The Gustavians () were a political faction in the

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic country by both area ...

who supported the absolutist regime of King

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what he saw ...

of Sweden, and sought after his assassination in 1792 to uphold his legacy and protect the interests of his descendants of the

House of Holstein-Gottorp Holstein-Gottorp () is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, also known as Ducal Holstein, that were ruled by the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, a side ...

. The term can also be used in a looser sense to refer to

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

generally during the Gustavian era (i.e. the reigns of Gustav III and his son

Gustav IV Adolf Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland. The occupation of Finland in 180 ...

), in the same way that the word "Victorians" is used of

Britons British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, w ...

during the reign of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

The Gustavian Party

Under Gustav III

The original Gustavians were the men who supported King Gustav III's

self-coup A self-coup, also called an autocoup () or coup from the top, is a form of coup d'état in which a political leader, having come to power through legal means, stays in power illegally through the actions of themselves or their supporters. The le ...

, the

Revolution of 1772 The Revolution of 1772, also known as The Bloodless Revolution () or the Coup of Gustav III ( or older ''Gustav III:s statsvälvning''), was a Swedish coup d'état performed by King Gustav III of Sweden on 19 August 1772 to introduce a division ...

, and his institution of an absolute monarchy under the

Instrument of Government (1772) The 1772 Instrument of Government () was the constitution of the Kingdom of Sweden from 1772 to 1809. It was promulgated in the wake of the Revolution of 1772, a self-coup mounted by King Gustav III, and replaced the 1720 Instrument of Governm ...

, replacing the

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

of the

Age of Liberty In Swedish history, the Age of Liberty () was a period that saw parliamentary governance, increasing civil rights, and the decline of the Swedish Empire that began with the adoption of the Instrument of Government in 1719 and ended with Gustav ...

(1719–1772). They thus represented a continuation of the Court Party which had agitated for a stronger monarchy during the Age of Liberty. Prominent Gustavians in this early stage included

Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten Baron Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten (10 November 1727 – 2 April 1786) was a Swedish-Finnish army officer and politician, and half-brother of Georg Magnus Sprengtporten. He is most famous as one of the leaders of the Revolution of 1772, the ''co ...

and

Johan Christopher Toll Count Johan Christopher Toll (1 February 1743 – 21 May 1817) was a Swedish statesman and soldier. Early life He was born in Mölleröd, Scania (now part of Hässleholm Municipality, Skåne County). Toll came of from an old family of Dutc ...

, the two leaders of the coup besides Gustav himself. Having seized power, Gustav governed Sweden with the aid of a small circle of favourites and close advisors, among them Toll, Elis Schröderheim,

Hans Henric von Essen Count Hans Henric von Essen (26 September 1755 – 28 June 1824) was a Sweden, Swedish officer, courtier and statesman. Biography Hans Henric von Essen was born at Kavlås Castle in Tidaholm Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. He ...

Carl Gustaf Nordin Carl Gustaf Nordin (born 2 January 1749 in Stockholm, died 14 March 1812 in Härnösand) was a Swedish statesman, historian and ecclesiastic. Early life In 1774, he was made docent of Gothic antiquities at Uppsala University in consequence of h ...

Johan Fredrik Aminoff Johan Fredrik Aminoff (26 January 1756 Bromarv, Finland – 30 March 1842 Bromarv Finland) was a Finnish Count, Baron, General, and Statesman who had major influence in Finland during the Kingdom of Sweden, and later in the newly formed Grand ...

Johan Albrecht Ehrenström Johan Albrecht Ehrenström (28 August 1762 – 15 April 1847) was a notable Finnish Senator, Active Privy Councillor, and Chairman of the Reconstruction Committee of Helsinki. Family His father was Ensign Nils Albrecht Ehrenström, and his mo ...

, and

Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (; 31 March 1757 – 19 August 1814) was a Finnish-Swedish count, baron, courtier, general and diplomat who was later in Russian service. In Finland, he is considered one of the greatest Finnish statesmen. His advi ...

. Ironically, Armfelt's uncle was a vehement opponent of the king, and was a leading member of the 1788

Anjala Conspiracy The Anjala conspiracy (, ) of 1788 was a scheme by disgruntled Swedish officers to end Gustav III's Russian War of 1788–1790. Declaring Finland an independent state was not a part of the original plot, but one of the conspirators Johan Ande ...

against him.

Under Gustav IV Adolf

Gustav III was assassinated in March 1792, whereupon his son became King

. As he was

underage In law, a minor is someone under a certain age, usually the age of majority, which demarcates an underage individual from legal adulthood. The age of majority depends upon jurisdiction and application, but it is commonly 18. ''Minor'' may also ...

, a regency government was established to govern Sweden on his behalf. Officially the regency was headed by the king's uncle, Gustav III's younger brother Duke Charles of Södermanland, but he was largely uninterested in politics and so it came to be dominated instead by the duke's friend

Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm Baron Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm (7 July 1756 in Sjundeå, Nyland, Sweden (now Finland) – 27 December 1813 in Schleswig), was a Swedish statesman. He acted as the de facto regent of Sweden during the minor regency of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden ...

