the encyclopedic entry of Gustavus IV

Gustavus IV

Gustavus IV, 1778-1837, king of Sweden (1792-1809). On the assassination of his father, Gustavus III, he succeeded under the regency of his uncle, later King Charles XIII, a liberal. Attaining his majority in 1796, Gustavus dismissed his uncle's ministers and embarked on a reactionary policy at home. His adoption of inclosure advanced the agricultural economy. The king directed his foreign policy against the French Revolution, and in 1805 he joined the Third Coalition against Napoleon I. Swedish Pomerania was occupied by the French, and Finland was taken (1808) by Russia, which in 1807 had made peace with France at Tilsit. Gustavus's despotism, his mental unbalance, and his disastrous policies led to his forced abdication when the Russians threatened Stockholm (Mar., 1809). The crown was tendered to Charles XIII, who made peace with Russia, and Gustavus's descendants were barred from succession. Gustavus spent most of his exile as "Colonel Gustafsson" at St. Gall, Switzerland, where he died.

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1800–1809

Events and trends

Technology

Invention of the Jacquard loom in 1801.
Ultraviolet radiation is discovered by Johann Wilhelm Ritter in 1801.
Flag semaphore is gradually adopted by various navies of the world.
Morphine is isolated from opium for the first time in 1804.
Nicolas François Appert develops a method to preserve food by means of canning.
John Dalton publishes his atomic theory 1803.

Astronomy

The first known asteroids are discovered in this decade:

Ceres (1801-01-02). Ceres is reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006.
Pallas (1802-03-28)
Juno (1804-09-01)
Vesta (1807-03-29)

War, peace and politics

End of the Quasi-War (1800).
The First Barbary War (1801–1805) is fought between the United States and the Barbary States of North Africa.
The Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merge into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.
In 1803, the US acquired the Louisiana Territories from France.
The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803-1805) is fought between the Maratha Peshwa on one side and minor chieftains of the Maratha Confederacy Sindhia,Bhonsle and Holkar on the other resulting in a crushing defeat of the rebel chieftains and the breakup of the Maratha confederacy.
Haiti gains independence from France on 1804-01-01, becoming the first black republic.
The Fulani War (1804–1810) is fought in present day Nigeria and Cameroon.
The First Serbian Uprising (1804−1813) marks the first time in 300 years Serbia perceives itself an independent state.
End of the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802).
Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815).
Beginning of the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) between Russia and the Ottoman Empire.