Bernadotte was the second son of the lawyer Henri of Bernadotte, Karl XIV Johan, also known as Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte and afterward Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, reigned as King of Switzerland from January 26, 1763, until March 8, 1844. From 1818 until his passing, he was known as Karl XIV Johan in Sweden and Karl III Johan in Norway. He also served as Pontecorvo's first Prince Regent.
Although he was born in France, he always showed a personality different from that of his contemporaries there. His father gave him the name Jean-Baptiste to set him apart from his older brother, Baron Jean-Évangeliste Bernadotte. He enlisted in the army and served with the French 60th regiment following the death of his father in 1780. The men who served under Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte remembered him as a tall, attractive man.
Bernadotte Marshal
Bernadotte was born in the northern French department of Pau. He spent a significant amount of his boyhood serving in the French army. Before formally enlisting in the army, he lived on the island of Corsica for three years while attending to his health at home for a year (1784–1785). Bernadotte and his legion relocated to several garrisons, including Saint-Martin-de-Ré, Grenoble, Vienne, and Marseille.
Between 1786 and 1788, he advanced steadily from corporal to sergeant while assisting officers in combat. The French Revolution put an end to his career, but after he saved the French commander Marquis d'Ambert, who was caught in a riot, it was resumed. He was promoted to lieutenant on May 1 and given charge of the 36th Corps in Brittany. Soon after, Bernadotte used his oratory skills to put an end to the officers' uprising while in charge of the French battalions that were resting in the town of Lambesc, near Marseille. He obtained a loan from a wealthy businessman and his future father-in-law, François Clary when he landed in Marseille. Later, after the loan was settled, he was accepted as a member of the Clary family and married Désirée, a 12-year-old girl.
He moved his forces to the depths of Rhenarmén as the French Revolution reached its pinnacle and battled valiantly for his cause. He fought in the battles of Speier and Mainz in 1793 and was appointed captain. In 1794, he was elevated to brigade commander and led legions in the Landrecies, Prémont, and Fleurus fights. General Jean Baptiste Kleber, who was incredibly courageous and tenacious, requested Napoleon promotion him to Brigadier General.
Between 1795 and 1796, Bernadotte continued with the French to defeat the enemy in many great battles, expanding the land of France. Leading his legion to Italy to assist Napoleon in his Italian campaign to attack the Austrians, the grueling travel across the Alps, the move from Tagliamento, and the conquest of Gradisca were all examples of his military leadership. Later, Bernadotte disagreed with the French commanders and especially with Napoleon - a man whose ambition was to dominate the whole Empire instead of toward democratic ideology like Bernadotte. At the Battle of Theiningen (1796), Bernadotte led an army to attack the Austrians in the Rhine, but due to the disparity of the forces, the army of Prince Charles of Austria was defeated and had to retreat.
Between 1795 and 1796, Bernadotte continued with the French to defeat the enemy in many great battles, expanding the land of France. Bernadotte successfully led his troops across the Alps and earned the admiration of his troops, thus increasing his prestige. After receiving humiliation from Milan's commanding officer, Dominique Martin Dupuy, Bernadotte arrested him for disobedience. However, Dupuy was a close friend of Louis Alexandre Berthier, and this started a long feud between Bernadotte and Napoleon's Commander-in-Chief Berthier.
After speaking with Napoleon in Mantua (Italy), the Supreme Commander, Bernadotte, was given the job of leading the 4th Army. By the month of Fructidor in the French Republic calendar, September 1797, a group of officers A conspiracy to overthrow the government that involved holding a gathering to ask the French National Assembly to approve the 5th year of the Constitution of the French Republic calendar (Bernadotte was absent) was unsuccessful. After the Fructidor incident, Bernadotte, under Napoleon's orders, collected information about the coup, but he did not bring it back to Napoleon.
Management and Politics
Napoleon nominated General Bernadotte as the administrator of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and the Venetian bloc regions following the signing of the Treaty of Campo Formio between Napoleon and Austrian Emperor Francis II in accordance with the terms of the agreement. He received the directive to go back to France on October 17, 1797. Napoleon accused Paul Barras, one of the five "directors" of the Fructidor plot, of destroying the Republic in January 1798; therefore, the French Consul named Bernadotte as commander of the Italian army to support France.
