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KING CHARLES XII OF SWEDEN: A Biography
By SimoTheFinlandized / Paul Palazzolo - 2022 CE
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Charles XII (1682-1718) was King Of Sweden
from 1697 to 1718. A famous warrior-king,
he led his country during the Great Northern War.
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BIRTH, CHILDHOOD, EDUCATION, AND EARLY REIGN:
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Born the son of King Charles XI Of Sweden
and Ulrica Leonora, daughter of Frederick III
of Denmark, Charles XII was born on June 17,
1682. He was carefully nurtured by his parents
because his four younger brothers died
as infants. Charles XI, conscious of his
own neglected education, selected the best
available teachers for the boy's instruction;
the future king was well-grounded in theology,
military science, the classics, languages,
mathematics, and history. The father himself
had a very profound influence on the son. Young
Charles rode and hunted with his father on
expeditions that tested his endurance. He
could ride a horse before he was 4 and
constantly engaged in mock battles with his
peers and his teachers. Not only was he
greatly hardened to fatigue and exposure, but
he was also made familiar with the details of
administration. The young prince was very
much like his father in many ways. He had the
same untiring energy, as well as the same
stubborn will. He was reserved and like his
father distrusted all things affiliated with the
French. He was also impatient with the niceties
of diplomacy and preferred direct talk and action
to courtly innuendo. From his mother Charles
received a personal gentleness which he
combined with an unflinching devotion to
duty. His father's hopes that the boy would
be eased into the duties of kingship were
thwarted on April 5, 1697, by Charles XI's death.
His father's plans that Charles should be subject
to a regency during which he could gain experience
also were not realized. Rumors of internal troubles
between the six regents and the Estates caused
the latter to request that although underage
Charles assume full responsibility. Before the end
of the year he was crowned, and the adolescent
prematurely became the man. Soon King Charles
XII's abilities would be put to the test. The early
days of the reign saw him warding off many
marriage offers, but his sister Hedvig Sophia
married Duke Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp.
He indulged in exciting escapades and committed
his country by alliance to England and the
Netherlands, supporting their stand on the Spanish
succession for a guarantee of Sweden's possessions
in the Baltic and the integrity of Holstein-Gottorp.
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THE GREAT NORTHERN WAR:
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Meanwhile Charles's enemies were forging
alliances against him. By the close of the
century a Livonian discontent, Joann Reinhold
Patkul, had persuaded Frederick IV of Denmark,
Augustus II of Poland-Saxony, and Peter the
Great of Russia to make a joint attack on
Sweden to despoil the young ruler of much
of his inheritance. Charles XII turned from
sham battles and mock heroics to real war.
He had tried to avoid battle, but once his
enemies began it, he resolved to punish them.
To Charles the defense of his realm was a
mixture of honor, duty, and patriotism. Leaving
his garrisons in Finland, the Baltic Provinces,
and parts of Swedish Germany to care for
themselves, Charles turned first against
Denmark. While a combined Anglo-Dutch
fleet kept the Danish navy bottled up in
Copenhagen, on July 24, 1700, Charles landed
his troops on Zeeland. The road to Copenhagen
lay open, and shortly that city was besieged from
the sea and land. Under pressure from his allies
Charles signed a treaty at Travendal which was
a return to the status quo. Poland's turn was next.
In September, Charles crossed over to Livonia,
but Augustus had already withdrawn. Consequently
Charles deceided to relieve Narva, which was
under attack by the troops of the Czar. Peter
enjoyed great numerical superiority but fled
the area before the battle was engaged. It
was well he did, because on Nov. 19, 1700,
Charles crushed the Russian army, taking so
many prisoners he was forced to disarm them
and send them home. He should have taken
advantage of this victory and brought Russia
completely to terms, but he turned once more
against Augustus. In 1701 Swedish troops
crossed the Dvina in full view of the enemy,
inflicted a severe defeat on Augustus's forces,
and cleared Livonia of Polish soldiers. Soon
Charles occupied Courland. In 1702 he invaded
Poland proper and occupied Warsaw, winning
a decisive victory at Kliszow. A victory at Thorn
in 1703 made Augustus's position untenable,
and in September of the next year Charles
placed Stanislaus Leszczynski on the Polish
throne. He cleared the marshes around Pripetz
of Russian auxiliaries and marched through
Poland and Silesia into Saxony, where in
September 1707 at Altranstädt Augustus
was forced to abandon both his Polish throne
and his coalition with Russia.
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HIS DEFEAT:
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The next to be chastened was Peter, who had been
rebuilding his forces since Narva. He also had been
whittling at Swedish possessions in Finland and
the Baltic Provinces while committing enough troops
to Poland to gain time. Charles's advance, at first
crowned with success, ran into trouble because
of long supply lines and Russia's policy. The King
himself was wounded, and while incapacitated
he was badly defeated at Poltava on June 28,
1709. Even worse, his cavalry surrendered on
July 1 at Perevolotjna. The Swedish king went
into Turkey, where through diplomacy he might
have been successful except that Peter was able
to buy off Russia's Turkish adversaries. Meanwhile
the jackal kings of Poland and Denmark rejoined
the ranks of Sweden's enemies. Not to be outdone
at the carcass, the electors of Brandenburg and
Prussia also became Sweden's enemies. Charles
XII and his country, however, were not dead.
Despairing of Turkish help, Charles, after a dangerous
ride through enemy territory from Adrianople, arrived
on Nov. 10, 1714, at Stralsund, his last important
garrison in Germany. When that fell a year later,
Charles, after thrilling adventures crossing the
Baltic in a small boat, came home to Sweden.
There he strengthened his defenses and in two
campaigns attacked Norway. During the second
attack, on Dec. 11, 1718, he was shot while besieging
the Dano-Norwegian fortress of Fredriksten. His skull
was pierced, and he died immediately. The Northern
War was ended during the reign of his successor,
his sister Ulrica Leonora.
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HIS CHARACTER:
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Myths about Charles XII are legion. Perhaps a few
facts should be noted. He was not a barbarian but
enjoyed social gatherings when he had time for
them. He had a real interest and flair for design
and urban planning. His dress, though plain, was
expensive. He did not neglect civil administration.
Rather he was good at it. Yet military survival had
to be his main objective. The Spartan life he
affected fast to encourage his troops. He was
not a homosexual and was not killed by one of
his own men. He could be charming but knew
that in diplomacy charm without strength was
relatively useless. His firmness—often called
stubbornness— was Sweden's greatest asset,
and his death contributed appreciably to Sweden's
denouement. Charles XII, however, must bear
some responsibility for the loss of Sweden's status
as a great power. Still he did not begin a single
conflict, and any court of international law must
consider his stand just, though unrealistic. The
aspiration of fellow monarchs rather than the
King's obduracy was Sweden's curse. He did not
ruin his country internally or economically. His use
of artillery, his tactical innovations, and his strategy
when placed in their European context show that he
ranks high as a military leader. His plans for peace
which never could materialize indicate he would have
been an above-average ruler. His death rather than his
actions was a significant cause of Sweden's decline.
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