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The Union between Sweden and Norway is an overriding theme of the history of Sweden in the 19th century. On 4 November 1814, the kingdoms of Sweden and Norway formed a personal union under one king. The two countries had completely separate institutions, except for the foreign service led by the king through the Swedish foreign minister. The Union was the realisation of an idea that had been nursed in Sweden for a long time. When it was finally accomplished, it was due to political circumstances beyond the borders of Scandinavia. The Napoleonic wars caused Finland to be separated from Sweden, and provided the chance to compensate for the loss by wresting Norway from united kingdoms of Denmark-Norway. Sweden actively exploited the opportunity, while Norway reluctantly submitted to another inevitable union. That initial disparity between the partners caused recurring political conflicts, and their different interpretations of the union eventually brought them apart. It was dissolved peacefully in 1905. ==The last Vasa King== Gustav IV Adolf (1778–1837) ascended to the throne of Sweden in 1792, after the assassination of his father, king Gustav III. His reign was ill-fated and was to end abruptly. After the conclusion of the 1807 Treaty of Tilsit, Sweden was invited to join the Continental System. The king instead entered into negotiations with Britain in order to prepare a joint attack against Denmark–Norway, with the intention of acquiring Norway. In the meantime, the preemptive British attack on the Danish navy, the Battle of Copenhagen (1807), had forced Denmark-Norway into an alliance with France. As Sweden in the meantime had sided with the British, Denmark-Norway was forced by Napoleon to declare war on Sweden on 29 February 1808. Sweden now faced a two-front war, as Russia had invaded Finland on 21 February. Viewing the possibility of a joint Danish and French attack as the greater danger, king Gustav IV concentrated his army in southern Sweden and staged an invasion of Norway. The Norwegian army, commanded by the general Christian August of Augustenborg, viceroy of Norway, repulsed the invaders. He refrained from pursuing the Swedish army beyond the border, while Sweden was hard pressed by the Russians in Finland, contrary to urgent requests from king Frederick VI. By the autumn of 1808, the Russians had occupied all of Finland, and in the spring of 1809 were preparing to attack mainland Sweden. On 7 March 1809, when it was clear that Sweden would lose the war with Russia, officers who were resentful at the conduct of the war staged a coup d'état and deposed the king. He was forced to abdicate on 29 March and was imprisoned with his family in Gripsholm castle. On 5 June the duke regent (Gustav's uncle) Charles XIII was proclaimed king after accepting a new liberal constitution, which was ratified by the Riksdag the next day. In December Gustav and his family were transported to Germany. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sweden in Union with Norway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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