Bernadotte was pleased with the job, but shortly thereafter, Napoleon lobbied French Foreign Minister Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1797–1799) to appoint him ambassador to Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire. He resigned from his position in April 1797, following the rebellion of the Austrian people against French rule in this region.
In August 1798, after coming home, he married Desiree Clary, who had earlier been engaged to Napoleon. Thus, the friendship between the Bonaparte and Bernadotte families was somewhat forged by the marriage.
In November of that year, Bernadotte was sent to command an army to scout a corner on the Rhine. Although he wanted to "please" Barras and Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleon's brother), he did not participate in the coup d'état of April 30 Prairie. In early July 1798, Bernadotte became the French Minister of War and carried out the reform of the French army brilliantly.
But on September 14, shortly after Napoleon arrived from Egypt and staged coups on September 18 and September 19, he became involved in a coup led by Sieyes and was forced out of power. September through November of Brumaire year VIII (1799) An official close to Napoleon urged Bernadotte to stage a coup in favor of the Consul, but he refused and swore allegiance to the government. He worked at numerous consulates between 1799 and 1800. From April 1800 to August 18, 1801, he was deployed to Vendée to help stabilize this region.
The plot of Rennes/Plot of Placards and Governor of Louisiana
His displeasure with Napoleon grew over time, reaching a peak when Napoleon was crowned Emperor of France in 1804. As French soldiers arrived in the West Indies, where most Europeans are said to have died of yellow fever, Bernadotte led a group of soldiers in Brittany that rebelled against the Emperor in the summer of 1802. Bernadotte's threat to kill the Emperor, which brought the uprising to a head, was sensibly retracted after Joseph Bonaparte, Bernadotte's brother "in a legal capacity," persuaded his younger brother that there was no concrete proof connecting Bernadotte to the plot to overthrow the Emperor. Emperor Napoleon appointed General Bernadotte to serve as the region's governor in Plombières-les-Bains.
Napoleon had planned to install Bernadotte as governor of Louisiana, which France had colonized from the seventeenth through the eighteenth centuries, in September 1802. When he was about to board the ship to take office, US President Thomas Jefferson sent Monroe to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase. However, due to the threat of war on the British, plus the fatigue of the French army after successfully suppressing the Haitian slave uprising led by Toussaint Louverture, and the pressure of his brother Joseph Bonaparte (with Bernadotte backing), Napoleon was forced to yield, though he did not use Bernadotte for a year.
Marshal of the French Empire
In 1804, Napoleon became Emperor, alias Napoleon I Bonaparte, and appointed 18 people (including Bernadotte) as Marshals of France. He was named Governor of Hannover on June 18, 1804. At work, Bernadotte's strictness and discipline helped him build a reputation for independence, moderation, and superior administrative skills.
He commanded the Hannover legion in 1805, helping the Emperor defeat Field Marshal Mack von Leiberich's Austrian army in the Battle of Ulm. On December 2, 1805, he helped the Emperor win the Battle of Austerlitz, and he was appointed Prince Head of Pontecorvo, a district near Naples, to oversee the Pope. The Emperor harshly reprimanded Bernadotte during the campaign against Prussia in October 1806 because he took too long to direct soldiers to save the French king's army in the battles of Jena and Auerstadt.
The French army under Bernadotte defeated the Prussians at Halle on October 17, 1806, pursued and captured Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, the Prussian commander, who surrendered with 20,000 soldiers on November 5, 1806, and defeated the Swedes on the Traves River in Haute-Saône. He also freed 1,000 Swedish soldiers to return home. A tale about Bernadotte's justice in upholding order in the captured city and in treating its soldiers left a lasting impression on Swedish soldiers returning home.
In 1804, Napoleon became Emperor, alias Napoleon I Bonaparte, and appointed 18 people (including Bernadotte) as Marshals of France. He was named Governor of Hannover on June 18, 1804. This made the Emperor lose confidence in him and berate the general, saying that this battle was not due to Bernadotte but to Berthier to stabilize the military order and win.
