The king “abdicated” for a few days in protest of the riksdag's refusal to call a special session. The Caps were forced to call an election, which returned the Hats. Both Hats and Caps were receiving bribes from foreign countries to implement favorable policies.
A military coup ended the power of the council, giving Gustavus III full authority over the administration. The riksdag lost its initiative in legislation. Gustavus tried to be an “enlightened despot.”
War with Russia. Gustavus invaded Russian Finland and achieved several victories but was attacked by the Danes and in the end was obliged to conclude the Treaty of Wereloe, which left Finland and Karelia in Russian hands.
By the Act of Unity and Security, Gustavus, taking advantage of his victory over the Danes, eliminated the council and established a new secret committee that represented all four estates. He established a bureaucracy of professionals rather than nobles. He also made concessions to the lower estates—granting farmers the right to hold their land in absolute ownership and restoring tax-favored (frälse) land to them. He thus eliminated most vestiges of feudalism and further weakened the nobility.
