The Anjala conspiracy of 1788 was a scheme by disgruntled Swedish officers to end Gustav III's Russian War of 1788–90. Declaring Finland an independent state was part of the plot, although it's disputed what importance the conspirators connected to that aspect. 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Gustav IIIs Russian War, also known as the Russo-Swedish War, was fought between Sweden and Russia from June 1788 to August 1790. ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1790 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ...

Rising anger against the king and his war

As the war was badly prepared and without the expected initial success, anger rose against the king within the military ranks deployed to Finland, where the memory of the harsh Russian occupations of 1713–21 (the "Greater Wrath") and 1741–43 (the "Lesser Wrath") remained vivid. The war was clearly initiated by Sweden, and in the view of a strong opinion, particularly among noble officers, a clear violation of the authoritarian Instrument of Government that the king with support of the common estates of the parliament had imposed in 1772. Events April 11 - War of the Spanish Succession: Treaty of Utrecht June 23 - French residents of Acadia given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia Canada first Orrery built by George Graham Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713... Events Pope Innocent XIII becomes pope Johann Sebastian Bach composes the Brandenburg Concertos April 4 - Robert Walpole becomes the first prime minister of Britain September 10 - Treaty of Nystad is signed, bringing an end to the Great Northern War November 2 - Peter I is proclaimed Emperor of All the Russias... Events April 10 – Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz December 19 – Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 – Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius William Browning invents mineral water Elizabeth of Russia became czarina. ... Events February 14 - Henry Pelham becomes British Prime Minister February 21 - - The premiere in London of George Frideric Handels oratorio, Samson. ... The term authoritarian is used to describe an organization or a state which enforces strong and sometimes oppressive measures against the population, generally without attempts at gaining the consent of the population. ... The Swedish Constitution consists of four fundamental laws (Swedish: grundlagar): The Instrument of Government (1974) The Act of Succession (1810) The Freedom of the Press Act (1766) The Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (1991) There is also a law on the working order of the Parliament with a special... The Riksdag of the Estates, or Ståndsriksdagen, was the name used for the Estates of the Swedish realm, or Rikets ständer, when they were assembled. ... 1772 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

It was no secret that the war was conceived to increase the king's popularity and influence, and diminish that of his, mostly noble, opponents. The anger was fuled also by Cabinet members who felt duped to support the war plans by the king's selective quoting of diplomatic reports from Saint Petersburg. The failed attempts to besiege and reconquer Hamina and Savonlinna, since 1743 in Russian hands, ultimately ignited a vehement opposition among the officers, and it was said that even the king wished for peace. The Swedish Senate: Riksrådet, from 1809 Statsrådet, from 1975 Regeringen was and is the principal government institution of Sweden The Swedish Senate, Senatus Regni Sueciae, originated as a council of Regional Magnates acting as advisers to the Monarch of the combined Realms of the Swedes (from 996, approximately). ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... Hamina, or Fredrikshamn in Swedish, is one of Finlands most important harbors. ... Savonlinna (Nyslott in Swedish, literally Newcastle) is a municipality of about 28,000 inhabitants in the southeast of Finland, in the heart of the Saimaa lake region. ... Events February 14 - Henry Pelham becomes British Prime Minister February 21 - - The premiere in London of George Frideric Handels oratorio, Samson. ...

A peace feeler bypassing the king

The leaders of the Anjala conspiracy entered secretly in communication with the Tsarina Catherine the Great, transmitting the Liikkala note dated August 8, 1788, signed by among others Armfelt, Commander-in-Chief for the eastern forces and the king's closest confidant. They declared the war to be illegal, asked for the restoration of the Finnish borders according to the Treaty of Nystad of 1721, and for peace negotiations with representatives of the Finnish nation, which they understood as (the ethnically Swedish) representatives for the eastern and northern half of Sweden, which during the 18th century twice had been harshly occupied, and whose peasant population overwhelmingly were ethnic Finns. A Tsaritsa (Цари́ца), also called tsarina, czarina, or czaritsa, was the title of Tsars wife or a female autocratic ruler(monarch) of Russia or Bulgaria. ... Catherine II (Екатерина II Алексеевна: Yekaterína II Alekséyevna, April 21, 1729 - November 6, 1796), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka, known as Catherine the Great, reigned as empress of Russia from June 28, 1762, to her death on November 6, 1796. ... August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (March 31, 1757 – August 19, 1814) was a Swedish courtier and diplomat. ... Commander-in-Chief (in NATO-lingo often C-in-C or CINC pronounced sink) is the commander of all the military forces within a particular region or of all the military forces of a state. ... The Treaty of Nystad (1721), signed at the present-day Finnish town of Uusikaupunki (Swedish Nystad), ended the Great Northern War, in which Russia received the territories of Estonia, Livonia and Ingria, as well as much of Karelia and Tsar Peter I of Russia replaced King Frederick I of Sweden... Events Pope Innocent XIII becomes pope Johann Sebastian Bach composes the Brandenburg Concertos April 4 - Robert Walpole becomes the first prime minister of Britain September 10 - Treaty of Nystad is signed, bringing an end to the Great Northern War November 2 - Peter I is proclaimed Emperor of All the Russias... An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. ... The ethnic Finns are the dominant ethnic group in Finland, and the largest ethnic minority in Sweden, the Sweden-Finns. ...