Even the Emperor's last battle of 1807 was the Battle of Friedland on June 14, 1807, which he did not attend. Napoleon appointed him governor of Lubeck (the renowned Hanseatic hub at the time) after the Peace Treaty was completed in July 1807, and he did a great job of running the city. He was also ordered by the Emperor to bring troops from Denmark to attack the islands in Sweden, but he failed because the supplies were taken by the Spanish (probably Spanish soldiers in Napoleon's army) with the same condition that soldiers deserted continuously.
In April 1809, Austrian Emperor Franz II declared war on France, and Napoleon I dispatched Bernadotte's Saxon legion to help. At the Battle of Wagram (July 5–6, 1809), dissatisfied with the organization of a large but disordered army and for a number of different reasons, Bernadotte requested and received a farewell from the Emperor and went away to Paris. Despite this, he was used by the Emperor to manage the guard of captured places such as Antwerp, and Bernadotte began plotting against Emperor Napoleon I.
The plot was discovered, and he was sent to command the French army in Catalonia. When Bernadotte disobeyed the Emperor's commands, he was called to Vienna, where, after speaking with Napoleon at Schönbrunn, he agreed that French authority should be present in the Italian city-states. Bernadotte "left open" the prospect of visiting Sweden in the future, shortly after representing France in Italy.
The choice of Marshal Bernadotte, Crown Prince of Sweden
At that time, the crown prince of Sweden, Karl Augustus, died unexpectedly in May 1810, and the son of the former King of Sweden was deposed. Adler Chevron, a coup officer approved by Karl XIII and the Swedish Government, named Fredrik Kristian of Augustenborg as his successor. To avoid social disturbance, the Swedish interim administration had to covertly consult with Napoleon about dispatching a French commander to restore order in this Nordic realm.
The discussions lasted a long time and were inconclusive. Finally, under French persuasion, the Swedish Parliament chose French commander Bernadotte as the king's successor. He would also be appointed Generalissimus of the Swedish Armed Forces by King Karl XIII of Sweden. Bernadotte relocated to Stockholm in early November, assuming the title of Crown Prince of Sweden under the new name Karl Johan and adhering to the Swedish Episcopal Church.
Prince Regent Carl Johan and His Policies
Karl Johan, as Regent and Crown Prince of Sweden, implemented radical reforms in government policy. He established the Swedish Privy Council and began governing foreign policy. When Emperor Napoleon forced the Swedish regent to join him in his war against England, the Swedish regent refused, instead focusing on buying Norway from the Danish-Norwegian realm.
Furthermore, the Swedish people petitioned the regent to recapture and acquire Finnish territory in order to escape the influence of tsarist armies in Northern Europe, but he did not dare to do so for fear of conflict with Russian interests. The war with Britain was referred to as an "odd war," and commercial relations were kept hidden. Moreover, Karl Johan began to gradually reach out to Russia, while France's support rating for him gradually faded.
Napoleon was irritated by the Swedish's non-cooperating behavior. The Emperor of France issued an ultimatum compelling Sweden's regent to join the Continental Systems and declare war on the United Kingdom or suffer penalties from France, Denmark, and Russia. This French policy delivered a hefty blow to the Swedish people. Regent Carl Johan reluctantly declared war on England, and Swedish imports through Britain fell from £4.87 billion in 1810 to £523 million a year later.
The French army, led by Napoleon, launched a surprise attack on Pomerania near Sweden and the island of Rugen in January 1812 to "warn" and ensure that the French force was not stabbed in the back. To appease the prince, Napoleon staged a birthday celebration for the Swedish regent. France's move was considered an insult by regent Karl Johan; also, France breached "international law" by purposefully pursuing war to restrain allies. Faced with this predicament, Sweden's Crown Prince Regent declared neutrality and initiated talks with Britain and Russia.
