_Gustavian Period--Gustavus III. and Gustavus IV. Adolphus_
Gustavus III., with his brilliant endowment, one of the most
illustrious, and, in spite of his glaring faults, one of the most
beloved, of Swedish monarchs, was the first king since Charles XII.
who was born in Sweden. For this very reason, and on account of his
amiable and charming disposition, he had won for himself the sympathy
of the people even before his succession to the throne. This nephew
of Frederic the Great of Prussia had inherited the genius, ambition
and pride of his gifted mother, all enlarged and intensified, and the
gentleness and good nature of his father. He was in every particular
a child of his time, and every inch a king. Gustavus was decidedly
French in education, taste and superficiality, but had by his first
teacher Dalin been inspired with a deep love of his country, its
history, language and traditions. He handled the Swedish and French
languages with equal skill, and a more eloquent monarch has never
graced a throne. He was passionately fond of theatricals and impressive
ceremony, and, like his mother and illustrious uncle, he surrounded
himself with men of genius. Gustavus was betrothed to Princess Sophie
Magdalene of Denmark when only four years of age, and married her when
twenty. This union was arranged by the Riksdag, contrary to the wish
of Gustavus’s parents. Gustavus appeared at first to be deeply in
love with the gentle and unpretentious princess, but she soon found
herself as neglected by her consort as she was detested by his mother.
The crown prince early began to hate the form of government which had
brought so much humiliation to his parents. This absolutism of the
Riksdag, which could be bought and sold through bribery by foreign
powers, he considered dangerous to the independence and welfare of the
country, and was resolved to change the balance of power to the hands
of the king, of whose dignity and importance he held an exalted opinion.
At the death of his father, Gustavus was in France, returning with
the agreement of a secret alliance. At the Riksdag of 1771, where the
Caps once more came into power, Gustavus III. signed a pledge with new
restrictions of the royal authority. But while the king officially
seemed to desire a pacification of both parties, and his time was
principally occupied with theatricals, embroideries and costumes, he
was secretly arranging a conspiracy. He was crowned in May, 1772,
and in August the news of a revolt in Scania, led by John Christian
Toll, reached the capital. The king feigned surprise, but waited for
similar news from Finland, whence Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten was to
bring troops to Stockholm. As Sprengtporten’s movements were somewhat
delayed, the king had to take action himself. In the morning of
August 19th he entered the officers’ hall of the body-guards, where
he delivered a patriotic address, asking the officers to follow him
as their ancestors had followed Gustavus Vasa and Gustavus Adolphus.
He was greeted with an enthusiasm which soon spread throughout the
capital, assuring the king of perfect loyalty. The state councillors
were quickly arrested and order given that no one should be allowed to
leave the capital. The Riksdag was called together August 21st, and
addressed by the king in an eloquent speech which gave a striking view
of the situation and its perils. He declared that he was not going
to touch liberty, only to abolish misrule by the establishment of a
firm administration. Then was read the proposition for a constitution
which the king had prepared. The king alone was to be the executive,
appointing higher officials and councillors, making alliances with
foreign powers, but not commencing any war of attack without the
consent of the Riksdag. The state council was to consist of seventeen
members with deliberative, but no executive, power. The Riksdag was
to convene at the order of the king, taxation and legislation to be
decided on by the king and Riksdag in common. The judicial power of
all committees was to be abolished. The Riksdag accepted the royal
propositions, and one of the most smoothly and skilfully managed _coups
d’état_ ever attempted was accomplished, much to the dismay of Russia,
Prussia and Denmark. During half a score of years the country enjoyed a
happy peace, the king winning the love of his people and being active
in administrative improvements.
