The Great Northern War

See also: Great Northern War It has been suggested that Great Northern War and Norway be merged into this article or section. ...

The victory at Narva

Charles XI of Sweden had carefully provided against the contingency of his successor's minority; and the five regents appointed by him, if not great statesmen, were at least practical politicians who had not been trained in his austere school in vain. At home the "Reduktion" was cautiously pursued, while abroad the successful conclusion of the great peace congress at Ryswick was justly regarded as a signal triumph of Sweden's pacific diplomacy. The young king was full of promise, and had he been permitted gradually to gain experience and develop his naturally great talents beneath the guidance of his guardians, as his father had intended, all might have been well for Sweden. Unfortunately, the sudden, noiseless revolution of the November 6, 1697 which made Charles XII of Sweden absolute master of his country's fate in his fifteenth year, and the league of Denmark, Saxony and Russia, formed two years later to partition Sweden, precipitated Sweden into a sea of troubles in which she was finally submerged. The history of Sweden dates back to 9000 BC. // Pre-historic age: 9,000–500 BC Main article Pre-history of Sweden Sweden, as well as the adjacent country Norway, has a high concentration of petroglyphs (ristningar or hällristningar in Swedish) throughout the country, with the highest concentration in... // Ice age The pre-history of Sweden begins at the end of the Pleistocene epoch at the beginning of Holocene epoch, following the last ice age, the Weichsel glaciation. ... Viking age See also Viking Age During the 9th century extensive Scandinavian settlements were made on the east side of the Baltic sea, and even as early as the reign of Louis I of France, we hear of Swedes arriving in Constantinople and of piratical expeditions on the Black Sea... The royal lineages of Norway, Sweden and Denmark for the period around the formation of the Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union (Danish/Norwegian/Swedish: Kalmarunionen) was a series of personal unions (1397–1520) that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden under a single monarch. ... // Gustav Vasa Main article: Gustav I of Sweden Gusav Vasa Gustav I of Sweden (Vasa) had political and religious difficulties in his kingdom established in 1523. ... // Charles IX Main article: Charles IX of Sweden Not till March 6, 1604, after Duke John son of John III of Sweden, had formally renounced his hereditary right to the throne, did Charles IX of Sweden begin to style himself king. ... The Peace of Westphalia See also: Peace of Westphalia It was the exploits of Axel Oxenstierna and Johan Banér which alone enabled Sweden to obtain even what she did obtain at the great Peace of Westphalia congress in 1648. ... The Enlightened Despot See also: Gustav III of Sweden Adolf Frederick of Sweden died on February 12, 1771. ... A New Dynasty See also: Charles XIV of Sweden King Charles XIV Charles XIII was both infirm and childless. ... Politics in the New Riksdag See also: Riksdag The economic condition of Sweden, owing to the progress in material prosperity which had taken place in the country as the result of the Franco-German War, was at the accession of Oscar II to the throne on September 18, 1872 fairly... The policy of Sweden during World War II was to remain neutral. ... This is a list of Swedish monarchs, that is, the Kings and ruling Queens of Sweden with Regents and Viceroys of the Kalmar Union up until the present time. ... This is a list of wars fought by Sweden between 1521 and 1814: The Swedish War of Liberation or Befrielsekriget (1521-1523) The Armstice of Gotland (1524) The Recess of Malmö (1524) The Danish Counts Feud or Danska Grevefejden (1534-1536) The Armstice of Copenhagen (1537) The Great Russian... Image:Victory at Narva. ... Image:Victory at Narva. ... Charles XI (Karl XI) (November 24, 1655 – April 5, 1697) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death. ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... Events September 20 - The Treaty of Ryswick December 2 – St Pauls Cathedral opened in London Peter the Great travels in Europe officially incognito as artilleryman Pjotr Mikhailov Use of palanquins increases in Europe Christopher Polhem starts Swedens first technical school. ... Charles XII, Karl XII or Carolus Rex, (June 17, 1682 – November 30, 1718), the Alexander of the North, nicknamed in Turkish as DemirbaÅŸ Åžarl (Charles the Habitue), was a King of Sweden from 1697 until his death. ... With an area of 18,413 km² and a population of 4. ...

