Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/598

CHARLES XII. 518 CHARLES XIV. JOHN. resources. The conquest of Poland was aceom- plislietl. ovinj; to the chronic disajireemonts amon;.' tlic nuliility in that unfortiinali' country, but five years were necessary lor its compK't ion. The country was overrun by the Swedish troops, .Augustus was finally driven into Saxony, and Charles, who had determined, against the advice of liis principal counselor, Piper, to accoini>lish his enemy's dethronement, secured the election of Stanislas Leszcz_ iski. who was crowned in Warsaw, in (Vtober. 170.5. Meanwhile the t'zar had been engaged in the conquest of the Baltic ])rovinces and had been preparing for the ulti- mate contest with Charles. The latter now car- ried the war into Saxony, marching through Silesia and posing as the protector of the Protestants. Seeing his hereditary dominions in danger. .Augustus sued for peace. Charles ex- acted from him in the Treaty of Altranstiidt (ITOiil a renunciation of the Polish crown and of all alliances, the recognition of Stanislas, and the delivery to Charles of Patkul. the head of the Liv(mian nialcontents. who had been instrument^il in liringing about the coalition between Augustus and Peter. Patkul was executed as a traitor. Charles was now at the height of his power, with a disciplined army of 40.000 men. stationed near Leipzig, holding Cfcrmany in awe. If his mili- tary ability had been seconded by moderate and wise statesmanship he might have made himself the most j)owerful sovereign of Europe. France hojicd that he might attack the Grand .VUiance. and the members of the Alliance feared it, but after exacting humiliating terms from the Em- peror .Iosc|>h I. Charles turned his face eastward to reconquer the Baltic provinces, and then to conqiu-r Kussia and perhaps Asia. He entered upon this daring plan with about 40.000 men. The tactics of the Russians were those afterwards cmpldyed to defeat Napoleon. Charles was lured on into the interior of Paissia. his army liarassed on the way, and llnally on .July S.*170il. while be- sieging Poltava, on the border of the Ukraine, he was attacked by the Russian army in force and the entire fabric of his military success was shat- tered in one disastrous engagement. His army was annihilated and he himself barely escai)ed into Turkish territory, with ."iOO of his guard. He prevailed upon the Sultan to take up arms against Russia, and in ITU Peter the Great fimnd himself in a most precarious position on the banks of the Pruth. He was permitted, bow- ever, to escajjc, and the treaty which he was forced to conclude with the Turks was of no bene- fit to Charles. The Swedish monarch spent the next three years in semi-captivity among the Turks, engaged in fruitless intrigues to induce the Ottoman Oovernment to attack Russia. TTad he at once returned to his kingdom and turned his real abilities to good use for the State, the history of Sweden might have been different. In- stead, with an obstinacy that was simply mad- ness, he wasted his time in this scheme for re- venge. When he found that his plots were of no avail he defied the Turkish power, was made a prisoner, but escaped in 1714, and. dashing on iiorsehack disguised through Hungary and Ger- many, reached Stralsnnd. which was at once in- vested l)v a combined force of Danes, Prussians, and Saxons, and after a year's siege compelled to surrender. The King was wounded in the siege. .After driving the Danes from Scania, he invaded Xorway and was killed by a cannon-ball while besieging Frederikshald. December 11, 1718. In private life Charles was almost an ascetic. See SwKDKN; Peter I.; Russia; Pola.nd. Bii!LiotiH,U'iiv. There are valuable Swedish works relating to this reign: .Axelson, liitlrag till iMiiiirdomen oin Sceriges tillsttiiul /)« Karl Xll:s till ("Contribution to the Knowledge of the Condition of Sweden in the Time of Charles XII.") (Wisby, 188SI: E. Carlsen (cd.). Kurl XII. -s lyeiiluiiidiga bref ("Autograph Letters of Charles XII.") (Stockholm, IS'J3} ; Carlson, Srerigcs liistoria under honiiiiganic (if (ht Itfal- zisl,(i Iniixt ("History of Sweden Under the Kings of the Palatine House") (Stockholm, 1855-81), also in German abridgment (Gotha. 1887). Consult, also, oltaire, Histoire de Charles -Ml. (Kouen. 17.10). which cites much valuable con- tcnquirary evidence. A very full bibliography may l>c found in Lavisse and Rambaud. Ilisloirc griirriile, ol. VI. (Paris, ISOli). This work also contains an admirable account of the strug- gle for the Baltic. CHARLES XIII. (1748-18IS). King of Sweden from ISO'.i to 1818. He was the son of King Adolphus Frederic. As high admiral of Sweden, he distinguished himself by winning a notable victory over the Russians in the Gulf of Finland in 1788. He also rendercil important |iolitical and diplomatic services to his brother, Gustavus III., who created him Duke of Siider- nianland. -After the assassination of Gustavus III. in 1702, Charles assumed the regency for Gustavus IV. Adolphus, and held it until I79G. In I80i>, when at a critical juncture Gustavus had proved unequal to the situation. Charles was made administrator of the kingdom. A few months later Gustavus was deposed and Charles accepted the kingship, under a constitution adopted by the Diet. He cultivated friendship with Russia and England. In 1814 the union of Xorwav and Sweden under one sovereign was eflectcil. He died Februarys. 1818. See SwEDE.x. CHARLES XIV. JOHN (17041844). King of Sweden and Xorway from 1818 to 1844, and before his elevation to the throne General .lean Baptiste .lules Bernadotte. a celebrated marshal of Napoleon. He was born in Pau. France, Janmiiy 20. 1704, the son of a French lawyer. He fought in the Revolutionary wars (fnim 1704 as general of division) in Belgium, Germany, and Italv, and in 17!HI, in the last year of the Direc- tory, was Minister of War. In 1800 he sup- pressed a rising of the Chouans. and in 1804 Na- poleon created him marshal. He bore a distin- guished part in the victory of Austerlitz in 1805, for which he was made "Prince of Pontecorvo, and won fresh laurels in the canqiaign against the Prussians in 1806-07 and at Wagram in 1800. He was never one of the personal following of Xapoleon. who appears to have been jealous of the general. He was chosen by the Swedish Diet in 1810 Crown Prince and successor of Charles XIII. (q.v.). The only condition of moment was that he should become a Protestant. Bernadotte agreed, changed his name to Charles .Tohn, and soon began to exercise many of the royal func- tions. The Crown Prince resisted the efforts of Xapoleon to involve Sweden in his designs against England. The ccmntry was smm engaged in war with France, and at the head of the northern troops Prince Charles joined the Allies in the final struggle with Xapoleon. and con- tributed to the victor)- of Leipzig (October,