Gustavus III. was intensely interested in literature and art, and a
writer of considerable ability, composing dramatic works of French
pattern but with patriotic subjects. In his best creations he is
influenced by Shakespeare. Among the poets whom he encouraged were
Kellgren, Leopold, Creutz, Gyllenborg, Oxenstierna, Adlerbeth, the
creators of a classical school of Swedish poetry and drama, influenced
by the contemporary French writers. Above these towers Charles
Michael Bellman, who, with his composite and rich endowment, became
the first great national poet, and of an originality as remarkable
as that of any genius in the literature of the world. The humor
introduced into Swedish literature through the contact with the songs
of the Edda, in Bellman reaches its perfection, while his poetry
in exquisite and triumphant grace of form outrivals that of his
classical contemporaries. His poems were almost all produced under
the inspiration of the moment, even if later remodelled, and sung
to the lute to melodies of the day, or of his own composition. His
impressionistic power of description leads the thought to the modern
artists, while his ambition to unite the arts of poetry, music and
plastics makes him a precursor of Neo-Romanticism. There is not one
accent of chauvinism, not even a note of patriotism, in his songs, yet
he is the most beloved of Swedish poets, recognized as the highest
exponent of the lyrico-rhetorical temperament of his people, a mixture
of melancholy humor and exuberant joy in a graceful yet stately form.
Anne Marie Lenngren was a highly talented poetess, who preserves the
classic form for her verse, in which she ridicules the faults and
vices of her period. Thorild and Lidner were men of great genius,
but of somewhat bizarre and neglected literary form, influenced
by contemporary Romanticism in Germany. Sweden continues to add a
number of names to the galaxy of men distinguished in the service of
natural science, those of Bergman and Scheele, the founders of modern
chemistry, being the most renowned. To the Academy of Science and
Academy of Art, established during the Period of Liberty, Gustavus
added a Swedish Academy and a National Theatre for the encouragement
of poetry, eloquence, music and drama. It is during this period that
the Swedish language developed the beauty and plasticity for which it
holds the first rank among Teutonic dialects, and is considered one
of the most musical languages of the world. Of artists, the painters
Hœrberg, Hillestrœm and Roslin rose to great continental fame, while
Sergel, through the genius and tendencies of his works one of the most
remarkable sculptors of modern times, won renown for his name, but
hardly the very highest perfection within his possibilities. His statue
of Gustavus III. is the finest monument of Stockholm.
Sweden, so rich in great poets, artists and scientists, is poor in
philosophers, content with the systems of thinkers in more favored
countries. Swedenborg is an important exception to this rule. Not
satisfied with an original system, with pure reason as the fundamental
principle, he divined a system in which philosophy and religion are
inseparably united. Kant, when made acquainted with Swedenborg’s
earlier system, was utterly astonished, expressing fear that he
himself had been an object of thought-transference, when writing his
celebrated work, “Kritik der reinen Vernunft.” The system of Descartes
was followed by Swedish philosophers of the Carolinian epoch. During
the Period of Liberty and the reign of Gustavus III., Locke, Voltaire
and Diderot were supreme. At the close of the eighteenth century, Kant
began to exert great influence, Benjamin Hœijer being his talented and
individualistic disciple, and enjoying the reputation of having been
Sweden’s greatest original thinker. Charles August Ehrensverd, an able
warrior and statesman of the Gustavian epoch, devised an attractive and
novel, although slightly dilettantic, system of his own, the Philosophy
of Fine Arts.
The suspicions that Gustavus III. was not satisfied with the share of
power which he obtained in 1772, and that he was anxious to gain fame
by the means of war, were found to be justified. In 1786 he called a
Riksdag, at which most of his propositions, to his great surprise,
were stubbornly opposed. Catherine II. of Russia was intriguing with
the Finnish nobles for the purpose of establishing the independence of
Finland under Russian protection. But she was careful not to commence
hostilities. Attempts made by Gustavus III. to bring the Norwegian
people in revolt against Denmark failed. And so Gustavus, who had no
authority to begin a war of attack, arranged for a simulated Russian
assault on the Finnish boundary, executed by Finnish peasants in
disguise. He declared war on Russia, in June, 1788, although nobody
was found willing to believe in the feigned cause of it. The actual
hostilities were opened by a brilliant naval battle at Hogland, fought
with success by the Swedish fleet under command of Prince Charles, the
brother of the king, against the Russians. The king had arrived in
Finland resolved to attack St. Petersburg, which plan he was obliged
to change. All further operations came to a sudden standstill through
mutiny among the Finnish officers in the royal camp at Anjala, 113
of them signing a document in which they pledged themselves to force
the king to make peace and to convoke the Riksdag. Another document
offering peace and a union of Finland to Russia was despatched to St.