From the very beginning of the Great Northern War Sweden suffered from the inability of Charles XII to view the situation from anything but a purely personal point of view. (This view is not shared by all historicans. There are others who claim that the young king did what was best under the circumstances.) Great determination to avenge himself on enemies overpowered every other consideration. Again and again during these eighteen years of warfare it was in his power to dictate an advantageous peace. After the dissipation of the first coalition against him by the Treaty of Travendal on August 18, 1700 and the victory at the Battle of Narva on November 20, 1700 the Swedish Chancellor, Bengt Oxenstierna, rightly regarded the universal bidding for the favour of Sweden by France and the maritime powers, then on the eve of the War of the Spanish Succession, as a golden opportunity of "ending this present lean war and making his majesty the arbiter of Europe." But Charles, intent on dethroning Augustus II of Poland, held haughtily aloof. Subsequently in 1701 he rejected a personal appeal from William III of England to conclude peace on his own terms. Five years later on September 24, 1706 he did, indeed, conclude the Polish War by the Treaty of Altranstädt, but as this treaty brought no advantage to Sweden, not even compensation for the expenses of six years of warfare, it was politically condemnable. It has been suggested that Great Northern War and Norway be merged into this article or section. ... August 18 is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 1 - Russia accepts Julian calendar. ... The Battle of Narva was an early battle in the Great Northern War in which a Swedish army under King Charles XII of Sweden defeated the Russian army of Tsar Peter the Great at Narva. ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events January 1 - Russia accepts Julian calendar. ... The name Bengt Oxenstierna may refer to several different people, among them the following: Bengt Oxenstierna (1591-1643), Swedish Privy Councillor, Governor-General of Ingria and Swedish Livonia; Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna (1623-1702), President of the Royal Swedish Chancellery. ... Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain. ... Reign From 1697, until 1706 and from 1709, until February 1, 1733 Elected In 1697 in Wola, today suburb of Warsaw, Poland Coronation On September 15, 1697 in the Wawel Cathedral, Kraków, Poland Royal House Wettin Parents John George III Wettin Anne Sophie Consorts  ? Children August III Sas Maurice... Events January 18 - Frederick I becomes King of Prussia. ... William III of England (14 November 1650–8 March 1702; also known as William II of Scotland and William of Orange) was a Dutch aristocrat and the Holy Roman Empires Prince of Orange from his birth, King of England and Ireland from 13 February 1689, and King of Scotland... September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years). ... Events March 27 - Concluding that Emperor Iyasus I of Ethiopia had abdicated by retiring to a monastery, a council of high officials appoint Tekle Haymanot I Emperor of Ethiopia May 23 - Battle of Ramillies September 7 - The Battle of Turin in the War of Spanish Succession - forces of Austria and... The Polish-Swedish Wars refer to a series of wars between Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden, in the wider meaning to the series of wars in which both Sweden and Poland participated between 1563 and 1721, in the narrower meaning to denote the two wars between 1600 and 1629. ...

