The Gustavian Era (1772–1809) marks the reigns of two Swedish kings, Gustav III and his son Gustav IV Adolf, and is characterized by significant political, social, and cultural changes in Sweden. It was a period of both reform and conflict, which ended with the loss of Finland to Russia and the end of the absolutist monarchy.
Background
The era began after the Age of Liberty (1719–1772), a period of parliamentary rule, during which power had shifted away from the monarchy to the Riksdag (parliament), dominated by political factions such as the Hats and Caps. Dissatisfaction with the weak governance and political corruption of the Riksdag set the stage for King Gustav III to take action.
Gustav III’s Coup and Reforms (1772–1792)
In 1772, Gustav III staged a bloodless coup d’état, seizing power from the Riksdag and restoring royal authority in what is known as the Gustavian Revolution. While not fully absolutist, his new constitution greatly expanded the king’s power at the expense of the parliament.
Gustav III pursued a series of enlightened reforms aimed at modernizing Sweden:
- He reformed the legal system, including abolishing torture as a means of interrogation and implementing more humane punishments.
- Gustav promoted freedom of the press and sought to reduce the influence of the nobility, creating a more centralized and efficient bureaucracy.
- In 1786, he founded the Swedish Academy, which aimed to standardize and promote the Swedish language and literature, ushering in a cultural renaissance.
Despite these reforms, Gustav’s reign was marked by growing opposition, particularly from the nobility, who resented his autocratic style and centralization of power.
Foreign Policy and the Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)
Gustav III was an ambitious ruler in foreign policy, and in 1788, he launched a war against Russia (1788–1790) with the aim of regaining territory lost in earlier conflicts. The war, however, was largely unpopular at home and met with limited success. Although it ended with the Treaty of Värälä in 1790, which maintained the status quo, the conflict further deepened domestic unrest. In 1792, Gustav III was assassinated during a masked ball by conspirators from the nobility, who opposed his absolutist rule. His death marked a turning point in Swedish politics.
Gustav IV Adolf and the Loss of Finland (1792–1809)
After Gustav III’s death, his young son Gustav IV Adolf ascended the throne under a regency until he came of age in 1796. When he took full control, Gustav IV Adolf’s reign was marked by increasing instability. He was fiercely anti-Napoleonic and pursued a rigid foreign policy that isolated Sweden from the rest of Europe.
In 1808, Sweden became involved in the Finnish War against Russia, which proved disastrous. The war culminated in the Treaty of Fredrikshamn in 1809, through which Sweden lost Finland, a territory it had controlled for centuries, to the Russian Empire. The loss of Finland was a national humiliation and a major blow to Sweden’s standing as a European power.
End of the Gustavian Era and the 1809 Constitution
The loss of Finland, combined with Gustav IV Adolf’s unpopular rule, led to a coup d’état in 1809, in which he was deposed. Sweden adopted a new constitution that sharply limited the powers of the monarchy and established a constitutional monarchy with a balance of power between the king and the Riksdag. The Gustavian Era officially ended in 1809 with the deposition of Gustav IV Adolf, marking the transition to a more modern constitutional system of governance.
The Gustavian Era was a period of great cultural and political transformation in Sweden. Gustav III’s reforms and patronage of the arts contributed to a flourishing of Swedish culture, but his absolutist tendencies and the failures of his son’s reign set the stage for political change. The loss of Finland and the 1809 constitution marked the end of Sweden’s ambitions as a European great power and the start of a new era of constitutional monarchy and neutrality in international conflicts.