GREAT NORTHERN WAR (See 1700–1721), caused by the common opposition of Russia, Poland, and Denmark to the Swedish supremacy in the Baltic region. Heavy population losses (Finland 16 percent and Sweden 10 percent).
18th-century Economics and Society: Writings on agricultural reforms appeared in the 1720s, sparked by mercantilism. These writings encouraged improved methods and the end to farming in strips, but progress was slow. Industry also received increasing attention. Swedes concentrated on iron and shipbuilding. Sweden signed a series of trade agreements with other countries and introduced tariffs and controls on imports.
ULRIKA ELEANORA, who, after Charles XII was shot (Dec. 11, 1715) on a military expedition to Norway, was accepted on condition that the riksdag should be allowed to draw up a constitution. The new constitution provided for joint rule of the monarch and the council when the riksdag was not in session. While the riksdag was sitting, the principal decisions were to be made by a secret committee comprising members of the three higher estates (nobility, clergy, and burghers). The peasants were, however, to be heard in matters of taxation. The riksdag was chosen by separate elections for each estate in which certain “qualified” women (mainly propertied widows) among the burghers and farmers could vote. The constitution also recognized the bureaucratic elements within the state and determined that Sweden would be ruled by four separate estates rather than a body representing the Swedish people as a whole.
FREDERICK I (of Hesse-Cassel), Ulrika Eleanora's husband, to whom she turned over the government. Count Arvid Horn, as minister, sought better relations with Great Britain and Russia and weakened connections with France. Ruling class divided between “Caps” and “Hats,” the former backing Horn and favoring cautious foreign policy.