Charles XII

Moreover, two of Sweden's Baltic provinces, Estonia and Ingria, had been seized by the tsar, and a third, Livonia, had been well-nigh ruined. Yet even now Charles, by a stroke of the pen, could have recovered nearly everything he had lost. In 1707 Peter was ready to retrocede everything except St. Petersburg and the line of the Neva, and again Charles preferred risking the whole to saving the greater part of his Baltic possessions. When at last, after the catastrophe of Poltava in June 1709 and the flight into Turkey, he condescended to use diplomatic methods, it was solely to prolong, not to terminate, the war. Even now he could have made honourable terms with his numerous enemies. The resources of Sweden were still very far from being exhausted, and during 1710 - 1711 the gallant Magnus Stenbock upheld her military supremacy in the north. But all the efforts of the Swedish government were wrecked on the determination of Charles XII to surrender nothing. Thus he rejected advantageous offers of mediation and alliance made to him, during 1712, by the maritime powers and by Prussia; and in 1714 he scouted the friendly overtures of Louis XIV of France and the emperor, so that when peace was finally concluded between France and the Empire, at the Congress of Baden, Swedish affairs were, by common consent, left out of consideration. When, on September 14, 1714, he suddenly returned to his dominions, Stralsund and Wismar were all that remained to him of his continental possessions; while by the end of 1715 Sweden, now fast approaching the last stage of exhaustion, was at open war with England, Hanover, Russia, Prussia, Saxony and Denmark, who had formed a coalition to partition her continental territory between them. Nevertheless, at this the eleventh hour of her opportunities, Sweden might still have saved something from the wreck of her empire if Charles had behaved like a reasonable being; but he would only consent to play off Russia against England, and his sudden death before Fredriksten, at Fredrikshald on December 11, 1718 left Sweden practically at the end of her resources and at the mercy of her enemies. At the beginning of 1719 pacific overtures were made to England, Hanover, Prussia and Denmark. By the treaties of Treaties of Stockholm on February 20, 1719 and February 1, 1720 Hanover and obtained the bishoprics of Bremen and Verden for herself and Stettin for her confederate Prussia. Charles XII of Sweden, by Axel Sparre 1712 The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Charles XII of Sweden, by Axel Sparre 1712 The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... The Dominions of Sweden or Svenska besittningar were territories that historically came under control of the Swedish Crown, but never became fully integrated with Sweden. ... Ingria, or Ingermanland, was a dominion of Sweden from 1580 to 1595 and then again from 1617 to 1719, when it was ceded to Russia in the Treaty of Nystad. ... Tsar (Bulgarian цар, Russian царь,   listen?; often spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to 1917 (although... Livonia was a dominion of Sweden from the 1620s until 1721. ... Events January 1 - John V is crowned King of Portugal March 26 - The Act of Union becomes law, making the separate Kingdoms of England and Scotland into one country, the Kingdom of Great Britain. ... Peter I Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia Peter I (Pyotr Alekseyvich) (9 June 1672–8 February 1725 [30 May 1672–28 January 1725 O.S.1]) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death. ... 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... Poltava (Ukrainian: ) is a city and oblast center in Poltava Oblast in central Ukraine with some 313,400 inhabitants (2004). ... // Events January 12 - Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24. ... // Events April 10 - The worlds first copyright legislation became effective, Britains Statute of Anne Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713) Births January 4 - Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer (d. ... // Events February 24 - The London premiere of Rinaldo by George Friderich Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage. ... Count Magnus Gustafsson Stenbock (1664 - 1717), Swedish soldier. ... // Events Treaty of Aargau signed between Catholic and Protestants. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of... // Events August 1 - George, elector of Hanover becomes King George I of Great Britain. ... Louis XIV (Louis-Dieudonné) (September 5, 1638 – September 1, 1715) reigned as King of France and King of Navarre from May 14, 1643 until his death. ... September 14 is the 257th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (258th in leap years). ... Stralsund coat of arms Stralsund (Polish: Strzałów, StrzaÅ‚owo) is a city in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. ... Wismar Coat of Arms Wismar is a smaller port and Hanseatic League city in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. ... // Events September 1 - King Louis XIV of France dies after a reign of 72 years, leaving the throne of his exhausted and indebted country to his great-grandson Louis XV. Regent for the new, five years old monarch is Philippe dOrléans, nephew of Louis XIV. September - First of... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... -1... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of... With an area of 18,413 km² and a population of 4. ... Fredriksten fortress, Halden, Norway - seen from the citys harbor Fredriksten is a fortress in the city of Halden in Norway. ... Halden, formerly Fredrikshald, is a town and municipality in the county of Østfold, Norway. ... December 11 is the 345th day (346th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events July 21 - Treaty of Passarowitz signed November 22 - Off the coast of Virginia, English pirate Edward Teach (best known as Blackbeard) is killed in battle when a British boarding party cornered and then shot and stabbed him more than 25 times. ... // Events January 23 - The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire April 25 - Daniel Defoe publishes Robinson Crusoe June 10 - Battle of Glen Shiel Prussia conducts Europes first systematic census Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) Births November 30 - Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of... February 20 is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... // Events January 6 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings February 11 - Sweden and Prussia sign the (2nd Treaty of Stockholm) declaring peace. ... Bremen lies in North Germany 50km South of the North Sea. ... Verden is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. ... Motto: none Voivodship West Pomeranian Municipal government Rada miasta Szczecina Mayor Marian Jurczyk Area 301,3 km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 413 600 1372/km² Founded City rights 8th century 1243 Latitude Longitude 14°34E 53°26N Area code +48 91 Car plates ZS Twin towns Berlin-Kreuzberg... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of...

