Age of Liberty
Sweden, 1718–1772. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Age of Liberty began with the adoption of the Instrument of Government in 1719 and ended with the Revolution of 1772, Gustav III of Sweden's self-coup. This shift of power from the monarch to parliament was a direct effect of the Great Northern War. All power was vested in the people as represented by the Riksdag, consisting of four distinct estates: nobles, priests, burgesses, and peasants. Suffrage under the parliamentary government was not universal.
Seat of power: Stockholm
Rulers
Ulrika Eleonora I of Sweden
Monarch of Sweden, 1718–1720
After agreeing to renounce the powers of absolute monarchy established by her father, she was recognized as successor by the Riksdag. She abdicated on 29 February 1720 in favour of Frederick, her husband.
Portrait of Ulrika Eleonora I of Sweden: Attributed to Georg Desmarées, Public domain, file
Frederick I of Sweden
Monarch of Sweden, 1720–1751
His reign was powerless, and the parliamentary government dominated by Hat Party politicians ventured into a war with Russia, which ended in defeat.
Portrait of Frederick I of Sweden: Martin van Meytens, Public domain, file
Adolf Fredrik of Sweden
Monarch of Sweden, 1751–1771
He was a weak monarch who remained a mere constitutional figurehead until his death. His reign saw an extended period of internal peace.
Portrait of Adolf Fredrik of Sweden: Gustaf Lundberg, Public domain, file
Gustav III of Sweden
Monarch of Sweden, 1771–1792
He seized power from the government in a coup d'état in 1772 that ended the Age of Liberty, and began a campaign to restore a measure of royal autocracy. He legalised Catholic and Jewish presence in Sweden and enacted wide-ranging reforms aimed at economic liberalism, social reform and the restriction, in many cases, of torture and capital punishment. In 1792, he was mortally wounded by a gunshot during a masquerade ball.
Portrait of Gustav III of Sweden: Alexander Roslin, Public domain, file
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Culture
- Each estate had its own speaker, called a talman, who was elected at the beginning of each Diet.
- No measure could become law until it had obtained the assent of at least three of the four estates.
- In 1739, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was founded, with people such as Carl Linnaeus and Anders Celsius as early members.
- The Cap opposition took over the government during the 1765–1766 parliament and enacted reforms towards greater economic liberalism, as well as a Freedom of Press Act.
Picture
Carl Linnaeus was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms.
Image: Alexander Roslin, Public domain, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.