's World Paper Money
Sources to Swedish 19th century nationalism, from Univ. Stockholm
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)
B.R. Mitchell, International Historical Statistics : Europe 1750-1988, N.Y.: Stockton Press 1992


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

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