In April 1812, he resolved to create an alliance against France with Russia, France's adversary. The two countries signed two successive conventions in their capitals, Saint-Petersburg, Russia, and Stockholm, Sweden (April 5 and 9, 1812), and a visit to Turku between the Crown Prince and Tsar Alexander I of Russia sealed their connection. The content of the two agreements highlights Sweden's strong engagement in Russia's battle against Napoleon in exchange for Russia defending Sweden's Norwegian territory. The covert conversation in Turku highlighted that Russia will defend Karl Johan's royal family.
In 1812, an extraordinary session of the Swedish Parliament suggested ideas to defend the country from the threat of the Franco-Russian war. At the same time, Sweden signed the Treaty of Rebro (July 18, 1812) with Britain and the kingdoms of Prussia and Spain to form an alliance against Napoleon.
When the British did not sincerely help Sweden attack France, they made him hold a grudge against the British. Several German vassal nations seceded from Napoleon, and Prussia agreed to provide 30,000 troops. A meeting in early July 1812 at Trachtenberg, Silesia, between Britain, Russia, and Prussia agreed on an impending campaign plan, with Swedish Crown Prince Karl Johan commanding the northern force, which included the Swedes and a 95,000-strong Russian-Prussian alliance.
In the midst of the war between the great powers and Napoleon to regain the lost lands, Karl Johan seemed discouraged by the invasion of Norway but faced difficulties in organizing his army, and the cost of the war was too great. Sweden's ally Prussia was heavily defeated at the battles of Grossbeeren (August 23, 1813) and Dennewitz (September 6, 1813), but the Swedish army only fought in moderation and did not really take part in the battle.
The Swedes did not officially join the "sixth coalition" led by Britain until the Battle of Leipzig; they fought with their allies and won fully. The French were heavily killed, scattered, and killed the locals who stood in their way of retreat. Karl Johan's army drove the Danes back as far as Holtejn to the north. The Danes failed terribly at the Battle of Bornhöved, and their commander, Frederiksort, surrendered. Crown Prince Karl Johan signed the Treaty of Kiel with Denmark on January 14, 1814, forcing Denmark to hand over Norway to Sweden.
The Norwegians were not ready to follow Sweden, their new master. They revolted and declared independence, establishing a liberal constitution and installing the Danish prince Christian Frederick on the throne. The Norwegian rebels were rapidly defeated by Karl Johan's lightning war, but at the request of the rebels and the Danish court, regent Karl Johan caved and recognized the Norwegian Constitution. On November 14, 1814, the Moss Convention resolved to annex Norway to Sweden, constituting a Swedish-Norwegian union under the sovereignty of the King of Sweden. King Karl XIII of Sweden is crowned King Karl II of Norway.
King of Sweden and Norway
Sweden returned to peace after defeating Napoleon (1814–1815) with the help of other great countries. Crown Prince Karl Johan continued a foreign policy of maintaining a balance between the great powers and was not involved in the disputes that took place outside of Scandinavia, and he continued to successfully consolidate his kingdom in peace from 1814 until his death.
On February 5, 1818, he was crowned King of Sweden as Karl XIV at Stockholm and King of Norway as Karl III on September 7 at Trondheim Church (Oslo). Despite being king of two countries, because the court resided in Sweden, the monarch sent governors to control Norway. In Norway, he attempted to dominate the country's National Assembly by using "veto power" in elections while preserving the independence of the Kingdom of Norway, but failed; he also allowed Norwegian ships to fly the Swedish flag in trade with outsiders.
During his 26-year reign, Karl XIV instituted sweeping reforms that laid the groundwork for the establishment of a peaceful Kingdom of Sweden, which has prospered to this day.
Domestic Policy
Domestically, King Karl XIV was successful in resolving Sweden's public financial crisis. Following the war, inflation persisted and several currencies "ran out," resulting in national financial losses. The King convinced the Swedish Parliament to create the "Riksgäldens sedelpressar" (National Debt Office), which deducts over 70% of the budget for installment payments to foreign banks (around 900 million krona), the majority of which is from France.
To help pay for war expenses, the King founded the Goudaloup Foundation (Swedish: Guadeloupefonden), which was primarily made up of royal family assets. After paying off the debt, the Swedish Parliament met in 1815 to vote on the country's fiscal policies. During the conference, the king's ministers became subjective to the victory of the war without a full understanding of the seriousness of the crisis, resulting in failure to initiate countermeasures.
