Finland and the Napoleonic Empire

Abstract

Finland’s relationship to the Napoleonic Empire is in some respects paradoxical. As a part of the Swedish kingdom under Gustav III and Gustav IV Finland was never part of the Napoleonic Empire; on the contrary, it counted among its most determined opponents. Sweden’s stubborn resistance to Napoleon led to the partition of the kingdom into Sweden (corresponding to the present-day Swedish borders) and the Grand Duchy of Finland. By directing the ambitions of Alexander I to the north, instead of towards the Danubian Principalities and the Balkans, Napoleon played a central role in the history of Finland. He set in motion the chain of events that led to the birth of Finland, or the Rockade [Castling] of the North, in which Sweden lost Finland but acquired Norway, while Denmark lost Norway (but kept its Atlantic dependencies). In retrospect the years 1808–1809 appear decisive but the new state of affairs, in fact, remained unstable until 1812–1813 and became definitive only with the defeat of Napoleon.¹