Petersburg with Jægerhorn, one of the leaders. The officers received
a favorable answer from Russia, which was handed to the king, and the
whole army was made acquainted with the proceedings. The king found
himself in a most perilous position, out of which he was saved as by
a miracle. Denmark declared war, and the king hastened to embrace the
opportunity to leave with honor the trap in which his life and liberty
were in danger.
Gustavus III. sent word to several provinces, asking the inhabitants to
rise in defence of their country. He went himself to Dalecarlia, where
he addressed the peasants when coming from church, as had Gustavus
Vasa. Everywhere the population rose in arms. The king hastened to
Gothenburg, which was threatened by the Danes, and had the city
strongly fortified. England and Prussia sided with Sweden, and the
Danes found it best to retire from Swedish territory.
Gustavus had won the game. Now for the stakes! He called a Riksdag in
1789. Through his personal courage and patriotism, Gustavus III. had
recaptured the love of his people. The nobility was hated and despised
on account of its responsibility for the mutiny at Anjala and for its
intrigues with Russia. Gustavus III. consequently stood exceedingly
well with the three lower Estates of the Riksdag, but lost their
respect through the many violations of the law which he committed in
forcing upon the Riksdag a new constitution which made him a ruler
with almost absolute power. The nobility stubbornly refused to accept
any change in the constitution. There were many stormy scenes, both
among the nobles and in the presence of the king, who also paid a
visit to the Riddarhus, which he left with the statement that the
nobles were willing to subscribe, the latter loudly protesting. Axel
von Fersen the Elder and several other aristocratic leaders were held
in a prolonged arrest. Archbishop Troil told the king that he did not
wish to be the first archbishop after Gustavus Trolle to sell the
liberty of his country, and begged to be excused from being present at
the deliberations. The poet and royal favorite Adlerbeth, himself a
nobleman, pleaded in the Riksdag the right of his Estate to take action
on the royal propositions. These were in private signed by the speakers
of the four Estates and pronounced by the government as accepted, and
were called an “Act of Union and Security.” This new constitution gave
almost absolute power to the king. The state council was once more,
and forever, swept away and not even mentioned in the constitution. It
was divided into a supreme court and a department for “the preparation
of public affairs.” By taking half of their members only from the
nobility, the greatest privilege of that class was annulled. To the
peasants was extended the privilege of buying land originally belonging
to the nobility. By hard pressure, and in opposition to the nobles, the
king forced the Riksdag to take the responsibility for the state debt,
which had increased considerably.
Gustavus III. opened the Riksdag as the most popular man of the
country. He closed it as an absolute sovereign who had lost the love
of his people and aroused the revengeful hatred of the nobility.
Gustavus III. was now enabled to continue the Russian war at will. His
sub-commander Stedingk won a victory over the Russians at Porosalmi,
the latter being led by Sprengtporten, the former supporter of Gustavus
III., now a soldier of Empress Catherine. He was killed in the battle.
Prince Charles won a victory at Œland, but was by negligence of his
sub-commander detained from reaping its benefits, Charles August
Ehrensverd defeated a superior Russian naval force at Svensksund with
the “Skerry Fleet,” the creation of his father, Augustinus Ehrensverd.
At the order of the king, he then met a still larger fleet and was
defeated. Dissatisfied with the king and the result, the valiant hero
and philosopher made his report in the following laconic phrase:
“Your majesty has no longer any Skerry Fleet,” and resigned from his
position as admiral-general. In the following year, 1780, the combined
naval forces of Sweden were shut up by the Russian fleet in the bay
of Viborg, and seemed doomed to destruction. But the king gave orders
that all the ships should force a passage, and this heroic effort was
successfully made, through the lines of colossal Russian warships
chained together. The Russian losses were great, and also those of
the Swedes, on account of an explosion on board one of the ships. The
Russians were anxious to gain the victory that escaped them at Viborg,
and decided on July 9th, the day of Empress Catherine’s coronation, as
an appropriate date. The battle was fought at Svensksund, and turned
into a humiliating defeat, the Russians losing 53 ships, 643 cannon
and 14,000 men, and the imperial flag of state; twenty-six of these
ships were entered in the Swedish navy. Peace was made at Værælæ a
month later. No change of territory was involved, but an end was put to
Russian intrigues, and Sweden had once more and forever demonstrated
her power of taking care of her independence.
