The
history of Sweden from 1772 to 1809 is better known as the Gustavian era of kings
Gustav III and
Gustav IV Adolf, as well as the reign of King
Charles XIII.
Gustav III
Adolf Frederick of Sweden died on 12 February 1771. The elections afterward resulted in a partial victory for the
Caps party, especially among the lower orders; but in the
estate of the peasantry the Caps majority was merely nominal, while the mass of the nobility was dead against them. Nothing could be done, however, till the return of the new king, Gustav III, from Paris.
Coronation oath
The new coronation oath contained three revolutionary clauses:
#The first aimed at making abdications in the future impossible by binding the king to reign uninterruptedly.
#The second obliged him to abide, not by the decision of all the
estates together, as heretofore, but by that of the majority only, with the view of enabling the actually dominant lower estates (in which there was a large Cap majority) to rule without the nobility.
#The third clause required him, in all cases of preferment, to be guided not "principally" as heretofore, but "solely" by merit.
All through 1771 the estates wrangled over the clauses. An attempt of the king to mediate foundered on the suspicions of the estate of burgesses, and on 24 February 1772. the nobility yielded.
Constitution
The non-noble Cap majority now proceeded to attack the
Privy Council. the ''Riksrådet'', the last stronghold of the Hats, and, on 25 April of that year, it succeeded in ousting them. It was now, for the first time, that Gustav began to consider the possibility of
a revolution.
The new
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
of 20 August 1772 which Gustav III imposed upon the
Riksdag of the Estates, converted a weak and disunited republic into a strong but limited monarchy. The estates could assemble only when summoned by him; he could dismiss them whenever he thought fit; and their deliberations were to be confined exclusively to the propositions which he laid before them. But these extensive powers were subjected to important checks. Thus, without the previous consent of the estates, no new law could be imposed, no old law abolished, no offensive war undertaken, no extraordinary war subsidy levied. The estates alone could tax themselves; they had the absolute control of the
Riksbank – the Bank of Sweden, and the right of controlling the national expenditure.
In Sweden, the change was most popular. But Gustav's first Riksdag, that of 1778, opened the eyes of the deputies to the fact that their political supremacy had departed. The king was now their sovereign lord; and, for all his courtesy and gentleness, the jealousy with which he guarded and the vigour with which he enforced the prerogative plainly showed that he meant to remain so. But it was not till after eight years more had elapsed that actual trouble began. The Riksdag of 1778 had been obsequious; the Riksdag of 1786 was mutinous. It rejected nearly all the royal measures outright, or so modified them that Gustav himself withdrew them. When he dismissed the estates, the speech from the throne held out no prospect of their speedy revocation.
Nevertheless, within three years, the king was obliged to summon another Riksdag, which met at Stockholm on 26 January 1789. His attempt in the interval to rule without a parliament had been disastrous. It was only by a breach of his own constitution that he had been able to
declare war against Russia in April 1788; the
Conspiracy of Anjala (July) had paralysed all military operations at the very opening of the campaign; and the sudden invasion of his western provinces by the Danes, almost simultaneously (September), seemed to bring him to the verge of ruin. But the contrast, at this crisis, between his self-sacrificing patriotism and the treachery of the
Russophil aristocracy was so striking that, when the Riksdag assembled, Gustav found that the three lower estates were ultra-royalist, and with their aid he succeeded, not without running great risks in crushing the opposition of the nobility by a second coup d'état on 16 February 1789 and passing the famous
Act of Union and Security which gave the king an absolutely free hand as regards foreign affairs and the command of the army, and made further treason impossible. The nobility never forgave him.
Foreign affairs
Abroad, the Swedish revolution made a great sensation.
Catherine II of Russia concluded a secret alliance with
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
, in which the Swedish revolution was described as "an act of violence" justifying both powers in seizing the first favourable opportunity for intervention to restore the Swedish constitution of 1720.
Unknown to party leaders, Gustav had renewed the Swedish alliance with France and had received solemn assurances of assistance from
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
of France if Gustav were to reestablish monarchical rule in Sweden. Moreover, France agreed to pay its outstanding subsidies to Sweden, amounting to 1.5 million livres annually, beginning from January 1772. What's more,
Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, was to be sent to Stockholm to circumvent the designs of
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
just as he had previously done in the
Sublime Porte at
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
.
