page_title: Sweden in Union with Norway
section_title: Personal union with Norway
hierarchical_section_title: Sweden in Union with Norway / Personal union with Norway
caption_attribution_description: Norsk bokmål: Christian Frederik/Christian VIII. Malt i Danmark i 1813, før Christian Frederik kom til Norge som stattholder. English: Christian Frederik of Norway / Christian VIII of Denmark. Painted in Danmark in 1813, before he came to Norway as governor-general.
context_page_description: The Union between Sweden and Norway is an overriding theme of the history of Sweden in the 19th century. On 4 November 1814, the kingdoms of Sweden and Norway formed a personal union under one king. The two countries had completely separate institutions, except for the foreign service led by the king through the Swedish foreign minister.
  The Union was seen by Sweden as the realization of an idea that had been nursed for centuries, albeit one that had been strengthened by the recent loss of Finland. When it was finally accomplished, it was due to political circumstances beyond the borders of Scandinavia. The Napoleonic wars caused Finland to be separated from Sweden, and provided the chance to compensate for the loss by wresting Norway from the united kingdoms of Denmark-Norway. Sweden actively exploited the opportunity, while Norway reluctantly resigned itself to submitting to another inevitable union. That initial disparity in attitudes towards the Union caused recurring political conflicts, and their different interpretations of the union eventually brought them apart. It was dissolved peacefully in 1905.
context_section_description: The Treaty of Åbo, and indeed the whole of Charles John's foreign policy in 1812, provoked violent and justifiable criticism among the better class of politicians in Sweden. The immorality of indemnifying Sweden at the expense of a weaker friendly power was obvious; and, while Finland was now definitively sacrificed, Norway had still to be won.
  Moreover, the United Kingdom and Russia insisted that Charles John's first duty was to the anti-Napoleonic coalition, the former power vigorously objecting to the expenditure of her subsidies on the nefarious Norwegian adventure before the common enemy had been crushed. Only on his very ungracious compliance did the United Kingdom also promise to countenance the union of Norway and Sweden (Treaty of Stockholm, 3 March 1813), and on 23 April, Russia gave her guarantee to the same effect.
  The Swedish crown prince rendered several important services to the allies during the campaign of 1813 but after the Battle of Leipzig (1813) went his own way, determined to cripple Denmark and secure Norway at all costs.
  On 7 January 1814, about to be overrun by Swedish, Russian, and German troops under the command of the elected crown prince of Sweden, king Frederick VI of Denmark agreed to cede Norway to the king of Sweden in order to avoid an occupation of Jutland.
  These terms were formalized and signed at the Treaty of Kiel on 14 January, in which Denmark negotiated to maintain sovereignty over the Norwegian possessions of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland.
  The Norwegians themselves were opposed to this treaty that they had not been party to. Already in Norway, the viceroy, Hereditary Prince Christian Frederik resolved to preserve the integrity of the country, and if possible the union with Denmark, by taking the lead in a Norwegian insurrection. In Norway, the sentiment was that the country had been "sold out" to Sweden, their sworn arch-enemy.
  Christian Frederik proclaimed himself regent of Norway and called a constitutional convention at Eidsvoll. On 17 May 1814 the Constitution of Norway was adopted, and Christian Frederik was unanimously elected king of Norway. But his efforts so seek support for Norwegian independence from the great powers were in vain, as they were bound by their promises to Sweden. When crown prince Charles John returned from the final battles against France, he launched an attack on the outnumbered Norwegian army on 29 July. The first hostilities were short and ended with decisive victories for Sweden. On 7 August a Swedish delegation arrived at the Norwegian military headquarters with a cease-fire offer that would join Norway in a union with Sweden and respect the Norwegian constitution. Peace negotiations with Swedish envoys began in the town of Moss on 10 August and were concluded on 14 August. The Convention of Moss resulted in a general cease-fire based on terms that effectively were terms of peace. Christian Frederik succeeded in excluding from the text any indication that Norway had recognized the Treaty of Kiel, and Sweden accepted that it was not to be considered a premise of the future union between the two states. Understanding the advantage of avoiding a costly war and of letting Norway enter into a union voluntarily instead of being annexed as a conquered territory, Charles John offered favorable peace terms. He promised to recognize the Norwegian Constitution, with only those amendments that were necessary for a union of the two countries. Christian Frederik agreed to call an extraordinary session of the Norwegian Parliament in September or October. He would then transfer his executive powers to the elected representatives of the people, who would negotiate the terms of the union with Sweden, and finally relinquish all claims to the Norwegian throne and leave the country. On 4 November 1814 the Storting revised the Constitution and elected Charles XIII of Sweden as the new king of Norway.
caption: Christian Frederik, hereditary prince of Denmark and Norway. King of Norway May–October 1814. King of Denmark (Christian VIII) 1839–48. Portrait by Johan Ludwig Lund, 1813
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