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Gustaf 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 as the abuse of political privileges seized by the nobility since the death of King Charles XII in the Great Northern War. Seizing power from the government in a coup d'état, called the Swedish Revolution, in 1772, that ended the Age of Liberty, he initiated a campaign to restore a measure of royal autocracy. This was completed by the Union and Security Act of 1789, which swept away most of the powers exercised by the Swedish Riksdag of the estates during the Age of Liberty, but at the same time it opened up the government for all citizens, thereby breaking the privileges of the nobility. A believer in enlightened absolutism, Gustav spent considerable public funds on cultural ventures, which were controversial among his critics, as w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel Auber
Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire. Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally when the family's fortunes failed in 1820. He soon established a professional partnership with the librettist Eugène Scribe that lasted for 41 years and produced 39 operas, most of them commercial and critical successes. He is mostly associated with opéra-comique and composed 35 works in that genre. With Scribe he wrote the first French grand opera, ''La muette de Portici, La Muette de Portici'' (The Dumb Woman of Portici) in 1828, which paved the way for the large-scale works of Giacomo Meyerbeer. Auber held two important official musical posts. From 1842 to 1871 he was director of France's premier music academy, the Paris Conservatoire, which he expanded and modernised. From 1852 until the fall of the Second French Empire, Second Empire i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adolf Frederick
Adolf (or Adolph) Frederick (; ; 14 May 171012 February 1771) was King of Sweden from 1751 until his death in 1771. He was the son of Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin, and Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach. He was an uncle of Catherine the Great and husband to Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. After 220 years the House of Oldenburg returned to the Swedish throne with Adolf Frederick through its Holstein-Gottorp branch. He was a weak monarch, installed as first in line to the throne following the parliamentary government's failure to reconquer the Baltic provinces in 1741–1743. Aside from a few attempts, supported by pro- absolutist factions among the nobility, to reclaim the absolute monarchy held by previous monarchs, he remained a mere constitutional figurehead until his death. His reign saw an extended period of internal peace. However, the finances stagnated following failed mercantilist doctrines pursued by the Hat administration. The Hat administrati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swedish Baltic Dominions
The Dominions of Sweden or ''Svenska besittningar'' ("Swedish possessions") were territories that historically came under control of the Swedish Crown, but never became fully integrated with Sweden. This generally meant that they were ruled by Governors-General under the Swedish monarch, but within certain limits retained their own established political systems, essentially their diets. Finland was not a dominion, but a land of Sweden. The dominions had no representation in the Swedish Riksdag as stipulated by the 1634 Instrument of Government paragraph 46: ''"No one, who is not living inside the separate and old borders of Sweden and Finland, have anything to say at Riksdags and other meetings..."'' Baltic Dominions Between 1561 and 1629 Sweden made conquests in the Eastern Baltic. All of them were lost in accordance with the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, which concluded the Great Northern War. Estonia Estonia placed itself under Swedish rule in 1561 to receive protecti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Danish Norway
The history of Norway has been influenced to an extraordinary degree by the terrain and the climate of the region. About 10,000 BC, following the retreat inland of the great ice sheets, the earliest inhabitants migrated north into the territory which is now Norway. They traveled steadily northwards along the coastal areas, warmed by the Gulf Stream. They were hunter-gatherers whose diet included seafood and game, particularly reindeer as staple foods. Between 5,000 BC and 4,000 BC the earliest agricultural settlements appeared around the Oslofjord. Gradually, between 1,500 BC and 500 BC, agricultural settlements spread to the entire south Norway, while the inhabitants of the regions north of Trøndelag continued to hunt and fish. The Neolithic period started in 4,000 BC. The Migration Period caused the first chieftains to take control and hilltop forts to be constructed. From the 8th century Norwegians started expanding across the seas to the British Isles and later Iceland and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enlightened Absolutism
Enlightened absolutism, also called enlightened despotism, refers to the conduct and policies of European absolute monarchs during the 18th and early 19th centuries who were influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, espousing them to enhance their power. The concept originated during the Enlightenment period in the 18th and into the early 19th centuries. An enlightened absolutist is a non- democratic or authoritarian leader who exercises their political power based upon the principles of the Enlightenment. Enlightened monarchs distinguished themselves from ordinary rulers by claiming to rule for their subjects' well-being. John Stuart Mill stated that despotism is a legitimate mode of government in dealing with barbarians, provided the end be their improvement. Enlightened absolutists' beliefs about royal power were typically similar to those of regular despots, both recognizing that they were destined to rule. Enlightened rulers may have played a part in the abolition of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Four Estates, which historically were the lines of division in Swedish society: * Nobility * Clergy * Burghers * Peasants The inclusion of a fourth estate, ''Bondeståndet'', is a peculiarity of the Swedish realm, with few parallels in Europe. The English word ''peasant'' is however an inexact translation, as it did not include the entire peasantry, as it is usually defined in an English context. It did not include unlanded or semi-landed groups such as crofters, lodgers and seasonal labourers and of the three categories of Swedish ''bönder'', that is peasants, it included only two. Those were the ''skattebönder'' ("tax peasants"), yeomen who owned their own land and were taxed, as well as the ''kronobönder'' ("Crown farmers" or "farmers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Union And Security Act