By the Treaty of Frederiksborg or Copenhagen on July 3, 1720 peace was also signed between Denmark and Sweden, Denmark retroceding Rügen, Further Pomerania as far as the Peene, and Wismar to Sweden, in exchange for an indemnity of 600,000 Riksdaler, while Sweden relinquished her exemption from the Sound tolls and her protectorate over Holstein-Gottorp. The prospect of coercing Russia by means of the British fleet had alone induced Sweden to consent to such sacrifices; but when the last demands of England and her allies had been complied with, Sweden was left to come to terms as best she could with the tsar. Negotiations were reopened with Russia at Nystad, in May 1720, but peace was not concluded till August 30, 1725, and then only under the direst pressure. By the Treaty of Nystad Sweden ceded to Russia Ingria and Estonia, Livonia, the Finnish province of Kexholm and Viborg Castle. Finland west of Viborg and north of Käkisalmi was restored to Sweden. She also received an indemnity of two million Riksdaler and a solemn undertaking of non-interference in her domestic affairs. It was not the least of Sweden's misfortunes after the Great Northern War that the new constitution, which was to compensate her for all her past sacrifices, should contain within it the elements of many of her future calamities. The Treaty of Frederiksborg refers to the treaty signed on Frederiksborg Palace July 3, 1720, that ended the Great Northern War between Sweden and Denmark-Norway. ... The Treaty of Copenhagen was signed in 1660 and marked the conclusion of the Second Northern War between Sweden and the alliance of Denmark and Poland-Lithuania. ... July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... // Events January 6 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings February 11 - Sweden and Prussia sign the (2nd Treaty of Stockholm) declaring peace. ... Rügen (Polish Rugia) is the largest German island. ... Swedish Pomerania (Swedish: Svenska Pommern) was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from the 17th to the 19th century, situated on the German Baltic Sea coast. ... Peene (Polish: Piana) is a river in Germany and also a western strait or a branch of Oder River out of three straits conecting the Lagoon of Szczecin with the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea, between the islands of Usedom and the German mainland. ... Wismar Coat of Arms Wismar is a smaller port and Hanseatic League city in northern Germany on the Baltic Sea, in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, about 45 km due east of Lübeck, and 30 km due north of Schwerin. ... The daler or the Riksdaler was the name of the currency used in Sweden, Denmark and Norway until 1873 when it was replaced with the krona as an effect of the Scandinavian Monetary Union. ... Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp was a duchy consisting of areas within Schleswig and Holstein, in present-day Denmark and Germany. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... // Events January 6 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings February 11 - Sweden and Prussia sign the (2nd Treaty of Stockholm) declaring peace. ... August 30 is the 242nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (243rd in leap years), with 123 days remaining. ... Events February 8 - Catherine I became empress of Russia February 20 - The first reported case of white men scalping Native Americans takes place in New Hampshire colony. ... 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... Ingria, or Ingermanland, was a dominion of Sweden from 1580 to 1595 and then again from 1617 to 1719, when it was ceded to Russia in the Treaty of Nystad. ... Livonia was a dominion of Sweden from the 1620s until 1721. ... Kexholm County, Kexholms län or Käkisalmen lääni, was a county of Sweden from 1634 to 1721 when it was ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Nystad. ... The daler or the Riksdaler was the name of the currency used in Sweden, Denmark and Norway until 1873 when it was replaced with the krona as an effect of the Scandinavian Monetary Union. ... It has been suggested that Great Northern War and Norway be merged into this article or section. ...

The Age of Liberty

Early in 1720 Charles XII's sister, Ulrika Eleonora, who had been elected queen of Sweden immediately after his death, was permitted to abdicate in favour of her husband Frederick the prince of Hesse, who was elected king 1720 under the title of Frederick I of Sweden; and Sweden was, at the same time, converted into the most limited of monarchies. All power was vested in the people as represented by the Riksdag, consisting, as before, of four distinct estates, nobles, priests, burgesses and peasants, sitting and deliberating apart. The conflicting interests and mutual jealousies of these four independent assemblies made the work of legislation exceptionally difficult. No measure could now become law till it had obtained the assent of at least three of the four estates; but this provision, which seems to have been designed to protect the lower orders against the nobility, produced evils far greater than those which it professed to cure. Thus, measures might be passed by a bare majority in three estates, when a real and substantial majority of all four estates in congress might be actually against it. Or, again, a dominant action in any three of the estates might enact laws highly detrimental to the interests of the remaining estate - a danger the more to be apprehended as in no other country in Europe were class distinctions so sharply defined as in Sweden. // Events January 6 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings February 11 - Sweden and Prussia sign the (2nd Treaty of Stockholm) declaring peace. ... Charles XII, Karl XII or Carolus Rex, (June 17, 1682 – November 30, 1718), the Alexander of the North, nicknamed in Turkish as DemirbaÅŸ Åžarl (Charles the Habitue), was a King of Sweden from 1697 until his death. ... Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden (February 23, 1688 - November 24, 1741) was Queen regnant of Sweden from 1719 to 1720 and then Queen consort until her death. ... With an area of 21,110 km² and just over six million inhabitants, Hesse (German: Hessen) is one of Germanys sixteen federal states (Bundesländer). ... // Events January 6 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings February 11 - Sweden and Prussia sign the (2nd Treaty of Stockholm) declaring peace. ... Frederick I of Sweden (April 23, 1676 - March 25, 1751), King of Sweden from 1720 and (as Friedrich I von Hessen-Kassel) Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel from 1730. ... 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. ...

