Charles was anxious to come to conclusions with Russia, but he had given the tsar too long to prepare. The Russians had forced their way into Poland but were driven out again, and after a victory at Holovszyn Charles crossed the Dnieper. Adam Lud wig Lavenhaupt was to have come with an army from Livonia to the king's support, but he was delayed and experienced a severe defeat, arriving eventually with a diminished force and without commissariat. Owing to devastations by the Russians it be came difficult for the Swedes to provide themselves with neces saries, and when the Cossack, Mazeppa, offered his co-operation Charles concluded a treaty with him in Oct. 1708. Mazeppa did not manage to get his Cossacks to join with him, but Charles advanced into the Ukraine. In an unusually hard winter thou sands of Swedish soldiers perished. Charles began to lay siege to Poltava : the battle which followed (June 28, 1709) ended in a Swedish defeat, largely owing to the fact that Charles was wounded in the foot and that his generals were not united. Charles made his way as a fugitive to Turkey and his proud army capitulated at Perevolatschna on July 1,1709.
The unfortunate Russian campaign made an immense impres sion both in Sweden and in other countries. Augustus declared the peace with Sweden invalid and marched into Poland. The Danes crossed the Sound and sought to overrun Skaane. The Government in Stockholm put forth all its powers to defend Southern Sweden and Magnus Stenbock won a decisive vic tory at Helsingborg in Feb. 171o. The Danish troops were taken back to Denmark. The Russians occupied the Baltic prov inces completely after they had taken Riga. Meanwhile Charles was busying himself in Bender trying eagerly to bring about a war between the Turks and Russia. His stay in Turkey is diffi cult to explain; probably he did not want to return until the Russians had been either conquered or weakened. Thrice the Turks began war but without any gain to Sweden. Meanwhile Stenbock made his way to Germany, but though he defeated the Danes at Gadebusch (1712) he was forced to capitulate with nis army at Tonningen in 1713. The German possessions, apart from Stralsund, were taken by the enemy, who was joined by Prussia and Hanover, and the Russians swarmed over Finland.
From Feb. 1713 Charles was held captive by the Turks but after a swift journey in Dec. 1714, he arrived in Sweden. The country was in a sad plight. The population was only 1,250,000 and the burden of the great war was too heavy. The people were oppressed by heavy taxes and services imposed by the State, and worn out by conscription.
During the years that followed Charles XII. strengthened Sweden's defences against the Danes, who received help from a Russian army and threatened an invasion of Sweden. The plan
was not carried out, and Charles turned towards Norway to force the Danish king to make peace. While there he was shot on Nov. 3o, 1718. In Stralsund Charles had made acquaintance with the Holstein Baron von Gortz who afterwards became his con fidant and associate. Unscrupulous and resourceful, Gortz dis covered new means of taxation, simplified the State administra tion and lowered the value of the currency and conducted an adventurous policy abroad. The poverty thus brought about evoked a hatred against him which after Charles' death led to his being tried and executed. With Charles the Swedish supremacy over the Baltic came to an end.
The Swedish forces were withdrawn at once from Norway, one brigade which was sent against Trondhjem experiencing terrible losses in the mountains. The Riksdag assembled for the special purpose of putting an end to the absolute power of the sovereign. Charles' sister, Ulrika Eleonora, married to the hereditary Prince Frederick of Hesse, was declared not to be the successor to the throne, but was elected queen (1718-2o) on condition that the Riksdag alone should have the right to draw up the constitution. The changes effected in the constitution drawn up in 1719 and 172o and in the Riksdag decrees of 1723 were drastic. When the Riksdag was not in session the council ruled together with the king who on most questions only had two votes. While the Riksdag was sitting decisions on foreign affairs and other matters were made by a secret committee which was formed of members of the three higher estates, the nobles, the clergy and the burghers. The peasants were left in the background but they had to be heard on questions of taxation. Each estate chose its own speaker; in the house of nobles the speaker was called Landmarskalk. The membership of the council could only be revoked by law, and this made parliamentary government very primitive because it led to political law-suits.
In 1719 peace was concluded with Hanover on the basis of Sweden's giving up Bremen and Verden and receiving a sum of money in return. In 1720 an arrangement was come to with Prussia, which acquired a large part of Pomerania and also paid up a sum of money. In 172o also peace was made with Denmark which renounced the regions it had conquered in return for Sweden's undertaking to agree to Denmark's retaining possession of Schleswig. Russian fleets were harrying the coasts of the Baltic and an attack upon Stockholm was with great difficulty warded off. Peace was not concluded until 1721 at Nystad, when Sweden gave up Livonia, Estonia, Ingria and parts of Finland ; northern and western Finland was restored to Sweden.