The revolution in France made a deep impression upon the factions which
in Sweden were secretly continuing their struggle. The nobility, in
their aristocratic republicanism, sided with the revolutionists, while
the king, an intimate friend of Louis XVI., tried to save the monarchy.
Gustavus III. left Sweden in the summer of 1791, in order to receive
Louis XVI. and his family at the frontier, while Count Axel von Fersen
the Younger, a son of the old aristocratic party leader who had taken
part with distinction in the American revolutionary war, was very near
to saving the royal family through a flight from Paris. King Gustavus
III. waited in vain for the royal fugitives, but commenced active
operations for the forming of an alliance between Sweden, Russia,
Prussia, Austria and Spain against republican France. Sweden and Russia
made a treaty of mutual defence, but the negotiations for a general
alliance were not at a favorable point when Gustavus III. himself fell
by the aristocratic republicans of his own country.
A conspiracy between the nobles had been formed, the majority being men
of the highest station. Jacob John Anckarstrom, a retired officer, was
found willing to commit the deed of killing the hated despot. After
several unsuccessful attempts, the act was accomplished at a mask ball
in the Royal Opera, the king being shot through the hip. All of the
accomplices present were arrested, and, much to their disappointment,
the king not dying instantly, their plan for a revolution was thus
frustrated. Gustavus III. was shot March 16, 1792, and died March 26,
1792, suffering his fate with fortitude and great presence of mind.
He appointed his brother Charles and his favorite, Charles Gustavus
Armfelt, members of the government during the minority of his son,
Gustavus Adolphus.
The devotion of his country returned to Gustavus III. at his deathbed,
never to leave him. In spite of his superficiality, violation of the
law, disregard for a constitutional government, and adventurous and
expensive wars, solid reasons remain to love and respect his memory.
His noble patriotism, frank heroism, brilliant genius and great
generosity are worthy of high praise. His revolution of 1789 brought
disastrous consequences, but he furthered the progress of democracy by
annihilation of the aristocratic republic and saved his country from
the tragic fate of Poland. Even if the Period of Liberty is to be
credited for a great deal of the cultural development during his reign,
Gustavus has a large share therein, and Esaias Tegnér is right in his
eulogy when he says:
“There rests o’er Gustav’s days a golden shimmer,
Fantastic, foreign, frivolous, if you please;
But why complain when _sunshine_ caused the glamour?
Where stood we now if it were not for these?
All culture on an unfree ground is builded,
And barbarous once the base of patriotism true;
But wit was planted, iron-hard language welded,
The song was raised, life more enjoyed and shielded,
And what Gustavian was, is, therefore, Swedish too.”
In the mixture of patriotism and unreserved cosmopolitanism, true
genius and superficiality, earnestness and recklessness in the
character of Gustavus III., the Swedes have recognized peculiarities
of their own national temperament, for which they are tempted to love
him as dearly, although not considering him to be as great, as his two
predecessors and namesakes on the Swedish throne. By his eloquence, wit
and amiability, his personality charmed even his enemies. In contrast
to the sombre autocrats of the Barocco period, Gustavus III. was a
typical Rococo monarch, and he tried to give the charms and grace of
the Rococo epoch to his surroundings. In appearance, he was of middle
size, slender and graceful, with a face which bespoke genius, and eyes
of unusual size and brilliancy.
_Gustavus IV. Adolphus_ was a boy of thirteen at the death of his
father. His uncle, Prince Charles, was regent in name, but Baron
Reuterholm, the latter’s favorite, was the real head of the government.
