CHARLES X., Gustavus,
born at Nykoping,
Nov. 8, 1622, died at Gothenburg, Feb. 13,
1660. He was the son of John Casimir, prince
palatine of Deux-Ponts, and of Catharine,
daughter of Charles IX. and sister of Gustavus
Adolphus of Sweden. He was carefully
educated at the university of Upsal, and afterward
travelled in Germany, France, and Switzerland.
Gustavus Adolphus, falling at the battle
of Lutzen (1632), left his kingdom to his
infant daughter Christina. The Swedes,
however, still carried on the thirty years' war in
Germany, and Prince Charles in 1642 entered
the Swedish army, and served with distinction
under Torstenson. In 1648 he was appointed
generalissimo of the Swedish forces in
Germany. But the war having in that year been
ended by the treaty of Westphalia, Charles
returned to Sweden, where he was received
with great favor, and was declared heir
apparent to the crown. He became enamored of
his erratic cousin Queen Christina, who
however made light of his attachment, and refused
to marry him, but in 1654 abdicated in his
favor, and Charles was crowned June 16. He
found his kingdom in great disorder. Most of
the revenue was absorbed by the pension
settled
upon Christina, and the interval of peace
had impaired the military spirit of the nation.
John Casimir, king of Poland, son of that
Sigismund who had been set aside in Sweden in
favor of Charles IX., made pretensions to the
Swedish crown. Charles thereupon invaded
Poland, gained several victories, captured Warsaw
and Cracow, and in three months made
himself master of all Poland, John Casimir
taking refuge in Silesia. Frederick William,
elector of Brandenburg, had made incursions
into ducal Prussia, which gave umbrage to
Charles, who marched against him, and
compelled him to acknowledge himself a vassal of
Sweden. The rapid success of the Swedes
alarmed all Europe, and John Casimir, assured
of support, renewed the war. In the depth
of winter Charles marched again into Poland,
gamed a great victory over Czarniecki, and
then moved upon Dantzic. The Poles rallied,
and, aided by the Tartars, recaptured Warsaw,
whither Charles and the elector of Brandenburg
marched; and in July, 1656, a battle
lasting three days was fought near that city,
in which the Swedes were finally victorious.
Charles rewarded the services of Frederick
William by recognizing him as independent
sovereign of Prussia. France, England, and
Austria grew jealous of Sweden, the czar Alexis
made some hostile movements, and Frederick
III. of Denmark declared war against her, and
invaded the duchy of Bremen. Charles, leaving
a small force in Poland, marched into Holstein,
sending Wrangel with another corps to
Bremen, and the Swedes gained considerable
successes in both directions; but a naval battle,
lasting two days, was fought with no decisive
result. Charles was now without a single ally.
Poland was in full insurrection; Russia,
Austria, and Denmark were in arms; Turkey
showed signs of hostility; and the elector of
Brandenburg declared against Sweden. Charles
resolved upon a sudden blow against Denmark,
his nearest enemy. In January, 1658, at the
head of 20,000 men, he appeared upon the
shore of the Little Belt, which was now frozen
over. He crossed upon the ice to the island of
Funen, where he cut to pieces a Danish force
of 4,500, and then advanced to Langland,
Laaland, Falster, and finally to Seeland. The
Danes were struck with terror at this
unexpected invasion, and gladly accepted the terms
offered by Charles, giving up some important
places on the Belt. Charles also made peace
with the Russians, ceding to them several
conquests which they had made. In 1659 the
king of Denmark began to show signs of
hostile purposes, and Charles resolved to anticipate
his overt action. He suddenly appeared with
his fleet before Copenhagen. A vigorous
assault by the Swedes was repulsed, and a blockade
was thereupon established; but the Dutch
were unwilling that either Sweden or Denmark
should have entire control of the northern
waters, and the Dutch fleets supplied provisions
to the besieged capital. Charles went back to
Sweden to raise fresh subsidies; but while
engaged in strengthening his armies and fleets, he
died suddenly of fever.?Charles X. was a ruler
of great ability and unbounded ambition. He
aspired to the sovereignty of the north of
Europe. He purposed to extend the boundaries
of Sweden from the gulf of Finland and
Bothnia to the North sea; and according to
the reports of the French ambassador, he
cherished designs still more vast: when he
had made himself master of the north, he
would, like a second Alaric, descend upon Italy
with a great army and navy, and bring Rome
again under the power of the Goths. His life
has been written by Pufendorf,
De Rebus a
Carolo Gustavo gestis
(2 vols., Nuremberg, 1696);
and in Swedish by Lundblad, who also translated
the work into French (1825). He was
succeeded by his infant son Charles XI. (born
in 1655, died in 1697).