. Reuterholm had long been hostile to Gustav III (indeed he had been implicated in the abortive 1789 Conspiracy against the late king), and promptly set about reversing many of his policies, most famously by restoring the

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

, which Gustav had curtailed. The Gustavians strongly opposed Reuterholm, and a number of them were involved in the 1793

Armfelt Conspiracy The Armfelt Conspiracy was a plot in Sweden in 1793. The purpose was to depose the de jure regent Duke Charles and the de facto regent Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm, leaders of the regency government of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, and replace them wit ...

, which sought to remove Duke Charles as regent and replace him with Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt. Reuterholm used the exposure of this plot as an excuse to have several leading Gustavians arrested and to marginalise the others; Armfelt himself escaped into exile. Fortunately for the Gustavians, Gustav Adolf himself shared their horror at Reuterholm's trampling on his father's legacy, and when he came of age in 1796 he immediately sent Reuterholm into exile and appointed a number of old Gustavians as his ministers, foremost among them Armfelt. Another prominent advisor to the young king was the Marshal of the Realm,

Axel von Fersen the Younger Hans Axel von Fersen (; 4 September 175520 June 1810), known as Axel de Fersen in France, was a Swedish count, Marshal of the Realm of Sweden, a General of Horse in the royal Swedish Army, one of the Lords of the Realm, aide-de-camp to Rocham ...

, who had spent much of Gustav III's reign in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, at the court of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

, but had been forced to return to Sweden by the French Revolution. Gustav III had been a fervent opponent of the French Revolution, and Gustav Adolf upheld these

reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...

principles by joining the

Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition () was a European conflict lasting from 1805 to 1806 and was the first conflict of the Napoleonic Wars. During the war, France and its client states under Napoleon I and its ally Spain opposed an alliance, the Th ...

against

Napoleonic France The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

. This proved to be a fatal misjudgement. In 1806–07 Napoleon conquered

Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania (; ) was a dominions of Sweden, dominion under the Sweden, Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish-Swedish War, Polish War and the Thirty Years' War ...

, the last surviving relic of the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...

, and in 1809 the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

switched sides and formed an alliance with France against Sweden. In the resulting

Finnish War The Finnish War (; ; ) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...

(1808–09), Russian forces rapidly overran the entirety of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, which had been Swedish for six hundred years and was (unlike Pomerania and the other overseas territories of the former Swedish Empire) considered to be an intrinsic part of the Kingdom of Sweden. Its loss was therefore hugely traumatic for the Swedish political community, and represented a fatal blow to Gustav Adolf's authority. In March 1809, a Swedish army commanded by

Georg Adlersparre Count Georg Adlersparre (28 March 1760 – 23 September 1835) was a Swedish army commander, politician and writer from the Adlersparre family. He was the leader of the Coup of 1809, leading to the deposition of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden. ...

mutinied, triggering the

Coup of 1809 The Coup of 1809 () also referred to as the Revolution of 1809 (Swedish: ''Revolutionen 1809'') was a Swedish coup d'état on 13 March of that year by a group of noblemen led by Georg Adlersparre, with support from the Western Army. The coup res ...

, in which Gustav Adolf was forced to abdicate and sent into exile, Duke Charles was declared king, and

was restored by the

Instrument of Government (1809) The 1809 Instrument of Government (), adopted on 6 June 1809 by the Riksdag of the Estates and King Charles XIII, was the constitution of the Kingdom of Sweden from 1809 to the end of 1974. It came about as a result of the Coup of 1809, in ...

Under Charles XIII

Some Gustavians could not reconcile themselves to the new regime, among them Armfelt, who retired to the now Russian-ruled

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

. However, the majority of them stayed in Sweden, most notably Fersen, who remained in post as Marshal of the Realm and thereby retained a seat on the

Council of the Realm The Council of the Realm () was a corporate organ of Francoist Spain, created by the Law of Succession to the Headship of the State of 1947. Within the institutional complex created to hierarchize the regime of Francisco Franco (the so-called " ...

. The new King Charles XIII was elderly and childless, and as such his hereditary heir was his great-nephew Prince Gustav, 10-year-old son of the deposed Gustav Adolf. However, Adlersparre and his supporters were concerned that Gustav Vasa would resent his father's overthrow in the same way that Gustav Adolf himself had resented the Reuterholm regency, and worried that if he became king he might even try to mount his own coup and restore absolutism in the same way that Gustav III had done in 1772. The constitutionalists therefore persuaded the

Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates (; informally ) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King. It was a Diet made up of the Fou ...

(Swedish parliament) to pass a resolution on 10 May 1809 excluding Gustav Adolf and all his descendants from the Swedish

order of succession An order, line or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated, such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Charles August. However, for various reasons Charles August was unable to come to Sweden to be formally invested as

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

for several months, and in the meantime the Gustavians plotted a coup of their own, intending to get rid of the 1809 Instrument of Government, restore absolutism and have Prince Gustav formally recognised as heir to the throne. In this they were supported by monarchists who were upset with the idea of interfering with the principle of hereditary succession, including King Charles himself and his wife

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...