Each estate was ruled by its Talman, or speaker, who was now elected at the beginning of each Diet, but the archbishop was, ex officio, the talman of the clergy. The lantmarskalk, or speaker of the House of Nobles, presided when the estates met in congress and also, by virtue of his office, in the secret committee. This famous body, which consisted of 50 nobles, 25 priests, 25 burgesses, and, very exceptionally, 25 peasants, possessed during the session of the Riksdag not only the supreme executive but also the supreme judicial and legislative functions. It prepared all bills for the Riksdag, created and deposed all ministries, controlled the foreign policy of the nation, and claimed and often exercised the right of superseding the ordinary courts of justice. During the parliamentary recess, however, the executive remained in the hands of the Privy Council, which was responsible to the Riksdag alone. Talman can mean: Current Talman - the speaker of the Swedish Riksdag Talman - the speaker in the Finnish Riksdag (Eduskunta) Historical Lantmarskalk - leader of Swedish Riksdag of the Estates and talman of the Estate of the Nobility Talman - the leader of the Estate of the Clergy in the Riksdag of the... The Lantmarskalk, or Lord Marshal, was the speaker of the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates, from 1627 to 1866. ... 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). ...

Arvid Horn

See also: Arvid Horn Count Arvid Bernhard Horn (April 6, 1664 – April 17, 1742) was a Swedish statesman. ...

Arvid Horn, President of the Privy Council Chancellery

It will be obvious that there was no room in this republican constitution for a constitutional monarch in the modern sense of the word. The crowned puppet who possessed two casting votes in the Privy Council, of which he was the nominal president, and who was allowed to create peers once in his life, at his coronation, was rather a state decoration than a sovereignty. At first this cumbrous and complicated instrument of government worked tolerably well under the firm but cautious control of the Chancery President, Count Arvid Horn. In his anxiety to avoid embroiling his country abroad, Horn reversed the traditional policy of Hats and Sweden by keeping France at a distance and drawing near to Great Britain, for whose liberal institutions he professed the highest admiration. Thus a twenty years' war was succeeded by a twenty years' peace, during which the nation recovered so rapidly from its wounds that it began to forget them. A new race of politicians was springing up. Since 1719, when the influence of the few great territorial families had been merged in a multitude of needy gentlemen, the first estate had become the nursery and afterwards the stronghold of an opposition at once noble and democratic which found its natural leaders in such men as Count Carl Gyllenborg and Count Carl Gustaf Tessin. These men and their followers were never weary of ridiculing the timid caution of the aged statesman who sacrificed everything to perpetuate an inglorious peace and derisively nicknamed his adherents "Night-caps" (a term subsequently softened into "Caps"), themselves adopting the sobriquet "Hats" from the three-cornered hat worn by officers and gentlemen, which was considered happily to hit off the manly self-assertion of the opposition. These epithets instantly caught the public fancy and had already become party badges when the estates met in 1738. This Riksdag was to mark another turning-point in Swedish history. The Hats carried everything before them, and the aged Horn was finally compelled to retire from a scene where, for three and thirty years, he had played a leading part. Arvid Horn, portrait This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Arvid Horn, portrait This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... A republic is a state or country having a government whose political power depends solely on the consent of the people governed. ... Count Arvid Bernhard Horn (April 6, 1664 – April 17, 1742) was a Swedish statesman. ... The Hats is the name given to a political faction during the Age of Liberty (1719-1772) in Sweden. ... // Events January 23 - The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire April 25 - Daniel Defoe publishes Robinson Crusoe June 10 - Battle of Glen Shiel Prussia conducts Europes first systematic census Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) Births November 30 - Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of... Count Carl Gustaf Tessin (born September 5, 1695 in Stockholm; died January 7, 1770 in Ã…kerö) was a Swedish politician and son of architect Nicodemus Tessin. ... The Caps the name given to a political faction during the Age of Liberty (1719-1772) in Sweden. ... The Hats is the name given to a political faction during the Age of Liberty (1719-1772) in Sweden. ... Chelsea pensioners in tricorne hats worn in the most typical fashion with one point to the front. ... Events January 1 - Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier. ...

Hats and Caps

See also: Hats' Russian War The Hats Russian War (1741-1743) was the Swedish participation in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). ...