Compared to the eccentric but energetic, generous and liberal
despotism of Gustavus III., Reuterholm’s was a rule of pettiness,
incapability, revenge and hypocrisy. Prince Charles was a good
soldier, but early lost all energy through dissipation and a natural
tendency to mysticism, secrecy and simulation. Reuterholm was a good
worker, but of no ability as a statesman, sharing and increasing the
love of mysticism and superstition characteristic of his master. The
new policy was to estrange the friends and favorites of Gustavus III.
as much as possible, they all being sent away under various pretexts.
Prince Charles had from the start declared invalid the postscript of
the king’s will, according to which Count Armfelt was to take part in
the government. Later a conspiracy, with Armfelt as the leader, was
detected, when he, who was abroad and later entered Russian service,
was declared to have forfeited his property, rank and life. A young
woman, Lady Madelaine Rudenschiold, who was one of the conspirators,
was punished by being exhibited to the mob on the place of execution
and afterward imprisoned.
Prince Charles was criticised for the leniency shown toward his
brother’s murderers, perhaps without justice, for the dying king had
pleaded clemency in their behalf. Only Anckarstrom was executed, the
other conspirators all receiving surprisingly mild sentences. This was
contrasted to the petty and revengeful hatred shown the opponents of
the new government, and one now recalled the fact that Gustavus III.
in his last moments had refused to see the prince. That Charles also
had aspirations of his own seems evident from the fact that he had the
young king examined by physicians, raising doubt as to his physical and
mental fitness to ever take a hand in the government.
Reuterholm made himself hated and ridiculous by his pettiness. Thus
restrictions were placed on extravagance in food and clothing, the use
of coffee for some time being entirely prohibited. The Swedish Academy
was disbanded because it did not make Reuterholm a member. The liberty
of the press was extended and then suddenly restricted. Thorild, the
writer and poet, was exiled for agitation against the old division
of the Riksdag into four houses, “because its four Estates always
have been bringing about one unsettled state.” Characteristic of the
opinion of Reuterholm’s administration are the words which the warrior
and philosopher, Charles August Ehrensverd, gave him in the course
of a quarrel between the two: “Monsieur is ambitious to govern, but
monsieur does not know how.” The best things accomplished during this
period were the establishment of a military academy at Carlberg, and
improvements of the Bible translation and the ritual and hymn-book of
the church.
The attitude toward France was changed with the change of government,
Sweden being the first power to recognize the French republic. With
that country and Denmark close intimacy was formed, which enraged
Russia and England. In order to pacify the empress, old negotiations
for a marriage between King Gustavus Adolphus and Alexandra, a niece of
Empress Catherine II., were reopened and a decision reached. The king
left for St. Petersburg. When the great ceremony was to take place, the
empress sat there waiting with her brilliant court for several hours.
No Gustavus Adolphus appeared. In the last moment he had been asked by
a priest to grant his future consort, Alexandra, liberty to practice
her Greek Catholic faith in public, which he refused to do, thus
dropping the whole matter. The indignant empress was suddenly taken
ill and died a few weeks later. Soon afterward the king married the
beautiful princess Frederica of Bade.
Gustavus IV. Adolphus was declared of age and took charge of the
government when eighteen (in 1796). Reuterholm was dismissed, and
Prince Charles retired. The king surrounded himself with the friends
of his father, Armfelt and Toll being recalled, the latter taking
excellent care of foreign affairs, as far as his authority went. But
Gustavus IV. ruled alone, without favorites or influential advisers.
This was most unfortunate, for he was entirely without the gifts of a
regent. He was a lover of order, economy, justice and pure morals, but
through lack of mental and physical strength his good qualities were
misdirected. His father’s tragic fate had a sinister influence upon
his mind, the equilibrium of which was shaken also by the outrages of
the revolutionists in France. Of a morbid sensibility, and without
inclination to confide in any one, his religious mysticism led him into
a state close to insanity. He imagined himself to be a reincarnation
of Charles XII., while in Napoleon he recognized the monster of the
Apocalypse, which he himself was sent to fight and conquer.
