Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New Yor ...

Carl Piper (July 29, 1647, Stockholm – May 29, 1716,

Schlüsselburg Shlisselburg ( rus, Шлиссельбу́рг, p=ʂlʲɪsʲɪlʲˈburk; german: Schlüsselburg; fi, Pähkinälinna; sv, Nöteborg), formerly Oreshek (Орешек) (1323–1611) and Petrokrepost (Петрокрепость) (1944–1992), is ...

) was a Swedish statesman. He entered the foreign office after completing his academical course at

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

, accompanied

Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna Count Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna (1623–1702) was a Swedish soldier and statesman, who served as Foreign Minister from 1680 to 1697. During this period, he ensured Sweden remained neutral and moved away from its traditional French alliance. ...

on his embassage to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

in 1673, and attracted the attention of

Charles XI Charles XI or Carl ( sv, Karl XI; ) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1721). He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein ...

during the

Scanian War The Scanian War ( da, Skånske Krig, , sv, Skånska kriget, german: Schonischer Krieg) was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark–Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought from 1675 to 1679 mainly on Scanian soil, ...

by his extraordinary energy and ability.

Life

In 1679, he was appointed secretary to the board of trade and ennobled. In 1689, he was made one of the secretaries of state, and Charles XI recommended him on his deathbed to his son and successor,

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line o ...

. Piper became the most confidential of the new sovereign's ministers. In 1697 he was made a senator and set over domestic affairs while still retaining his position as state-secretary. In 1698, he was made a

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New Yor ...

. In 1702 he was appointed chancellor of

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance durin ...

, and during the first half of the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swed ...

, as the chief of Charles' perambulating chancellery. It was his misfortune, however, to be obliged to support a system which was not his own. He belonged to the school of

and was therefore an avowed advocate of a

pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

policy. He protested in vain against nearly all the military ventures of Charles XII; these included the war against Augustus II in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, the invasion of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, and the campaign into

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

. Again and again, he insisted that the pacific overtures of

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

should at least be fairly considered, but his master was always immovable. Piper's career came to an end with the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava; russian: Полта́вская би́тва; uk, Полта́вська би́тва (8 July 1709) was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. A Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeat ...

(1709), where he was among the prisoners. The last years of his life were spent in captivity in

. He died in Schlüsselburg Fortress in 1716. Carl Piper was the son of Carl Piper and Ingrid Charlotta Ekenbom and was married to Christina Törne.

Notes

References

* Endnotes: **See W. L. Svedelius, ''Count Carl Piper'' (Stockholm, 1869). {{DEFAULTSORT:Piper, Carl Swedish nobility 1647 births 1716 deaths Swedish politicians Politicians from Stockholm Swedish pacifists Swedish people of the Great Northern War Battle of Poltava Swedish prisoners of war Prisoners of war held by Russia Marshals of the Realm