The Children of Adam and Eve

When Gustav succeeded his father, the power of the monarchy had been
greatly curtailed, and the national assembly, the Riksdag, was torn by
intense party strife. After failing to reconcile the divided factions,
Gustav decided to regain complete control of the government for the
monarchy. With the help of the army he staged a mock revolt in 1772 and
forced the Riksdag to accept a new constitution that gave him absolute
power. He then instituted a series of financial and judicial reforms to
correct corruption in high office, grant fReedom of the press and complete
religious toleration, and enlarge the navy, making it one of the Strongest
in Europe. In 1788 he undertook an inconclusive war with Russia that was
Marked by treason among the nobility at home and mutiny among his troops.
A Swedish naval victory in 1790, However, destroyed a third of the Russian
fleet and enabled him to end the war on terms favorable to Sweden. While
preparing to intervene in the French Revolution in 1792, Gustav was
assassinated in a plot conceived by hostile nobles. A patron of
literature, art, and science, he founded the Swedish Academy in 1786.