August 13, a supportive declaration was signed by 113 officers in Anjala, and sent to the king, according to which they declared that they would continue their defence of the fatherland in case Catherine refused the peace offer. An important demand was that the diet must be summoned in the critical situation. The declaration won increasing respect within the army and navy. August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining. ... The Diet of Finland, Suomen valtiopäivät or Finlands Lantdag, was the legislative assembly, and successor to the Riksdag of the Estates, of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906. ...

Results

The support would however diminish when it became obvious that the Russian government aimed to use the declaration to divide Sweden proper. From the Swedish government's point of view, this was an act of high treason that put the state's integrity in dire danger. Sweden proper, or Egentliga Sverige, is a term used to distinguish those territories that were fully integrated into the Kingdom of Sweden, as opposed to the dominions and possessions of, or states in union with, the Realm of Sweden. ... Under English, and later British law, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Sovereign. ...

Gustav III perceived his most bitter opponents to have become leaders of the Anjala-men, and feared for his life if remaining in Finland. Commencing a new theatre of war against Denmark in the South, the king had a good excuse to leave for less dangerous surroundings. Soon, however, he found the public opinion on his side, and the leading conspirators were arrested during the winter. Two of the conspirators ended up as refugees in Russia, nine were sentenced to death, although only one was executed while the rest were either deported or put in prison.

The idea of a separate Finnish nation would be echoed by Alexander I at the Diet of Porvoo, when he of the eastern part of Sweden actually created the semi-independent Grand Duchy of Finland in personal union with Imperial Russia. Aleksandr Pavlovich Romanov or Tsar Alexander I (The Blessed), (Russian: Александр I Павлович) (December 23, 1777–December 1, 1825), Emperor of Russia (reigned March 23, 1801–December 1, 1825), son of the Grand Duke Paul Petrovich, afterwards Paul I, and Maria Fedorovna, daughter of the Duke of Württemberg. ... The Diet of Finland, Suomen valtiopäivät or Finlands Lantdag, was the legislative assembly, and successor to the Riksdag of the Estates, of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906. ... The Grand Duchy of Finland was a state that existed 1809–1917. ... A personal union consists of two or more entities that are internationally considered separate states, only sharing the same Head of State (and thence also sharing whatever political actions are vested in the Head of State, but no, or at least extremely few, others). ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start...

Long-term effects

It may be argued, that king Gustav used the Anjala conspiracy to win support for a revision of the Swedish Constitution in order to strengthen his own position and weaken the influence of his opponents. But it may also be argued that this was what he had aimed at with the war itself; and that he even after the unsuccessful attack on Russia might have been fully capable to achieve this, also without the public opinion boost the Anjala conspiracy offered. A conclusion might be that the conspiracy maybe is more significant as an indicator of the situation in Sweden of the late 18th century, than as an actual agent in history.

The military officers, who had supported the events with the best intentions for their country, became further alienated by the condemnations from government and public opinion. Hence it can be argued that the split between the state leadership and the leading nobles (civil servants and officers), particularly in Finland, was further aggravated due to the reaction on the Anjala affair, also if the government's reaction for exactly that reason was intentionally lenient. This increased the willingness of leading Swedes in Finland to switch allegiance from Stockholm to Saint Petersburg, and contributed thusly to the split of Sweden in 1808/09. Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland...

The common estates', and the public opinion's, critical assessment of the Anjala-men were in many circles in Finland seen as yet another sign of a rift between the two parts of Sweden. It seemed as if the Age of Liberty had elevated people with a very narrow view of the world, a view that obviously did not reach to the realm's eastern periphery. In other words, which would be echoed also in connection with Finland's 20th century wars, it seemed as if the majority of the Swedes did no longer consider the Finns' interests, nor appreciate the importance of the eastern provinces for Sweden, nor the Finns' sacrifices. The Great Northern War See also: Great Northern War The victory at Narva Charles XI of Sweden had carefully provided against the contingency of his successors minority; and the five regents appointed by him, if not great statesmen, were at least practical politicians who had not been trained in...

However, it ought not to be neglected, that the conspiracy also further emboldened the Russians, who for all of the century had successfully strived for influence over Sweden's domestic and foreign politics, and now saw the increasing possibility to acquire all of Sweden's eastern provinces, which would mean a substantial improvement of the strategic position of the new Russian capital, Saint Petersburg, at the Gulf of Finland. The Baltic Sea The Gulf of Finland is an arm of the Baltic Sea that extends between Finland (to the north) and Estonia (to the south) all the way to the city of Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. ...

History views in Finland and Sweden

Unsurprisingly, the evaluation of the Anjala conspiracy differs somewhat between Sweden and Finland.

In Finland, it's often seen as an important phase of nation building, and the separatist aspect is maybe somewhat inflated, putting the conspirators' primary strife for pease and restored political liberties in the background. This article or section should be merged with nation-building Nation building is the use of armed force in the aftermath of a conflict to underpin an enduring transition to democracy. ... Political separatism is a movement to obtain sovereignty and split a territory or group of people (usually a people with a distinctive national consciousness) from one another (or one nation from another; a colony from the metropolis). ...

In Sweden, the conspiracy is typically either seen as an understandable opposition against an oppressive king, that actually would be assassinated in 1792, and whose son, Gustav IV Adolf, would be deposed in 1809, or alternatively as an omen of how treacherous Swedish civil servants in 1808/09 would facilitate Russia's acquisition of the eastern half of Sweden. 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Gustav IV Adolf (1778-1837), king of Sweden, of the house Holstein-Gottorp, was the son of Gustav III of Sweden and Sophia Magdalena of Denmark, and born at Stockholm on November 1, 1778. ... 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...