. However, the plans failed to come to fruition before Charles August's arrival in January 1810. Once in Sweden, the new crown prince tried to win over the Gustavians by secretly offering to adopt Prince Gustav as his own heir, he being childless himself. However, in May he suddenly dropped dead from a stroke, which led to rumours that he had been poisoned by the Gustavians, and during his funeral the unfortunate Fersen was publicly

lynched Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of in ...

by an enraged mob. The Riksdag was therefore forced to choose an heir to the throne for the second time in as many years. The Gustavians campaigned vigorously on behalf of Prince Gustav, but in the end the decision went against them again, this time in favour of the French

Marshal of the Empire Marshal of the Empire () was a civil dignity during the First French Empire. It was established by on 18 May 1804 and to a large extent reinstated the formerly abolished title of Marshal of France. According to the ''Sénatus-consulte'', a Mar ...

Jean Baptiste Bernadotte Charles XIV John (; 26 January 1763 – 8 March 1844) was King of Sweden and Norway from 1818 until his death in 1844 and the first monarch of the Bernadotte dynasty. In Norway, he is known as Charles III John () and before he became royalty in ...

. However, Bernadotte quickly managed to win over most of the Gustavians, in part because he shared their conservative views, and by the time he ascended the throne in 1818 (as King Charles XIV John), the few remaining irreconcilables had faded into political irrelevance. Gustav died in 1877 and his only surviving child

Carola Carola is a female given name, the Latinized form of the Germanic given names Caroline or Carol. People named Carola include: Acting * Carola Braunbock (1924–1978), Czech-born East German actress * Carola Höhn (1910–2005), German actre ...

died in 1907 without issue, which lead to the complete extinction of the Swedish line of the House of Holstein-Gottorp. Carola's heir under male-preference primogeniture would have been her first cousin once removed

Frederick II, Grand Duke of Baden Frederick II (9 July 1857 – 9 August 1928; ) was the last sovereign Grand Duke of Baden, reigning from 1907 until the abolition of the Germany, German monarchies in 1918. The Weimar Republic, Weimar-era States of the Weimar Republic, state of ...

, who died in 1928 without issue, and whose only surviving sibling Victoria married

Gustaf V Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxe ...

of Sweden (the Marshal's

great-grandson Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

) and merged her potential claim into the actual line of succession by being the mother of

Gustaf VI Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf ...

Other uses of the term

Soldiers of the

Swedish army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

during the reigns of Gustav III and Gustav IV Adolf are sometimes referred to as “Gustavians”, just as their predecessors during the reigns of Charles XI and

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

are known as “

Caroleans Caroleans (), from ''Carolus'', the Latin form of the name Charles, is a term used to describe soldiers of the Military of the Swedish Empire, Swedish army during the reigns of Kings Charles XI of Sweden, Charles XI and Charles XII of Sweden, ...

” (from ''Carolus'', the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

form of the name Charles). The term is used in this sense in the names of several

historical reenactment Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historical uniforms and follow a plan to recreate aspects of a histor ...

groups specialising in this period, such as the (literally " Westrogothic Gustavians"). The main campaigns in which Gustavian soldiers fought were the

Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790) The Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790 was fought between Gustavian era, Sweden and Russian Empire, Russia from June 1788 to August 1790. The war was ended by the Treaty of Värälä on 14 August 1790 and took place concomitantly with both the A ...

, the Franco-Swedish War and the

. Their uniforms, introduced in 1779 as part of Gustav III's extensive military reform programme, are distinguished from those of earlier Swedish soldiers by their shorter jackets and the substitution of round plumed hats for the earlier tricorns. Artists active during the Gustavian era are also often referred to as Gustavians, especially those with links to the royal court, such as Johan Henric Kellgren, Carl Gustaf af Leopold, Gustaf Filip Creutz,

Johan Gabriel Oxenstierna Count Johan Gabriel Oxenstierna (19 July 1750 – 29 July 1818) is considered one of the foremost Sweden, Swedish poets of the History of Sweden (1772–1809), Gustavian period. A prominent courtier during the reign of King Gustav III of Sweden, ...

and

Johan Tobias Sergel Johan Tobias Sergel (; 7 September 1740 in Stockholm – 26 February 1814 in Stockholm) was a Swedish neoclassical sculptor. Sergels torg, the largest square in the centre of Stockholm and near where his workshop stood, is named after him. Life ...

References

Sources

*{{cite journal , journal=

Nordisk Familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. The public domain edit ...

, title=Gustavianerna , date=1909 , volume=10 , pages=700–1 , url=https://runeberg.org/nfbj/0382.html G Sweden during the Gustavian era 1790s in Sweden 1800s in Sweden 1810s in Sweden 18th-century Swedish people Defunct political parties in Sweden