The policy of the Hats was a return to the traditional alliance between France and Sweden. When Sweden descended to a position of a second-rate power the French - alliance became too costly a luxury. Horn had clearly perceived this; and his cautious neutrality was therefore the soundest statesmanship. But the politicians who had ousted Horn thought differently. To them prosperity without glory was a worthless possession. They aimed at restoring Sweden to her former position as a great power. France, naturally, hailed with satisfaction the rise of a faction which was content to be her armourbearer in the north; and the golden streams which flowed from Versailles to Stockholm during the next two generations were the political life-blood of the Hat party. The first blunder of the Hats was the hasty and ill-advised war with Russia. The European complications consequent with upon the almost simultaneous deaths of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor and Empress Anne of Russia, seemed to favour their adventurous schemes; and, despite the frantic protests of the Cap, a project for the invasion of Russian Finland was rushed through the premature Riksdag of 1740. On July 20, 1741 war was formally declared against Russia; a month later the Diet was dissolved and the lantmarskalk set off to Finland to take command of the army. The first blow was not struck till six months after the declaration of war; and it was struck by the enemy, who routed the Swedes at Lappeenranta and captured that frontier fortress. Nothing else was done on either side for six months more; and then the Swedish generals made a "tacit truce" with the Russians through the mediation of the French ambassador at St. Petersburg. By the time that the "tacit truce" had come to an end the Swedish forces were so demoralized that the mere rumour of a hostile attack made them retire panic-stricken to Helsinki; and before the end of the year all Finland was in the hands of the Russians. The fleet, disabled by an epidemic, was, throughout the war, little more than a floating hospital. The Hats is the name given to a political faction during the Age of Liberty (1719-1772) in Sweden. ... Versailles, formerly the capital city of the kingdom of France, is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important administrative and judicial center. ...   Stockholm? is the capital of Sweden, located on the east coast at the entrance of lake Mälaren. ... Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI Charles VI of Austria (October 1, 1685 – October 20, 1740) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1711 to 1740 and the second son of Leopold I with his third wife, Eleonore-Magdalena of Pfalz-Neuburg, came first to the throne with the name Charles III of... The crown of Anna Ioannovna Anna Ivanovna (In Russian: Анна Ивановна) (February 7, 1693 - October 28, 1740) reigned as Duchess of Courland from 1711 to 1730 and as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. ... The Caps the name given to a political faction during the Age of Liberty (1719-1772) in Sweden. ... Events May 31 - Friedrich II comes to power in Prussia upon the death of his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I. October 20 - Maria Theresia of Austria inherits the Habsburg hereditary dominions (Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and present-day Belgium). ... July 20 is the 201st day (202nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 164 days remaining. ... // 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. ... Lappeenranta or Villmanstrand in Swedish is a city and municipality that resides on the shore of the lake Saimaa in South-Eastern Finland, about 30 km from the Russian border. ... 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... Province Southern Finland Region Uusimaa Sub-region Helsinki City manager Jussi Pajunen Official languages Finnish, Swedish Area  - total  - land ranked 342nd 185. ...

To face the Riksdag with such a war as this upon their consciences was a trial from which the Hats naturally shrank; but to do them justice, they showed themselves better parliamentary than military strategists. A motion for an inquiry into the conduct of the war was skilfully evaded by obtaining precedence for the succession question Queen Ulrike Eleonora of Sweden had lately died childless and King Frederick was old; and negotiations were thus opened with the new Russian empress, Elizabeth of Russia, who agreed to restore the greater part of Finland if her cousin, Adolph Frederick of Holstein, were elected successor to the Swedish crown. The Hats eagerly caught at the opportunity of recovering the grand duchy and their own prestige along with it. By the Treaty of Åbo May 7, 1743 the terms of the empress were accepted; and only that small part of Finland which lay beyond the Kymi river was retained by Russia. In March 1751 the old King Frederick died. His slender prerogatives had gradually dwindled down to vanishing point. 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. ... Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden (February 23, 1688 - November 24, 1741) was Queen regnant of Sweden from 1719 to 1720 and then Queen consort until her death. ... Frederick I of Sweden (April 23, 1676 - March 25, 1751), King of Sweden from 1720 and (as Friedrich I von Hessen-Kassel) Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel from 1730. ... H.I.M. Yelizaveta Petrovna, Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias (1709-62) Yelizaveta (Yelisavet) Petrovna (Елизаве́та (Елисаве́т) Петро́вна) (December 29, 1709 - January 5, 1762), also known as Elizabeth, was an Empress of Russia (1741 - 1762) who took the country into the War of Austrian succession (1740 - 1748) and the Seven Years... Adolf Frederick of Sweden, or Adolf Fredrik (May 14, 1710 - February 12, 1771), was the son of Christian August von Schleswig-Holstein-Eutin (1673-1726) and Albertina Frederica von Baden-Durlach (1682-1755). ... For other uses of the word, see Holstein Holstein (Hol-shtayn) (Low Saxon: Holsteen, Danish: Holsten, Latin and historical English: Holsatia) is the southern part of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, between the rivers Elbe, Eider, and the Schlei firth. ... The Treaty of Ã…bo or Treaty of Turku is a Peace Treaty between Imperial Russia and Sweden after the Hats Russian War 1741-43. ... // Events February 14 - Henry Pelham becomes British Prime Minister February 21 - - The premiere in London of George Frideric Handels oratorio, Samson. ... Events Adam Smith is appointed professor of logic at the University of Glasgow March 31 - The future King George III of the United Kingdom succeeds his father as Prince of Wales. ...

The Pomeranian War

See also: Pomeranian War This article is about the 1756–1763 war. ...

