Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden

Gustav IV Adolf (November 1, 1778 – February 7, 1837), was King of Sweden from 1800 until his abdication in 1809. He was the son of Gustav III of Sweden and his queen consort Sophie Magdalen.

Politics

Gustav's prompt dismissal of the generally detested Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm added still further to his popularity. On October 31, 1797 Gustav married Frederica, daughter of Charles Frederick, grand-duke of Baden, a marriage which might have led to a war with Russia but for the fanatical hatred of the French republic shared by the emperor Paul of Russia and Gustav IV Adolf, which served as a bond of union between them. Indeed the king's horror of Jacobinism was morbid in its intensity, and drove him to adopt all sorts of reactionary measures and to postpone his coronation for some years, so as to avoid calling together a diet; but the disorder of the finances, caused partly by the continental war and partly by the almost total failure of the crops in 1798 and 1799, compelled him to summon the estates to Norrköping in March 1800 and on April 3 Gustav was crowned.

Related Topics:
Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm - October 31 - 1797 - Baden - Russia - French republic - Paul of Russia - Jacobinism - Estates - Norrköping - 1800 - April 3

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