This was resolved by an expert, Fredrik von Schwerin, using the British fiscal model. During Karl XIV's reign, the state budget was balanced year after year. After the introduction of the silver standard in 1834, it ushered in a lengthy period of successful monetary policy and stability in state affairs.
A positive aspect of Karl Johan's changes is his press freedom policy. However, he was conservative in this regard when the king had complete decision-making power without consulting the National Assembly. Regardless of parliament's judgment, the ministers were chosen from his inner group. This was met with opposition from the radical forces represented in Parliament by the liberals.
The government aimed to find a paradigm shift in business during the Parliament sitting in 1823, allowing the people to freely engage in business in the industrial and commercial domains. The king, however, continued to occupy critical posts. Greve Carl Henrik Anckarswärds recognizes the importance of the opposition and plans to allow them to debate with the government in Parliament. From 1828 to 1830, Parliament approved the use of foreign currency conversion in finance to overcome the problem, and the king agreed.
Under the influence of radicalism following the July Revolution in France, the "liberalism" viewpoint flourished in Swedish politics in 1830. Lars Johan Hierta was the editor (chief editor) of the radical journal Aftonbladet (Evening Press, Evening Press) in December 1830. The newspaper sold up to 3,000 copies on the first day of publication. In the final days of 1830, the number of copies published by this newspaper climbed to 7,500 per day, selling well at newsstands.
Important news frequently makes the front page, and each article of such importance is read by 100,000 Swedes. Karl Johan was complex because he was of foreign origin and unable to communicate in the local language, therefore, he did not take the initiative in amending the Constitution. He encountered numerous challenges as a result of language issues when communicating with officials, and government advisers and signing paperwork recognizing a government organization...
The struggle between conservatives and increasing liberals reached a climax in the late 1830s, with moves against press freedom and treason convictions. The king's conservatives, in particular, raged against banning the press for August von Hartmansdorff and condemning Crusenstopes for treason to the state in the summer of 1838, exacerbating internal divisions. The government ministry was divided between the king's conservatives and "republicanism," or liberals, who were highly popular in Sweden.
These coercive methods have sparked outrage among liberals as well as huge protests. Prior to the fight of the masses, the conflict between the two groups within the court subsided, but the opposition discovered new means to target the king's conservative side. The fight reached a climax in 1839 when opponents and dissatisfied citizens urged that Parliament be called the following year (1840) to encourage the monarch to abdicate. The ministers were rendered powerless and had little remaining authority. As a result, the opposition won the elections to the Parliamentary Commission in early 1840.
In the end, the opposition Parliament, which had a majority, decided to carry out a "reform in the ministries", meaning that the ministers now became the heads of the relevant ministries, accountable to Parliament rather than the King.
Karl XIV's government made significant economic progress. In agriculture, the king founded the Agricultural Academy (1811) to find crops and livestock suitable for Sweden's climatic circumstances. Beginning in 1811, agricultural societies were promoted in a variety of locations, including Kronobergs, stergötlands, Malmöhus, Västmanlands, Jönköpings, Göteborgs- och Bohus, Uppsala, Blekinge, and Norrbottens.
The Norrbottens Agricultural Society was disbanded in 1824 but was resurrected in 1850. These agricultural groups were charged with providing food, farm implements, and effective new farming methods. However, the effectiveness of this new approach is limited, and food shortages and hunger are growing increasingly severe. Despite the country's population expanding by nearly a third, Sweden became a food exporter and remained so for decades. A million people died of starvation under Karl Johan in 1844. During this time, the planting area increased by 40% and crop output increased by 53%.
In terms of industry, the king encouraged merchants to borrow money from the state in order to conduct business. However, severe inflation makes it difficult to transfer money between people and banks, and paper money may not be enough to give to people. Furthermore, the Napoleonic Wars' financial crises weighed heavily on the shoulders of the people and the government.
