Gustav III shot - March 16, 1792

On this day in 1792, Gustav III of Sweden was shot by a conspirator.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Hi everyone, welcome to the show. I'm Eves
and you're listening to This Day in History Class, a
show that uncovers a little bit more about history every day.
Today it's March. The day was March sixteen sevento. Gustav

(00:29):
the Third of Sweden was shot at a masked ball
at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm. He died on
March twenty nine after the wound became infected. Gustaf the
Third succeeded his father as King of Sweden in seventeen
seventy one. Throughout most of the seventeen hundreds, the Rick's
Dog or national legislature of Sweden was at the mercy

(00:50):
of two rival factions, the Hats and the Caps. When
Gustav began his reign, he attempted mediation between the factions.
In seventeen seventy two, he range for a coup to
take over the government and a new constitution was adopted.
The new constitution increased the crown's powers at the expense
of the riks Dog of the estates or the Diet,

(01:11):
made up of the nobility, clergy, burghers and peasants. But
it did not completely abolish it. Over the next several years,
Gustav introduced many reforms. He abolished torture as a tool
of legal investigation, free trade was encouraged, and freedom of
the press was granted. He also strengthened Sweden's naval and

(01:33):
military forces. The the Estates initially supported his reforms, the
riks Dog of seventeen eighty six opposed most of them.
Looking to gain support from his opposition and taking advantage
of Russia's war with Turkey, Gustav went to war with
Russia in seventeen eighty eight, but the war did not
help his position, and some members of the nobility were

(01:54):
working with the Russians. He appealed to the three lower
Estates and in seventeen eighty nine the Union and Security
Act increased royal power and undermined much of the nobility's power.
Sweden want a big naval victory at spin Soon in
July of seventeen ninety in the Russo Swedish War. The
war ended with a peace treaty the next month, but

(02:16):
much of the Swedish nobility, especially younger aristocrats, were developing
an increasing hatred towards the king and his power, the
nobility began conspiring to kill the king and reform the government.
On March sixteenth Sevo, Gustav was eating dinner at the
Royal Opera House in Stockholm when he received an anonymous
letter saying that his life was threatened. Gustav still chose

(02:41):
to go to the mast ball that night and his
masquerade dress. On the way to the ball, the king
was shot by Jacob Johan Ankerstrom, a military officer from
a noble family. Gustav twitched, but he did not fall.
He was escorted away from the scene to his room.
Some of the conspirators, including Ankerstrom, were arrested, and Gustav

(03:02):
continued to act as head of state as he attempted
to recover from the shooting, but the wound became infected
and he developed sepsis. Gustaf the Third died just thirteen
days after he was shot. His funeral took place on
May fourteenth. Gustaf the third son Gustaf the fourth, Adolf,
succeeded him as king under the regency of his uncle

(03:24):
until he reached adulthood. I'm Eve Steff Coote, and hopefully
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