Carl Fredrik Pechlin

Per Krafft the elder : Carl Fredrik Pechlin

Carl Fredrik Pechlin , born Carl Friedrich Freiherr Pechlin von Löwenbach , (born August 8, 1720 in Holstein , † May 29, 1796 in the fortress Varberg ) was an officer and politician.

childhood and education

Carl Fredrik Pechlin was a son of Johann von Pechlin (baptized on September 18, 1682 in Schleswig ) and his wife Marie Amalie, née von Flohr. The father was raised to the nobility in 1740 as a nobleman von Löwenbach and in 1743 appointed baron. At the age of six, Pechlin moved with his family to Sweden in 1726, where their father worked as a holstein-gottorfischer envoy. In early 1735 he lived with his brothers in Lund and received lessons from private tutors. Here they were brought up according to their father's instructions. He does not consider his son, Carl Fredrik, to be untalented, but he was very concerned that he was boastful, careless, self-indulgent, reckless, devious and wanton.

In 1733 Pechlin joined the Adlerfeldt regiment in Malmö as a volunteer . His father gave instructions three years later that he should receive training as a fortification officer. He learned here from the officer Otto Adrian Bergh and received board and lodging from him. In August 1737 Pechlin moved as a Fourier to the company of Lieutenant Colonel Gustaf Ruthensparre. Until 1738 he continued to receive limited instruction from Bergh, but increasingly concentrated on basic military training. In 1740 he was made an ensign and took part in the Russo-Swedish War . He saw the battle at Villmanstrand and went back to Sweden before the end of the war.

Entry into politics

Pechlin first became politically active during the Reichstag in 1742/43. Here he probably cooperated with the scheming Colonel Carl Otto Lagercrantz. In June 1743 the colonel was given the task of preventing rebellious peasants from Dalarna , who were revolting due to economic problems and the unresolved succession, from invading Stockholm. Pechlin presumably served as adjutant on the unsuccessful trip. He probably also accompanied the military action led by Lagercrantz in the summer of 1743, with which the last resistance in Dalarna was to be ended.

Åhult Manor from the west

After the war ended, Pechlin focused on the military and rose quickly. In 1743 he was made lieutenant and in 1751 major in the Kalmar regiment. He inherited a large fortune through his wife, including the Åhult estate in Småland . He was considered a particularly bad peasant smuggler, on whom three of his subordinates attempted murder in 1775.

Pechlin's active time as a politician reached from the death of King Charles XII. of Sweden in 1718 until the coup d'état Gustav III. in 1772 and until the end of Gustav III's reign. in 1792. The first phase was marked by the concentration of political power in the estates and disputes between the parties of the "hats" and "caps". The party of hats was oriented towards the French, opposed Russia in terms of foreign policy and pursued a mercantilist economic policy. The Hats Party was looking for an agreement with the Russians, wanted to act economically and create balanced budgets. Pechlin made a significant contribution to the most important political events of these years, for example in 1755/56 in the attempted coup d'état by Adolf Friedrich von Holstein-Gottorf and his wife Luise Ulrike, in 1772 in the coup d'état of Gustav III. and in 1792 in the murder of Gustav III. He always tried to preserve the form of government and went against all efforts to expand the power of the king.

After the Reichstag in 1755/56 and the failed coup by King Adolf Friedrich, