On the 17th of September 1809, Sweden had to sign the most devastating peace treaty ever with Russia, almost parallell to that Mexico had to sign with the US in Guadalope Hidalgo in 1848. More than 1/3 of the country, the Grand Duchy of Finland, the Åland islands in the Baltic and a part of Sweden Proper was lost.
Treaty of FredrikshamnThe treaty was preceded by the 1808-09 war:
"AT THE END OF 1807 and the beginning of 1808, the Swedish government ignored all reports of the massive maneuvres at the Russian border. The Swedish ambassador in St. Petersburg sent reports home to Stockholm and expressed his concern as the Russian armies were marching up. Nothing was done on the Swedish side. Without declaring war on Sweden, Russian troops crossed the border to Finland on February 21, 1808. This sunday, the Swedish major Gustav Arnkihl, of the Nyland dragoons - who was posted at the border - signed a report to the brigade command. '...That the Russians have crossed the border at 5 o'clock today, with a considerable force... it is also reported that they have crossed at Abborfors and also that they have gone over at Korois with Cossacks and pointed their march in our direction.' The future of the 700-years old union between Sweden and Finland hung in balance as the Final War had begun."
1808-09 war
