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Finland’s separation from Sweden

Finland was occupied by Russia during the Great Northern War (1700–1721), and southeastern Finland and Vyborg were ceded to Russia in the Treaty of Nystad. The national border at that time was roughly equal to the Soviet-Finnish border after World War II. Sweden lost its status as a European power after the war, while Russia dominated northern Europe. The autocratic monarchy ended in Sweden and entered the “free age” in Swedish history. The country is ruled by a parliament, with the Hats and Caps parties vying for the chance to govern. Although the parliament has a close relationship with the court, the king has little influence on it. The Caps Party advocates peace with Russia, while the Hats Party advocates a policy of retaliation against Russia.

The population of Finland at this time was not large. According to the official census, the population of Finland in the 18th century was less than 470,000 (this data comes from the Lutheran church, and a small number of Orthodox people are not included in the statistics.) But the population increased very rapidly and doubled during this century. 90% of the population are farmers, mostly tax-exempt yeomen. Society was divided into four classes: peasants, clergy, nobles, and townspeople. Minorities, mostly cottagers, have nothing and no political power. Four-fifths of the male population had full voting rights for legislative representation, but clergy, nobles, and townspeople all had their own seats in parliament, exerting influence on politics and excluding commoners from interfering in the country’s foreign policy.

Both the rising Russian Empire and France wanted Sweden as their client. Members of Congress and other powerful people are prevented from making better decisions for the country because of the influence of bribery. The original political system is thus no longer clean and reliable. In 1771, the young and charismatic King Gustav III staged a coup that abolished the parliamentary system and returned the king to power. In 1788, he again declared war on Russia. Although Sweden won both battles, the war gained nothing but damage to Finland’s economy.

Gustav III’s popularity fell as a result. A group of officers during the war issued the famous Anjala Declaration calling for an armistice and the restoration of parliament. An interesting explanation is that this event was a plot by some Finnish military officers to try to make Finland independent from Sweden with the help of Russia. After a shock, Gustav III crushed the opposition. In 1789, the newly promulgated constitution further strengthened the power of the king and improved the status of farmers. Yet the war had to be ended, and the Swedes now began to regard their king as a tyrant.

The end of the 18th century was also a time of change for Finland. Potatoes were grown in Finland after the 1750s. Various new technologies are gradually emerging. Finland’s (and all of Sweden’s) hot air balloon was made in Oulu in 1784, only a year after its invention. Commerce prospered, and farmers became wealthy and self-conscious. The Enlightenment led to discussions on a range of political, religious and ethical issues, which highlighted a problem: Finnish is spoken by the vast majority of Finns, but newspapers, literary works, and even political leaflets are written in Swedish. or French writing.

The fact that southeastern Finland and Vyborg were occupied by Russia is an unforgettable and stinging fact for the Finns. A Finnish national identity was created among academics and intellectuals at the University of Turku to represent lands in the east that no longer belonged to Sweden. St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, had more influence on southern Finland than the Kingdom of Sweden. Contacts on this new frontier conveyed the deepest fears of Russian educated and businessmen. In this century, the Swedish-speaking and educated classes, such as officials, clergy, civil servants, etc., were also psychologically prepared to submit their allegiance to Russia.

Gustav III was assassinated in 1792, and was succeeded by his son Gustav IV Adolf, who served as regent for a while. The new king was not particularly talented, at least not able to steer the country through the waves of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.

At this time, Finland (not including the Inkry region), which belonged to Russia after the peace treaties of 1721 and 1743, the so-called Old Finland region was initially governed by Swedish law (this was not common in Russia in the 18th century) . But Russian rulers gradually recognized the large estates of their non-Finnish cronies, ignoring traditional land ownership and the liberal laws of the old Finnish peasants. And the nobles flogged the peasants.

This situation plunged Finland into an economic and morale slump, which was exacerbated in 1797 when the Finns were forced to join the imperial army. The construction of military facilities brought thousands of non-Finns into Finland. After the Russian occupation of Finland in 1812, “Old Finland” rejoined what was left of the country, but land issues persisted until the 1870s.