In 1820, the government passed a new banking law that permitted the founding of commercial banks in Sweden to deal with the country's financial challenges. The Skanska Privatbanken Savings Bank in Ystad was the first to be created in 1830. Following that, a number of privately owned commercial banks were established in major Swedish cities. Banks are permitted to print their own banknotes, allowing profitable enterprises to increase capital and expand their lending prospects.
Credit was in high demand throughout the country, particularly in trade and agriculture, but also in Norrköping's expanding textile industries. Furthermore, the Swedish industry requires more capital for investment and development; particularly, the iron sector requires importing raw materials from Lancashire, England, in order to process them with high quality; blast furnace technology was also developing. From 1840 to 1860, the production of iron industry goods increased, partially restoring the source of the Swedish iron market lost between the late 1700s and early 1800s.
Before Karl XIV took the throne, Sweden's infrastructure was in disrepair. Karl XIV decided to modernize the kingdom's infrastructure after becoming king. To eliminate weather-related issues, the roads were repaired and paved with gravel. The house also pushed for the development of a canal system, which cost 39 million kronor and was completed in 1832.
This helped Sweden's economy recover and grow until the early 1900s. Furthermore, the House has recently pushed for the construction of sewers and dredging, as well as the expansion of seaports for ships to dock. The telegraph line was established under his leadership and connected with agencies and cities around the country, assisting in overcoming the problem that people had previously had of transferring communications via mail and letter. The delivery time is extremely long; mail from the capital to Malmo takes 6 days to arrive.
The King was particularly interested in education. Schools were built swiftly in numerous localities, rising from 183 in 1823 to 1,400 in 1840. The Swedish compulsory education statute was passed by the king in a sitting of Parliament in 1842. The act requires all citizens to be able to read, write, and count and is regarded as a critical prerequisite for Sweden's quick transformation into a welfare state.
University-based scientific research was encouraged. The King greeted and talked with scientist Jöns Jacob Berzelius and propeller inventor John Ericsson. Esaias Tegner, Johan Olof Wallin, Erik Gustaf Geijer, Carl Jonas Love Almqvist, Erik Johan Stagnelius, Adolf Fredrik Lindblad, Johan Fredrik Berwald, Franz Berwald, and Frans Michael Franzen are all important figures in Swedish culture. With King's Fellowships, artists and other culturalists are encouraged to further their academic careers.
Karl XIV enhanced medical care. Sweden had only a few hospitals before the monarch took the throne, but by 1833, that number had expanded to forty hospitals with 1,800 beds. In hospitals, the king fostered health development by directing his cash to the national health fund. Furthermore, the king was forced to spend money to train midwives due to the high percentage of premature babies. As a result, infant mortality has decreased and population growth has accelerated. During the king's reign, the population grew from one million to 3,317,000 at the time of the king's abdication (1844).
The Swedish government also encouraged trade liberalization by eliminating the import restriction (1823), gradually lowering complex procedures for budget revenue and expenditure, and simplifying foreign trade. An act of Parliament in 1834 allowed farmers throughout the country to sell goods overseas without needing to bring the goods back for consumption in the countryside (1810). From the king's rule until 1848, the right to allow businesses to set their own regulations was also exercised. Commercial transactions, however, continued to take place both domestically and after the administration. When the monarch died, his son took over and passed two ordinances allowing Swedish businessmen to trade freely in 1846 and 1864.
Under Karl XIV, science and technology were emphasized. Sweden created the first calculator shop in Stockholm, as well as Samuel Owen's steamboat and "ngtröskverk" (Swedish for steam threshing machine) and a variety of other scientific triumphs. As a result, various businesses prospered in Sweden, the most important of which were the textile, mining, and lumber industries, which thrived in the country's north. With a garment industry that required a lot of technical equipment, the monarch funded scholarships for young people to go overseas and discover new technologies, which they could then bring back to Sweden to benefit Sweden.
The king was a staunch conservative in politics. He appointed his men and women to the cabinet and paid them generous wages, which irritated many people, particularly liberals. He did, however, help to develop a new democracy in Sweden by pushing the formation of societies and clubs. The king financially and materially supports these groups. Some associations and clubs evolved into organizations such as national agencies and national councils. For the first time, women and men have equal rights when they are allowed to organize associations and actively participate in talks concerning the construction of future societies.
