Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten
Lieutenant-General | |
---|---|
Commands held |
|
Battles/wars | Pomeranian War (Battle of Neuensund) Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten's revolt |
Awards | Order of the Seraphim (Nov. 1778) |
Relations | Georg Magnus Sprengtporten (half-brother) Johan Vilhelm Sprengtporten (brother) |
Baron Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten (1727–1786) was a Swedish-Finnish army officer and politician, and half-brother of Georg Magnus Sprengtporten. He is most famous as one of the leaders of the Revolution of 1772, the coup d'état which ended the age of constitutional monarchy in Sweden known as the Age of Liberty and ushered in the period of absolute monarchy known as the Gustavian era.
Biography
Family and early career
Sprengporten's father was Baron Magnus Wilhelm Sprengtporten, who resided at
Sprengtporten followed in his father's footsteps by joining the
The 1772 coup
Sprengtporten's status as a war hero, and his prior familiarity with the Finnish fortifications, led to his being selected in 1766 to compose a report on the state of Finland's border defences, and his subsequent lobbying of the government to implement his recommendations drew him into politics for the first time.[4]
At the time Sweden was governed as a constitutional monarchy under the Instrument of Government (1720), with the king being essentially a figurehead and real power resting with the Riksdag of the Estates (parliament). The two main parties in the Riksdag were the "Caps", who generally favoured the promotion of commerce and close ties to the Russian Empire and Great Britain, and the "Hats", who had revanchist dreams of rebuilding the Swedish Empire and therefore favoured an alliance with France and a more bellicose foreign policy. The Hats enjoyed strong support among the aristocracy and army officers, and Sprengtporten was sympathetic to their views and sometimes seen as one of their leaders, but he was frustrated by the indecision, capriciousness and short-termism of parliamentary government and became convinced that the constitution had to be changed to create a stronger executive.[5]
The conspirators contacted the king and received his assent to their scheme. They planned that Sprengtporten would lead a
Sprengtporten arrived at Sveaborg on 16 August and successfully persuaded the garrison to follow him after producing tokens from the king. However, contrary winds prevented his ships from leaving Finland for several days, and although Toll's mutiny at Kristianstad had also been successful, he too was unable to move his troops to Stockholm immediately. In the meantime word reached the capital that an insurrection was in progress, enabling the government to send out orders for all available forces to converge on the city and defend it from the rebels. It appeared that the coup had missed its window of opportunity, but at this crucial moment the king himself seized the initiative. On 19 August he managed to rally the Stockholm garrison and then marched on the Riksdag, arrested the government and formally effected the switch to absolute monarchy by promulgating the Instrument of Government (1772). Sprengtporten was not able to reach Stockholm until 7 September, by which time the new regime had already been in place for almost three weeks.[9][10]
Later life
King Gustav handsomely rewarded Sprengtporten for his support, most notably by promoting him to the rank of
Sprengtporten received a generous pension of 30,000 riskdaler annually, and subsequently retired to a house in Djurgården. In retirement he remained a crotchety and cantankerous figure, but nevertheless received occasional visits from the king, who was genuinely grateful for his role in setting the Revolution of 1772 in motion.[13] As a gesture of his continuing respect for Sprengtporten, Gustav made him a knight of the Order of the Seraphim in 1778.[14]
Toward the end of his life Sprengporten attempted to write a set of memoirs, but failed to complete them before his death in 1786.[15] He never married, and left no known children.
See also
- Revolution of 1772
- Georg Magnus Sprengtporten
- Gustav III of Sweden
- Pomeranian War
References
- Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon.
- Nordisk Familjebok: 792. 1917.
- Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon.
- Nordisk Familjebok: 792. 1917.
- Nordisk Familjebok: 792. 1917.
- Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon.
- Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon.
- Nordisk Familjebok: 7912. 1917.
- Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon.
- Nordisk Familjebok: 792. 1917.
- Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon.
- Nordisk Familjebok: 792. 1917.
- Nordisk Familjebok: 792. 1917.
- Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon.
- Nordisk Familjebok: 792. 1917.
Sources
- Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). p. 738.
- Norman, Hans (2007–2011). "Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten (Sprengtport)". Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon.
- "Sprengtporten, 2. Jakob Magnus". Nordisk Familjebok: 791–3. 1917.