The Hats ( sv, hattarna) were a Swedish political faction active during the

Age of Liberty In Swedish and Finnish history, the Age of Liberty ( sv, frihetstiden; fi, vapauden aika) was a period that saw parliamentary governance, increasing civil rights and the decline of the Swedish Empire that began with Charles XII's death in ...

(1719–1772). Their name derives from the

tricorne The tricorne or tricorn is a style of hat that was popular during the 18th century, falling out of style by 1800, though actually not called a "tricorne" until the mid-19th century. During the 18th century, hats of this general style were refer ...

hat worn by officers and gentlemen. They vied for power with the opposing Caps party. The Hats, who ruled Sweden from 1738 to 1765, advocated an alliance with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and an assertive foreign policy, especially towards

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. During their tenure, they involved Sweden in two expensive and disastrous wars, in the 1740s and 1750s.

Policy

Count Arvid Horn, leader of the Caps, had governed Sweden since 1719. Following Sweden's defeat in the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swe ...

, he had reversed the traditional policy of Sweden by keeping

at a distance, drawing near to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

, and making no significant effort to regain Sweden's lost Baltic empire. Those opposed to this peaceful policy derisively nicknamed his adherents "Night-caps", and these epithets became party badges when the estates met in 1738. The Hats routed the government, and Horn was compelled to retire after 33 years in high office. Now in power, the Hats aimed at restoring Sweden to her former position as a great power, and sought to renew the traditional alliance with

. France welcomed the rise of a Swedish government which would uphold French interests in northern Europe, and

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

generously financed the Hat party for the next two generations. The first sign of weakness in the Hats' government came after the war with Russia, which ended in Swedish defeat. In the Riksdag, an inquiry into the conduct of the war was proposed. The Hats managed to avoid this prospect by obtaining precedence for the succession question. King Frederick I had no legitimate children, and it fell to the Riksdag to elect his successor. Negotiations were opened with the Russian empress,

Elizabeth of Russia Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...

, who agreed to restore the greater part of Finland to Sweden if her heir's uncle, Adolph Frederick of Holstein, were elected successor to the Swedish crown. The Hats eagerly caught at the opportunity of recovering the grand duchy and their own prestige along with it. By the Treaty of Åbo, on 7 May 1743, the terms of the empress were accepted and only a small part which lay beyond the Kymi river, often called Old Finland, was retained by Russia. In the 1750s, the Hats saw the utter collapse of their foreign system. At the instigation of France they entered the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

in the Pomeranian theatre, and the result was ruinous. The French had not provided nearly enough money for a long war, and, after several years of unsuccessful fighting, the unhappy Hats made peace, withdrawing from a war which had cost the country 40,000 men. When the

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

met in 1760, the indignation against the Hat leaders was so violent that an impeachment seemed inevitable; but once more the superiority of their parliamentary tactics prevailed, and when, after a session of twenty months, the Riksdag was brought to a close by the mutual consent of both the exhausted factions, the Hat government was bolstered up for another four years. But the day of reckoning could not be postponed forever; and when the estates met in 1765 the Hats were comprehensively removed from power. The leader of the Caps,

Ture Rudbeck Ture may refer to: Names *Ture (Zande character), a trickster character from North Central Africa Personal name * Ture Hedman (1895–1950), Swedish gymnast * Ture Malmgren (1851–1922), Swedish journalist and politician * Ture Nerman (1886–196 ...

, was elected marshal of the Diet over Frederick Axel von Fersen, the Hat candidate, by a large majority; and, out of the hundred seats in the secret committee, the Hats succeeded in getting only ten. The Hats returned briefly to power in the Riksdag of 1769, but were soon once again defeated by the Caps. Against a backdrop of Russian encroachment, King

Gustav III Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...

carried out a '' coup d'etat'' in 1772 and moved towards an

absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constituti ...

. During the political upheavals of the ensuing decades, both Hats and Caps disappeared as political forces.

Majority leaders

These representatives of the Hats were elected as Lantmarskalk (speaker) of the Riksdag of the Estates, signifying a parliamentary majority. * Carl Gustaf Tessin (1738–1739) * Henning Gyllenborg (1751–1752) * Axel von Fersen, senior (1755–1756, 1760–1762, 1769–1770)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hats (Party) Political parties established in 1719 Defunct political parties in Sweden 1719 establishments in Sweden Conservatism in Sweden Political parties with year of disestablishment missing

Policy

Majority leaders

See also

References