Gustavus IV. went to an extreme in his fear of liberal movements,
placing severe censorship on the periodical press, book market and
universities. Benjamin Hœijer, the great philosopher, for some time
left his chair at Upsala and the country. A man who was resolved to
“go even to the doors of hell in search of truth” could not be in
sympathy with the bigot despot. Hard times, produced by failure of
crops and fisheries, and by maritime losses during the war between
England and France, threw added umbrage over the reign of Gustavus IV.
He convoked a Riksdag, in 1800, in order to raise money to cover the
debts involved by his predecessor. He never repeated the experiment.
The nobles sanctioned the absolute rule, but stormy sessions ensued
over the royal propositions, six nobles resigning from titles and
privileges, six others their seats in the Riksdag. The peasants, almost
as unyielding, were pacified by Toll. By his own authority, the king
mortgaged the Swedish city of Wismar, in Mecklenburg, to the ruler of
said duchy for a period of one hundred years, in receipt for a sum of
some two million dollars.
There was no question in which the insanity of the king became more
apparent or disastrous than in his foreign policy. An alliance of armed
neutrality between Sweden, Russia and Denmark came to naught through
the inactivity of Gustavus IV., and he stubbornly refused to accept
the repeated offers of Napoleon of an alliance with France in the
combat with the powers. Things took a sinister aspect when an intimate
alliance was effected between Napoleon and Alexander of Russia, in
1807. Napoleon had lost patience with the lunatic king, and tried to
call forth a catastrophe by urging Alexander to capture Finland, which
he at first was unwilling to do. The French invaded Swedish Pomerania,
and Toll was able to save the little Swedish army of 10,000 only by
means of a most skilful diplomacy. Denmark, attacked by England,
declared war against Sweden. Gustavus IV. made great preparations,
sending Armfelt with one army to the Norwegian frontier and Toll with
another to Scania. The regular army counted 100,000 men, and a great
force of militia was organized. But through gross incapability of
the government the majority of troops were never used, the militia
suffering immensely through neglect and hunger.
Czar Alexander at last decided to capture Finland. He called it
himself an act of bad faith and treason against a relative and
ally, and in a treacherous way he carried on his preparations. The
Swedish ambassador was misled as to the object of the latter, and
when informed received exaggerated accounts as to the force which
was to invade Finland. Gustavus IV. was alarmed and gave the old and
incapable field-marshal, Klingspor, appointed to command the army in
Finland, directions to save his troops in the best way possible. And
so commenced, in February, 1808, the war which after a heroic struggle
was to separate the Finns from their Swedish brethren. Not only were
the Finnish troops possessed of the noblest patriotic spirit, but
they had also courageous and distinguished commanders, who, if duly
supported and intrusted with more authority, would probably have been
able to ward off the attack. Conspicuous among the latter were C. J.
Adlercreutz, born in Finland, the hero of Siikajoki, Lappo and Oravais;
G. C. von Dœbeln, the victor of Juutas, and J. A. Sandels, the hero of
Pulkkila, Indensalmi and Virta, all three of them veterans from the war
of Gustavus III.
The aged General Klercker commanded a Finnish army at Tavastehus, where
Klingspor arrived with his royal orders, which were for retreat and
evacuation of the country. The troops were deprived of their hopes of
a battle and forced to make a retreat of nearly 600 miles, suffering
from cold and hunger. The retreat continued without interruption for
two months, until the army, in April, found itself between Brahestad
and Uleoborg. A battle was fought at Siikajoki, April 18th, the
sub-commander, General Adlercreutz, receiving instructions to make a
stand against the enemy until the safety of the army supplies could
be insured. After five hours of fighting, the Finns won a glorious
victory over the Russians. But royal orders for a continued retreat
arrived, and the Russians took possession of Siikajoki.
