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For Sweden - with the times

The Kingdom of Sweden in 1836, is actually a union between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Kingdom of Norway, ruled by King Carl XIV Johan. Officially named the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway.



King Carl XIV was the King of Sweden since 1818. He was born Jean Bernadotte in France. He had a very successful military career in the French Army during the Revolutionary wars. Ιn 1810 he was elected Crown-Prince of Sweden by the Riksdag of the Estates., to be the heir of the childless King Charles XIII of Sweden. He ascended to the throne in 1818. During his early years of rule he was very popular.

Sweden is a constitutional Monarchy. The government is formed by the Konservativa Partiet (Conservative Party), controlling the majority of the Riksdag of the Estates. The majority of the Swedish and Norwegian people were proud of their Monarch, who had a good European reputation. Although, about a fifth of the population had a more liberal ideology.

Sweden's population is small, compared to other European nations. Almost all of the 744 thousand adult males in the Kingdom are Swedes and Protestant Christians. Half of them are Labourers and more than a third of them are farmers. The population is very literate, with a 78.9% literacy rate.

By 1836, there was a wave of romanticist art, music and literature in Sweden. The University of Stockholm began spreading this new ideology. Most artists of this decade were influenced by it.

From his first days as the Swedish Crown Prince, Carl XIV wanted to unify Scandinavia. This was because the Swedish people's desire was the reconquest of Finland. Carl saw that reacquiring Finland via a war with Russia would be devastating, and have terrible results. The unification with Norway was a move to divert the public's attention from Finland.

In 1836, King Carl hoping to reform the Kalmar Union and assert Swedish hegemony over Scandinavia sent secret agents in Copenhagen to pressure the king of Denmark into bending the knee and recognising the King of Sweden as his liege. Though, soon they were discovered and expelled. Carl was seen as the aggressor, but the Great Powers didn't pay much attention to this matter.

By April 13th, 1836 the Swedish Army and Navy arrived in Malmo, to prepare for the invasion of Denmark.

The Swedish army was commanded by King Carl XIV Johan himself and was comprised of 24,000 infantry and 6,000 horsemen, of which the one Regiment was a regiment of 3,000 Dragoons.

Carl Nordenskjold was the admiral of the Swedish Navy consisted of four Man'o'wars, four Frigates and 3 Transport ships.

King Carl ordered the construction and recruitment of 6 Artillery Regiments that would support his army in the coming war. Unfortunately, though, the regiments were ready only after the war had been decided.

A Swedish liberal newspaper rallies the liberal population in the fight for freedom of the press, something that's despised by the King and the upper class.

On July 5th, 1836 a delegation from Stockholm arrived in Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen. The delegation handed an ultimatum to King Frederick VI of Denmark, demanding that he accepts the Calmar Union.

By July 7th the ultimatum was rejected and Sweden officially declared war.

On September 24th Swedish and Norwegian troops landed in Zealand and the Battle of Copenhagen began. 23,000 Danes defended Copenhagen against the Swedish-Norwegian army of 47,000 men.

By October 11th the Swedes had achieved a total victory. The Swedish army lost almost 3,000 men, while the Danish had lost about 14,000 men.

The Norwegian contingent under Ogmund Boressen remained in Zealand to occupy the island and capture the city of Copenhagen, while King Carl XIV with his Swedish army crossed to the Island of Odense, where the Danish army had retreated.

By the start of November, Swedish troops had achieved a victory in the island of Odense and began crossing into Jutland.

After a series of Battles and skirmishes in Jutland, King Carl XIV Johan and his Swedish army crushed the Danes. After the Second Battle of Aarhus, all of the Danish army was either captured or killed.

On February 10th, 1837, Copenhagen had fallen to the Norwegian troops. soldiers stormed the Amalienborg Palace but the Danish royal family and government had escaped in Kiel. From there, King Frederick VI tried to organise his last defence.

The Danish fleet was forced to flee Copenhagen and was engaged by the Swedish fleet.

The Battle of the Sound straits ended in a crushing victory for the Swedish navy. The Danish fleet was annihilated.

By May 6th, almost all of Danish Jutland was occupied. King Carl and his Swedish army crossed into Schleswig, while the Norwegians were occupying the last of the Danish countryside.

On June 14th, 1837 Swedish troops approaching Kiel engaged with the Holsteinian army. The result was a total and heroic victory for the Swedish army. The siege of Kiel begins on June 25th.

On June 27th, 1837, Queen Victoria ascends to the throne of the British Empire. Her ascension marks the end of the personal union between Great Britain and Hannover. King Carl sees this as an opportunity for expansion of Swedish influence in Central Europe.

After a month of fighting in the streets of Kiel, the city falls to the Swedish army on July 24th. King Frederick VI of Denmark surrenders and agrees to negotiate for peace.

A day after, on July 25th, 1837, Second Treaty of Kiel was signed between King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden and King Frederick VI of Denmark.

According to the treaty, King Frederick would swear loyalty to the King of Sweden, effectively making Denmark a puppet of the Kingdom of Sweden. In addition, the state of Schleswig-Holstein would become sovereign and no longer a puppet of Denmark.

During the war, Sweden had taken a lot of loans. The first action of the Swedish government was to repay them. Military [sorry not shown in this screenshot], Education and Administration spending, as well as spending for the National Stockpile was reduced, while taxes and tariffs on imported goods were increased.

One of King Carl's aim was the industrialisation of Sweden. Immediately after the war, the Government started encouraging and even funding the building of factories. The Age of Industry was upon us.

Swedish music was known and loved worldwide.

The King Personally ordered the construction of a Glass factory in Stockholm, owned by the state, in June 1838.

In November of the following year, the Swedish military staff began equipping soldiers with the new Muzzle-loaded Rifles.

By the start of 1840, the Swedish National Elections began.

Thank you for taking a look at my AAR. Join me next time on "För Sverige - i tiden" where we learn the results of the election and we continue our attempt to bring the Scandinavian nations closer and under Swedish rule.