King Adolf Frederick of Sweden (1751-1771) would have given even less trouble than his predecessor but for the ambitious promptings of his masterful consort Louisa Ulrika, Frederick the Great's sister, and the tyranny of the estates, who seemed bent upon driving the meekest of princes into rebellion. An attempted monarchical revolution, planned by the queen and a few devoted young nobles in 1756, was easily and remorselessly crushed; and, though the unhappy king did not, as he anticipated, share the fate of Charles Stuart, he was humiliated as never monarch was humiliated before. Adolf Frederick of Sweden, or Adolf Fredrik (May 14, 1710 - February 12, 1771), was the son of Christian August von Schleswig-Holstein-Eutin (1673-1726) and Albertina Frederica von Baden-Durlach (1682-1755). ... Events Adam Smith is appointed professor of logic at the University of Glasgow March 31 - The future King George III of the United Kingdom succeeds his father as Prince of Wales. ... 1771 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Frederick the Great Frederick II of Prussia (Friedrich der Große, Frederick the Great, January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was the Hohenzollern king of Prussia 1740–86. ... 1756 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... For the U.S. politician, see Charles E. Stuart Bonnie Prince Charlie Charles Edward Louis Philip Casimir Stuart (December 31, 1720 – January 31, 1788), was the exiled claimant to the thrones of Ireland, commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie. Charles was the son of James Francis Edward Stuart, the Old...

The same years which beheld this great domestic triumph of the Hats saw also the utter collapse of their foreign "system." At the instigation of France they plunged recklessly into the Seven Years' War; and the result was ruinous. The French subsidies, which might have sufficed for a six weeks demonstration (it was generally assumed that the king of Prussia would give little trouble to a European coalition), proved quite inadequate; and, after five unsuccessful campaigns, the unhappy Hats were glad to make peace and ignominiously withdraw from a little war which had cost the country 40,000 men. When the Riksdag met in 1760, the indignation against the Hat leaders was so violent that an impeachment seemed inevitable; but once more the superiority of their parliamentary tactics prevailed, and when, after a session of twenty months, the Riksdag was brought to a close by the mutual consent of both the exhausted factions, the Hat government was bolstered up for another four years. But the day of reckoning could not be postponed for ever; and when the estates met in 1765 it brought the Caps into power at last. Their leader, Ture Rudbeck, was elected marshal of the Diet over Frederick Axel von Fersen, the Hat candidate, by a large majority; and, out of the hundred seats in the secret committee, the Hats succeeded in getting only ten. The Seven Years War (1754 and 1756–1763) pitted Great Britain, Prussia, and Hanover against France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of... 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. ... 1760 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1765 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Count Fredrik Axel von Fersen (1719_1794), Swedish statesman and soldier, was a son of Lieutenant_General Hans Reinhold Fersen and entered the Swedish Life Guards in 1740, and from 1743 to 1748 was in the French service in the Royal_Suedois, where he rose to the rank of brigadier. ...

The Caps struck at once at the weak point of their opponents by ordering a budget report to be made; and it was speedily found that the whole financial system of the Hats had been based upon reckless improvidence and the wilful misrepresentation, and that the only fruit of their long rule was an enormous addition to the national debt and a depreciation of the note circulation to one third of its face value. This revelation led to an all-round retrenchment, carried into effect with a drastic thoroughness which has earned for this parliament the name of the "Reduction Riksdag". The Caps succeeded in reducing the national debt, half of which was transferred from the pockets of the rich to the empty exchequer, and establishing some sort of equilibrium between revenue and expenditure. They also introduced a few useful reforms, the most remarkable of which was the liberty of the press in 1766. But their most important political act was to throw their lot definitely in with Russia, so as to counterpoise the influence of France. 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... 1766 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Although no longer a great power, she still had many of the responsibilities of a great power; and if the Swedish alliance had considerably depreciated in value, it was still a marketable commodity. Sweden's particular geographical position made her virtually invulnerable for six months out of the twelve, her Pomeranian possessions afforded her an easy ingress into the very heart of the moribund empire, while her Finnish frontier was not many leagues from the Russian capital. Swedish Pomerania (Swedish: Svenska Pommern) was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from the 17th to the 19th century, situated on the German Baltic Sea coast. ... 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...

A watchful neutrality, not venturing much beyond defensive alliances and commercial treaties with the maritime powers, was therefore Sweden's safest policy, and this the older Caps had always followed out. But when the Hats became the armourbearers of France in the north, a protector strong enough to counteract French influence became the cardinal exigency of their opponents, the younger Caps, who now flung themselves into the arms of Russia, overlooking the fact that even a pacific union with Russia was more to be feared than a martial alliance with France. For France was too distant to be dangerous. She sought an ally in Sweden and it was her endeavour to make that ally as strong as possible. But it was as a future prey, not as a possible ally, that Russia regarded her ancient rival in the north. In the treaty which partitioned Poland there was a secret clause which engaged the contracting powers to uphold the existing Swedish constitution as the swiftest means of subverting Swedish independence; and an alliance with the credulous Caps, "the Patriots" as they were called at St. Petersburg, guaranteeing their constitution, was the corollary to this secret understanding. Thus, while the French alliance of the warlike Hats had destroyed the prestige of Sweden, the Russian alliance of the peaceful Caps threatened to destroy her very existence. 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...

