Sweden and the Jacobite movement (1715-1718)

During the second decade of the century of the Enlightenment, a short interesting episode occurred between the Kingdoms of Britain, Sweden and the Russian Empire. In the context of Sweden’s downfall as an imperial power, Charles XII, after the return from his stay in the Ottoman Empire, instructed his minister, Görtz, to surreptitiously journey to the Netherlands in search of finances. The purpose was to revitalize what was left of Sweden’s maritime power. The only ones interested in funding Charles XII’s fleet were the Jacobites. They were those English, Scots, Irish and Welsh who were still loyal to the dynasty of James II Stuart of England, exiled during the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689. James II having died in 1701, they now gathered around his son, Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender). In 1715-1716, the Pretender attempted to invade Britain in order to prevent the succession of George I of Hanover, but failed. Through the Swedish envoys in London and Paris (Gyllenborg and Sparre, respectively), Görtz tried to obtain an agreement from the Jacobites that money would be secretly loaned to Charles XII in exchange for Sweden helping a new Jacobite invasion. British counterintelligence was well aware of these negotiations. Eventually the government of George I arrested Gyllenborg, furthermore publishing his documents. This was done in the hope of internationally isolating Sweden, as the British Hanoverian monarch feared a Russian-Swedish-Jacobite alliance. The topic cannot be fully understood without taking in consideration the position of the Russian Empire, so a section of the article is also dedicated to the role played by Russia in this affair.