Gustav IV Adolf
Reuterholm
The new king Gustav IV Adolf, still a minor, was brought up among
Jacobins. During the king's minority,
Gustaf Reuterholm virtually ruled Sweden. After the execution 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- ...
on 21 January 1793, Sweden recognized the new French republic, and secret negotiations for contracting an alliance were begun in May of the same year until the protests of Catherine of Russia, supported by all the other European powers, finally induced Sweden to suspend them.
The negotiations with the French Jacobins exacerbated the hatred which Gustav's supporters felt for the Jacobin counselors of Charles, the duke-regent, later
Charles XIII. They formed a conspiracy to overthrow the government, led by
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 ...
, which was to have been supported by a Russian fleet and a rising of the
Dalecarlians. The conspiracy was discovered and vigorously suppressed.
Rapprochement
A rapprochement took place between the
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
n kingdoms during the revolutionary wars. Thus, on 27 March 1794, a neutrality compact was formed between with Denmark and Sweden; and their united squadrons patrolled the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
to prevent their merchantmen from being seized by British ships. The French Republic was officially recognized by the Swedish government on 23 April 1795. In return, Sweden received a subsidy and a treaty between the two powers was signed on 14 September 1795. But an attempt to regain the friendship of Russia, which had broken off diplomatic relations with Sweden, was frustrated by the refusal of the king to accept as his bride the Russian grand duchess Alexandra, whom Reuterholm had provided. This was Reuterholm's last official act. On 1 November 1796, Gustav Adolf at age 18 took the government into his own hands.
Gustavian government
The government of
Gustav IV Adolf was almost a pure autocracy. At his very first
Riksdag
The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
, held at
Norrköping in March 1800, the nobility were compelled to ratify Gustav III's
Act of Union and Security.
A notable change took place in Sweden's foreign policy in December 1800 when Denmark, Sweden and Russia acceded to a
Second League of Armed Neutrality directed against Britain. Hitherto Sweden had kept aloof from continental complications, but the arrest and execution of the
Duc d'Enghien in 1804 inspired Gustav Adolf with such a hatred of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
that when a general coalition was formed against the French emperor he was one of the first to join it (3 December 1804), pledging himself to send an army corps to link up with British and Russian forces and drive the French out of the
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...
and
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
. But his quarrel with
Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...
detained him in
Pomerania
Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...
, and when at last in December 1805 he led his 6,000 men towards the
Elbe district, the third coalition had already been dissipated by the victories of
Ulm and
Austerlitz.
In 1806, a rupture between Sweden and Prussia was prevented only by Napoleon's assault upon the latter power. After
Jena, Napoleon attempted to win over Sweden, but Gustav rejected every overture. The result was the total loss of Swedish Pomerania, and the Swedish army was saved from destruction only by the ingenuity of
Johan Christopher Toll. At
Tilsit the emperor
Alexander I of Russia had undertaken to compel "Russia's geographical enemy", as Napoleon designated Sweden, to accede to the newly established "Continental Russian System". Gustav Adolf rejected all the proposals of Alexander to close the Baltic to British ships, but he took no measures to defend Finland against Russia. On 21 February 1808, a Russian army crossed the Finnish border. On 2 April, the king ordered a general levy of 30,000 men.
Charles XIII

The immediate consequence of the Russian invasion was the deposition of Gustav Adolf by the
Coup of 1809 on 13 March 1809, and the exclusion of his whole family from the succession. On 5 June 1809, the duke
regent
In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
was proclaimed king, under the title of Charles XIII, after accepting the new liberal
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
, which was ratified by the
Riksdag of the Estates the same day. Peace negotiations had been opened at
Fredrikshamn, but the war carried on. Defeats at the
Battle of Sävar and
Battle of Ratan on 19 and 20 August 1809, broke the spirit 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 ...
; and peace was obtained by the surrender of all
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, ...
, the
Ã…land
Ã…land ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...
islands, "the fore-posts of Stockholm", as Napoleon described them, and
Västerbotten and
Lappland as far as the rivers of
Torneå and
Muonio at the
Treaty of Fredrikshamn, on 17 September 1809.
See also
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*
Gustavian style
References
Sources
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{{Sweden topics
01
Early modern history of Sweden
18th century in Sweden
19th century in Sweden
18th century in Finland
19th century in Finland
1772 establishments in Sweden
1809 disestablishments in Sweden
History of Sweden by period