Fortunately, the domination of the Caps was not for long. The general distress occasioned by their drastic reforms had found expression in swarms of pamphlets which bit and stung the Cap government, under the protection of the new press laws. The senate retaliated by an order in council, which the king refused to sign declaring that all complaints against the measures of the last Riksdag should be punished with fine and imprisonment. The king, at the suggestion of the crown prince thereupon urged the senate to summon an extraordinary Riksdag as the speediest method of relieving the national distress, and, on their refusing to comply with his wishes, abdicated. From December 15 to 21, 1768 Sweden was without a regular government. Then the Cap senate gave way and the estates were convoked for April 19, 1769. 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). ... 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. ... Gustav III (13 January 1746 (O.S.) (24 January 1746 (N.S.))–March 29, 1792) was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. ... December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

On the eve of the contest there was a general assembly of the Hats at the French embassy, where the Comte de Modêne furnished them with 6,000,000 livres, but not till they had signed in his presence an undertaking to reform the constitution in a monarchical sense. Still more energetic on the other side, the Russian minister, Andrei Osterman, became the treasurer as well as the counsellor of the Caps, and scattered the largesse of the Russian empress with a lavish hand; and so lost to all feeling of patriotism were the Caps that they openly threatened all who ventured to vote against them with the Muscovite vengeance, and fixed Norrköping, instead of Stockholm, as the place of meeting for the Riksdag as being more accessible to the Russian fleet. But it soon became evident that the Caps were playing a losing game; and, when the Riksdag met at Norrköping on the April 19, they found themselves in a minority in all four estates. In the contest for speaker of the Riksdag (Lantmarskalk) the leaders of the two parties were again pitted against each other, when the verdict of the last Diet was exactly reversed, von Fersen defeating Rudbeck by 234, though Russia spent no less a sum than 90,000 Riksdaler to secure the election of the latter. Andrey Ivanovich Ostermann (1686-1747) Count Andrei Ivanovich Osterman (June 9, 1686 - May 31, 1747) was a German-born Russian statesman who came to prominence under Tsar Peter I of Russia (Peter the Great) and served until the accession of the Tsesarevna Elizabeth. ... Norrköping [ˈˈnÉ”rʃøːpɪŋ] is a city in Östergötland County in midth-east Sweden. ...   Stockholm? is the capital of Sweden, located on the east coast at the entrance of lake Mälaren. ... 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. ... April 19 is the 109th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (110th in leap years). ... The Lantmarskalk, or Lord Marshal, was the speaker of the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates, from 1627 to 1866. ... Count Fredrik Axel von Fersen (1719_1794), Swedish statesman and soldier, was a son of Lieutenant_General Hans Reinhold Fersen and entered the Swedish Life Guards in 1740, and from 1743 to 1748 was in the French service in the Royal_Suedois, where he rose to the rank of brigadier. ... The daler or the Riksdaler was the name of the currency used in Sweden, Denmark and Norway until 1873 when it was replaced with the krona as an effect of the Scandinavian Monetary Union. ...

The Caps had short shrift, and the joint note which the Russian, Prussian and Danish ministers presented to the estates protesting, in menacing terms, against any "reprisals" on the part of the triumphant faction, only hastened the fall of the government. The Cap senate resigned en masse to escape impeachment, and an exclusively Hat ministry took its place. On June 1 the "Reaction Riksdag", as it was generally called, removed to the capital; and it was now that the French ambassador and the crown prince Gustav called upon the new Privy Councillors to redeem their promise as to a reform of the constitution which they had made before the elections. Be it when, at the end of the session, they half-heartedly brought the matter forward, the Riksdag suddenly seemed to be stricken with paralysis. Impediments multiplied at every step; the cry was raised: "The constitution is in danger" and January 30, 1770 the Reaction Riksdag, after a barren ten months session, rose amidst chaotic confusion without accomplishing anything. The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... Gustav III (13 January 1746 (O.S.) (24 January 1746 (N.S.))–March 29, 1792) was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1770 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

See also: History of Finland, History of Russia, History of Germany The history of Finland has been heavily influenced by the relationships Finland has had with neighboring counties. ... Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from the revision dated 2004-08-09, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ... The Holy Roman Empire, dating from the 8th century AD until 1806, was the first German Reich, or empire. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.