King Charles XII free essay sample

King Charles XII was born on June 17, 1682 in Stockholm, Sweden. Charles XII was a member of the Gustav family. Charles XII took the throne on December 24th, 1697 at the age of 15 after his father, Charles XI, died of cancer. Charles XII ruled over all of Sweden. Charles XII was the first Swedish king born to absolutism and at the age of 16, officially crowned himself king in Stockholm instead of Upsalla. Charles XII omitted the traditional royal oath as well. Charles’ first official acts consisted of building and restoring palaces and modernizing the Swedish military, introducing flintlocks and bayonets into Swedish warfare. While Charles XII was away from the throne, the absolutism of his empire began to erode. Charles XII refused to marry, therefore, his weaker sister, Ulrika Eleonora, became the head of state. Charles XII thought that upon his return to Stockholm, he could regain absolutist power, but he never did return. We will write a custom essay sample on King Charles XII or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When Charles XII first inherited the throne, the Russians, Danes, Saxons, and Polish attacked Sweden, thinking their new king was too inexperienced to defend his country. This attack threw Sweden straight into the Northern war. With Charles XII out on the battlefield, the Swedes drove the Danes out and then went and attacked Russia. Charles XII, commanding a group of soldiers, found themselves outnumbered by the Russians 4:1, managed to pull out a victory in Russia and went on to fight the Saxons and Polish, replacing the Polish king with a Swedish puppet. Sweden then attempted to invade Russia, but ultimately failed and agreed to sign the Treaty of Nystad, which gave Russia Sweden’s Baltic provinces. When he Swedes got involved in the Northern war, Charles XII started creating war taxes that went to outfitting the Swedish military with the latest war technology. Since Charles XII was fighting on the battlefield most of the time, he was not able to supervise details of his administration; therefore some officers went and collected unlawful taxes, causing suffering in parts of the country. At the end of his reign, Charles XII started minting coins of copper which acted as promissory notes, invaluable themselves, but they represented a much higher value. These coins were deemed worthless and in an effort to save the Swedish economy, the government took all minted coins and replaced them with these promissory notes. During Charles XII’s reign, Sweden became centered on fighting and war. Sweden’s involvement in the Northern War helped point the focus to their military strength and tactics. Charles XII helped make the military a more important part of Swedish life by showing their superiority by taking down 3 invading countries, ultimately protecting the Swedes from harm. He outfitted his soldiers with the best uniforms, firearms, and bayonets he could find and protected his domain from the Danish, Saxons, Russians, and Polish, until his invasion of Russia in 1708, which cost Sweden some of its land. Charles XII died in battle in December 1718 at the age of 36. The Swedish King was conducting a siege at Fredrikshald when he was shot in the head. The projectile entered and exited his temple, killing him instantly. Many theories exist about his death; some say he was shot from the Danish fortress just across the hilltop, while many others argue that he was shot by one of his own men. Charles XII was succeeded to the throne by Ulrika Eleonora. As a citizen under the leadership of Charles XII, I would support him due to his courageousness and his war efforts. Charles XII courageously led his troops into Russia in 1708 and attempted to take over Russia. While he failed at the invasion, his leadership skills were superb and his love of military tactics helped strengthen his country. He was also responsible. He never drank any alcohol stronger than beer and he did not marry nor did he have any children. He lived and died on the frontline and gave up his life for his country.