| Notater |
- {geni:occupation} Svensk kung 1697-1718, Kung i Sverige 1697-1718, Konung 1697-
{geni:about_me} ==Links:==
*[http://www.thepeerage.com/p1698.htm#i16976 The Peerage]
*[http://www.geneall.net/W/per_page.php?id=4630 Geneall]
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GScid=1969249&GRid=8509033& Find a Grave]
*'''King of Sweden:''' Reign 5 April 1697 X 30 November 1718 (21 years, 239 days) Coronation 14 December 1697 (aged 15)
>'''Predecessor :''' [http://www.geni.com/profile/index/6000000000677886618 Charles XI] '''Successor :''' [http://www.geni.com/profile/index/310829931440007062 Ulrika Eleonora]
*'''Wikipedia:''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_XII_of_Sweden English ] [http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_XII Svenska]
- Soon after Charles succeeded to the throne, Sweden, with extensive
possessions on the Baltic, was threatened by a coalition of Frederick IV,
king of Denmark, Augustus II, king of Poland (1670-1733), and Peter I,
czar of Russia, which resulted in the Great Northern War (1700-21). In
1700, Charles invaded Denmark and quickly forced Frederick to sign the
Peace of Travendal (now Traventhal). Charles hastened to the Baltic and
rapidly brought his army of 8000 men to the Swedish stronghold, Narva,
Estonia, which was beleaguered by 40,000 Russians. The disciplined Swedish
troops, although wearied by forced marches, totally routed the Russians in
November 1700. Charles then turned to conquer Poland, which was overrun by
the Swedish troops. Augustus was driven into Saxony, and Charles obtained
the election of his ally Stanislas I Leszczyñski as king of Poland in
1705.
Charles then marched into Saxony, and Augustus, by the Treaty of
Altranstädt of 1706, was forced to recognize Stanislas. Charles was now at
the height of his power; with a disciplined army holding Germany in awe,
he spurned peace overtures from Peter. Determined to humble Russia, he
began an invasion of the country in September 1707. He penetrated into the
interior of Russia, his army harassed along the way, suffered through two
severe winters and turned south. On July 8, 1709, while besieging Poltava,
Ukraine, he was attacked by the Russian army. Within three days, all his
previous military success was undone in one disastrous engagement. Charles
barely escaped into Turkish territory. He induced Sultan Ahmed III
(1673-1736) to attack Russia. In 1711 Peter was able to escape from a
precarious position on the Prut River. The Swedish monarch spent the next
three years in intrigues to induce Turkey to attack Russia again. When he
found that his plots were of no avail, he defied the Turkish power and was
imprisoned. He escaped in 1714 and reached Stralsund, a Swedish possession
in Pomerania. The city was besieged by a combined force of Danes,
Prussians, and Saxons for a year before it surrendered. Charles again
escaped, reached Sweden, and raised another army. He began an invasion of
Norway in 1717. During this struggle he was killed at Frederikshald on
November 30, 1718. He was succeeded on the throne by his sister Ulrika
Eleonora, who began the process of negotiating peace to end the war that
had cost Sweden its rank as a great power in the Baltic region.
|
1682 - 1718 (36 år)