The Union and Security Act (, ), alternatively Act of Union and Security, was proposed by King Gustav III of Sweden to the assembled Estates of the Realm during the Riksdag of 1789. It was a document, adding to the Swedish Constitution of 1772 new provisions. The King strengthened his grip on power while at the same time riding on a popular wave that also meant a decrease in aristocratic power. It has been described as "fundamentally conservative". Passage During the Russo-Swedish War, in February 1789, Gustav summoned the Riksdag of the Estates and placed an Act of Union and Security before them. Three of the four estates accepted it, but the Nobles rejected it. Since three of the four Estates accepted it, it was passed and became law. Contents The Act of Union and Security gave the King the sole power to declare war and make peace instead of sharing the power with the estates and the Privy Council. The estates would lose the ability to initiate legislation, but they would keep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autocracy
Autocracy is a form of government in which absolute power is held by the head of state and Head of government, government, known as an autocrat. It includes some forms of monarchy and all forms of dictatorship, while it is contrasted with democracy and feudalism. Various definitions of autocracy exist. They may restrict autocracy to cases where power is held by a single individual, or they may define autocracy in a way that includes a group of rulers who wield absolute power. The autocrat has total control over the exercise of civil liberties within the autocracy, choosing under what circumstances they may be exercised, if at all. Governments may also blend elements of autocracy and democracy, forming a mixed type of regime sometimes referred to as anocracy, hybrid regime, or electoral autocracy. The concept of autocracy has been recognized in political philosophy since ancient history. Autocrats maintain power through political repression of any opposition and Co-option, co-op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 III's self-coup in 1772. This shift of power from the monarch to parliament was a direct effect of the Great Northern War. Suffrage under the parliamentary government was not universal. Although the taxed peasantry was represented in the Parliament, its influence was disproportionately small, and commoners without taxed property had no suffrage at all. Great Northern War Following the death of Charles XI of Sweden, his young son Charles XII became king, and in 1697, when he was only 15 years old, he was proclaimed to be of age and took over the rule from the provisional government. The states in which Sweden's expansion into a great power had primarily been at the expense of Denmark and Russia, formed a coalition with Saxony two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 of power between the king and the Riksdag of the Estates, resulting in the end of the Age of Liberty and the introduction of the Swedish Constitution of 1772, which would strengthen the power of the monarch and the start the absolutist period known as the Gustavian era. Background The Age of Liberty was a period in Swedish history that spanned from 1718 to 1772, during which the Riksdag of the Estates held significant power and limited the authority of the monarch. This period saw the introduction of various reforms, including freedom of the press and the abolition of torture. Before the revolution, Sweden had been governed by a constitutionalist system as a result of an increase in the power of the Riksdag of the Estates due to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coup D'état
A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to power through legal means, tries to stay in power through illegal means. By one estimate, there were 457 coup attempts from 1950 to 2010, half of which were successful. Most coup attempts occurred in the mid-1960s, but there were also large numbers of coup attempts in the mid-1970s and the early 1990s. Coups occurring in the post-Cold War period have been more likely to result in democratic systems than Cold War coups, though coups still mostly perpetuate authoritarianism. Many factors may lead to the occurrence of a coup, as well as determine the success or failure of a coup. Once a coup is underway, coup success is driven by coup-makers' ability to get others to believe that the coup attempt will be successful. The number of successful cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Northern War
In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter the Great, Peter I of Russia, Frederick IV of Denmark, Frederick IV of Denmark–Norway and Augustus II the Strong of Electorate of Saxony, Saxony–Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Poland–Lithuania. Frederick IV and Augustus II were defeated by Sweden, under Charles XII, and forced out of the alliance in 1700 and 1706 respectively, but rejoined it in 1709 after the defeat of Charles XII at the Battle of Poltava. George I of Great Britain and the Electorate of Hanover joined the coalition in 1714 for Hanover and in 1717 for Britain, and Frederick William I of Prussia, Frederick William I of Brandenburg-Prussia joined it in 1715. Charles XII led the Swedish army. Swedish allies included Holstein-Gottorp, sev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