For localities, houses have created conditions for people to have the right to vote for government agencies where they live. The king allowed parishioners in Catholic parishes to be elected leaders for the parish. Specifically, in 1843, a local parish elected people to the City Council. The parish conference (Swedish: Sockenstämma) was first held in 1817, during the reign of Karl, to elect parish priests and bishops to join the government and also to take care of the parish and save it. aid the poor.
The conference also advocated for the implementation of parish law in Sweden. Following parish conferences as well as the government's 1862 municipal reform, the parish was required to adjust the meeting's topic accordingly. Many meetings resolved that if the vicar was elected, he would be the city's president, but they were later blocked and eventually fully implemented in the country from 1921 forward.
Karl Johan traveled alone through Sweden, looking for talented individuals to assist the government. On his frequent trips around the country, he was always on the lookout for talented people to help with nation-building. He also took a number of steps to recognize and reward bright individuals who go above and beyond.
His efforts have yielded good results: a 60% increase in GDP and a 17% increase in per capita growth. Sweden's population increased, and the country's peace and economic progress aided Karl XIV and his successors in building a welfare society for contemporary Sweden.
Karl XIV Foreign Affair Policy
Sweden's King Karl XIV pursued a tranquil foreign policy with few conflicts with neighboring countries. With the land Norway had taken from Denmark after the Treaty of Kiel in 1813, the king had just negotiated with the Danish king on this issue and also sought a quick solution to the issue of reparations for Denmark. The two monarchs' negotiations stretched on without a decisive resolution on Norway's fate. Finally, the countries agreed at the Aechen summit that Norway would be added to Sweden.
Not wanting to upset anyone, King Karl XIV urged Britain to mediate and signed a peace treaty with Denmark on September 1, 1819, which included reparations for war expenses. will be 7 million kronor, which has been cut to 3 million and will be amortized over a ten-year period. When the Norwegian Parliament demanded that Sweden pay the war costs accrued after the conflict, the king of Sweden threatened to accept Denmark's return and eventually refused to pay the Norwegian Parliament's bills. Norway has no choice but to accept this fact.
Foreign trade with other countries was a challenging issue for King Karl XIV. To recompense England for resolving the Norwegian conflict, the king resolved to sell commerce ships to English merchants (1820), but the ships were really sold to the United States and Spanish colonials in America. Sweden's actions enraged the Russian tsar, who declared war on Sweden. Sweden was forced to halt this trade due to Russian threats. The monarch had difficulties and confrontations with ministers inside the administration and ship trade contracts with Britain and Spain were violated, resulting in a loss to the national budget.
The policy of neutrality was one that Karl XIV cleverly implemented. In the face of a potential confrontation between England and Russia, the king declared Sweden neutral in the eyes of the world's great powers. The friendship between Karl Johan and Alexander I remained strong almost until his death in 1825, and his successor Nikolai I of Russia shows more or less the courtesy of Karl Johan in general (e.g. through the king's surprise personal visit in June 1838 to Russia).
During the Polish War (1830–1831), the opposition expressed distrust of the king's pro-Russian policy but did not prevent the events that followed in Norway.. Norway and Russia had a border dispute in 1824, but it was settled quietly by the Swedish king, who maintained strong relations with Russia under his successor, Tsar Nicholas I.
The Last Years of Life
The end of the Council meeting in 1840 also coincided with King Karl XIV's 80th birthday. Sweden was already an economically prosperous country at the time: foreign debt was minimal, grain agriculture was twice as large as an industry, taxes were adjusted correspondingly, and the school system thrived from 1841 to 1846.
King Karl XIV never mastered Swedish and hence always conducted government meetings in French. Karl was instructed to go to the PA Wallmark library to learn the native language, but he was also unable to do so in a short time.
He had gangrene in his legs and had been unable to walk since January 1844 at 6 a.m. On March 5, 1844, he suffered a stroke and died on the spot; he died at 3:30 p.m. on March 8, 1844. Prior to his death, he announced that the throne would be passed to his only son, Crown Prince Oscar.
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