Caps (party)
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The Caps ( sv, mössorna) were a political faction 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 1718 ...
(1719–1772) in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. The primary rivals of the Caps were known as the
Hats A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
. The Hats are actually responsible for the Caps' name, as it comes from a contraction of Night-cap, a name used to suggest that the Caps were the soft and timid party. The Caps represented mostly peasants and clergymen.


Policy

The foremost representative of the Age of Liberty, ''de facto'' leader of government and of the Caps from 1719 to 1738 was the Chancery President, Count
Arvid Horn Count Arvid Bernhard Horn af Ekebyholm (6 April 166418 April 1742) was a Swedish general, diplomat and politician, a member of the noble Horn family. He served twice as President of the Privy Council Chancellery (1710–1719 and 1720–1738) ...
. Horn reversed the traditional policy of
Hats A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
and Sweden by keeping the
Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
at a distance and drawing near to
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. Thus a twenty years' war was succeeded by a twenty years' peace, during which the nation recovered so rapidly from its wounds that it began to forget them. 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 ...
of 1738 was to mark a turning-point in Swedish history, the Hats carried everything before them, and the aged Horn was finally compelled to retire from a scene where, for thirty-three years, he had played a leading part. For the next twenty five years the Hats did dominate government, with disastrous results where the country was plunged into two costly and ill-advised wars. At the Riksdag in 1765 the Caps returned to government and they struck at once at the weak point of their opponents by ordering a budget report to be made, and it was speedily found that the whole financial system of the Hats had been based upon reckless imprudence and the wilful misrepresentation and that the only fruit of their long rule was an enormous addition to the national debt and a depreciation of the note circulation to one third of its face value. This revelation led to an all-round retrenchment, carried into effect with a drastic thoroughness which has earned for this parliament the name of the " Reduction Riksdag". The Caps succeeded in reducing the national debt, half of which was transferred from the pockets of the rich to the empty exchequer, and establishing some sort of equilibrium between revenue and expenditure. They also introduced a few useful reforms, the most remarkable of which was the
liberty of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
in 1766. But their most important political act was to throw their lot definitely in with the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, so as to counterpoise the influence of France.


Majority leaders

These representatives of the Caps were elected as
Lantmarskalk Lantmarskalk, ( en, Lord Marshal) was the title of one of the speakers of the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates, from 1627 to 1866 and of the Diet of Grand Duchy of Finland from 1809 to 1906. The Lantmarskalk was appointed by the Estate of the Nob ...
(speakers) of the
Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates ( sv, Riksens ständer; informally sv, Ståndsriksdagen) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to t ...
, signifying a parliamentary majority. *
Arvid Horn Count Arvid Bernhard Horn af Ekebyholm (6 April 166418 April 1742) was a Swedish general, diplomat and politician, a member of the noble Horn family. He served twice as President of the Privy Council Chancellery (1710–1719 and 1720–1738) ...
(1720, 1726, 1731) *
Swen Lagerberg Swen is a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include Given name * Swen Gillberg, visual effects supervisor * Swen König (born 1985), Swiss footballer * Swen Nater (born 1950), Dutch basketball player * Swen Schuller (born 1971 ...
(1723) *
Mattias Alexander von Ungern-Sternberg Mattias is a masculine given name found most prominently in Northern Europe. It is a cognate of Matthew and Matthias, and may refer to: Sports * Mattias Adelstam (born 1982), Swedish footballer * Mattias Asper (born 1974), Swedish goalkeeper ...
(1742, 1746) *
Thure Gustaf Rudbeck Thure may refer to: *Thure (river), a tributary of the Sambre in Belgium *Thuré Thuré () is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. Demographics See also *Communes of the Vienne department ...
(1765)


See also

*
Privy Council of Sweden The Council of the Realm, or simply The Council ( sv, Riksrådet or sv, Rådet: sometimes in la, Senatus Regni Sueciae), was a cabinet of medieval origin, consisting of magnates ( sv, stormän) which advised, and at times co-ruled with, the Ki ...
*
Hovpartiet Hovpartiet (English: ''The Royal Court Party'') was the name for a political group in Sweden during the Age of Liberty. It had the goal to strengthen royal power against the parliament of the Riksdag of the Estates. It is most known in history a ...


References

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