As long as Sveaborg, the Gibraltar of the North, was safe, the final
outcome of the struggle must remain undecided. Sveaborg, the creation
of Augustinus Ehrensverd, is situated on seven islets and consists of
several strong works partly cut out of the rock and in an admirable
way protecting and supplementing each other. The fortress was defended
by 6,000 men, with 1,000 cannon and ample provisions of all kinds;
in the harbor a division of the Swedish navy was at anchor. Olof
Cronstedt, the commander, was dissatisfied with the king and a secret
supporter of Prince Charles. His sub-commander, Jægerhorn, a brother
of the leader of the Conspiracy of Anjala, was a traitor, probably in
understanding with the Russians even before the war. A little army of
4,000 Russians under the command of Van Suchtelen was sent against
Sveaborg. This force was too small to make a serious attack; it was
not able to capture any of the fortifications; the naked rocks made it
impossible to build any earthworks. What the Russians could not effect
by force they accomplished by treachery, winning over the commanding
officers of Sveaborg through threats and promises. When the Swedish
and Finnish soldiers saw the queer behavior of their officers they
planned a mutiny; but this was not carried out on account of lack of
leadership. The officers tried by the most shameful lies to pacify
the soldiers, Jægerhorn taking the leading part in these proceedings.
Sveaborg surrendered May 3d, all Swedes being made prisoners of war,
but the Finns given free leave. When the troops saw the small force of
Russians and their miserable equipment they were enraged, breaking
their weapons and tearing their banners to pieces. Cronstedt, Jægerhorn
and the other commanding officers became Russian citizens, and received
high outward distinctions; but by both Russians and Finns they were
ever treated with cold contempt on account of their shameless treason.
With the fall of Sveaborg, all hope of saving Finland was lost. In
the summer of 1808, her army fought several glorious battles under
the command of Adlercreutz, Dœbeln and Sandels, but in the autumn it
was attacked by a superior Russian force and was nearly closed in
between Old Carleby and Vasa. Gripenberg stood with one division at
Old Carleby, furthest to the north, Dœbeln lay prostrated by illness
at New Carleby, and Adlercreutz stood with the central body of troops
at Oravais, about twenty miles south from the latter town. The Russian
army attacked the force which was with Dœbeln, resolved to cut off
Adlercreutz from a retreat. One attack was already made at Juutas,
near New Carleby, when Dœbeln, alarmed by the news and heedless of
his serious illness, was seen approaching. His men received him with
enthusiasm, collected their scattering forces and proved victorious
over the attacking enemy. The Russians retreated and Adlercreutz was
saved.
The famous battle of Oravais was fought the following day, September
14th. The Swedish army was arranged on a promontory in the sea, with
artillery on a hill to the north, close to which a detachment of the
regiment of Helsingland was arranged in an excellent position. Another
detachment of the same regiment was by a little brook at the south
base of the promontory, with two cannon, under the command of Count
William von Schwerin, a boy of sixteen years. At this latter point the
battle was begun at five o’clock in the morning. The Russians, 8,000
strong, with twenty cannon and commanded by Kamenski, approached
a bridge leading over the brook. The 400 Swedes offered a plucky
resistance to the overwhelming force. Every time the bridge was filled
by Russians, Schwerin swept it clear with the fire from his two cannon.
This heroic struggle was kept up for four hours, when the Helsings had
no more cartridges for their guns wherewith to support the artillery
fire. The aide-de-camp Biornstierna, who was despatched thither by
Adlercreutz, saw a pitiable sight. Most of the officers of the 400
Swedes were killed and the Russians were storming across the bridge
in heavy masses. “Now, count,” cried Biornstierna, “let us see what
your artillery amounts to!” Schwerin let the Russians approach until
only fifty feet from the cannon, when he ordered: “Fire!” The whole
first fine of the Russian column fell. Schwerin gave command to have
the cannon dragged a hundred yards back and then fired, with the same
disastrous effect. Thus the retreat was made from hill to hill. At last
the young hero received a mortal wound and his men were surrounded on
every side. With a final effort he rose to his feet, broke through the
lines with his valiant Helsings, and died in the midst of the Swedish
troops.
Adlercreutz closely watched the movements of the Russians, and saw an
opportunity to break through their centre, which was successfully done,
the enemy turning into flight. It looked like an overwhelming defeat
for the Russians, when reinforcements arrived in the last moment, and
the exhausted Swedes had to stop fighting on account of the darkness of
the night. After a battle of fifteen hours the Swedes had lost 2,600
men, or nearly one-third of their forces, but not one single cannon
or banner. The remnants of the army followed the “royal orders of
retreat,” crossing the Swedish frontier. Finland was lost and Sweden
proper in danger.
Only a revolution could save the country. The republican aristocrats
were the ones to bring it about. A conspiracy among them was formed,
George Adlersparre and Ch. H. Anckarsverd being the leaders. When it
was rumored that the former, with the western army division, of which
he was the commander, had left the Norwegian frontier and was marching
on Stockholm, Gustavus IV. sent order to Toll in Scania to meet him
with his troops, while the king seemed to make preparations to leave.
Great excitement reigned in Stockholm, and General Adlercreutz, who
recently had been received in the capital with enthusiasm, resolved
to take action in preventing the king’s departure. Accompanied by
half a dozen officers, he entered the king’s bedchamber the morning
of March 13th, and took possession of the king in person, who made a
struggle and later a frustrated attempt to escape. The body-guards were
persuaded to remain inactive. Prince Charles was proclaimed regent.
Neither this fact nor the arrest of the king seemed to impress the
population, who received the news with ice-cold reserve. The king was
conducted to Drottningholm, and later to Gripsholm, where he signed the
document of abdication, finally to be escorted out of the country with
his family, never to return. He died in St. Gallen in 1837.
The regent’s first duty was to ward off the Russian invasion of
Norrland and to obtain peace. Napoleon congratulated Sweden on having
got rid of the “supremacy of a fool,” and sanctioned an armistice,
granted by his general Marshal Bernadotte, who commanded an army in
Seeland, ready to attack Sweden. Peace was made in Paris, Sweden
receiving back Pomerania in return for a promise to close its own
harbors against English ships. Peace with Denmark was made, with no
change of territory on either side. Attempts to rout the Russian
army of invasion at Ratan, in West Bothnia, were unsuccessful, but
it withdrew by its own choice. In the treaty of peace signed at
Fredericshamn, September 17, 1809, Finland, the archipelago of Aland
and a part of Swedish Bothnia were ceded to Russia, the rivers of Torne
and Muonio to form the boundary line.
Finland, since time immemorial in intimate relations with Sweden, from
whom she had received a portion of her population, had for 600 years
with her mother country formed integral parts of the same realm. Sweden
had given to Finland her religion, constitution, laws, privileges and
culture, and in return received her fidelity and a host of patriotic
men eminent in affairs of war and peace. Together the Swedes and Finns
had fought on the battlefields of Europe for the political grandeur
of their country and the religious liberty of the world. United to
Russia, Finland preserved her institutions and privileges unmolested,
and has, up to date, enjoyed a peaceful development greater than would
perhaps have been her share under Swedish rule. The mother country
was after this great loss forced to concentrate her energy on a more
solid material progress, and has, according to the prophecy of Esaias
Tegnér, “within the boundary of Sweden reconquered Finland.” The Finns
have proved themselves to be one of the most talented and energetic
of nations. Out of the two million inhabitants of Finland, two-fifths
are Swedish, forming the nobility and the majority of the cultured
classes. Already at the time of the separation from Sweden was born the
national singer of Finland, John Ludvig Runeberg, who was to become
the greatest poet that ever wrote in the Swedish language and one of
the greatest that ever lived. In his immortal songs of “Finland’s
latest war,” the two countries have a great common inheritance. Sweden
dreamed of reconquering Finland as soon as a good warrior ascended the
throne. This hope was given up forever. But the most intimate sympathy
still reigns between the two countries. In case that harm to Finland
or her home-rule should be done, and her independence be lost, the
Swedish people would not be in a position to avenge such a crime, but
it would cause profound grief and indignation, and would be considered
a shameful act of violence which the glory of no peace emperor would
suffice to cover.
By the revolution of 1789, Sweden for a second time in her history
surrendered her liberty into the hands of an energetic and patriotic
ruler only to see the absolute power utterly abused by an incompetent
successor. The loss and suffering were almost as great as at the death
of Charles XII., but the era of democracy, peace and prosperity so much
closer at hand. It was the spirit of the aristocratic republicanism
which caused the timely downfall of absolute monarchy, but it was
in its turn destined to fall for the spirit of democracy and a
constitutional government.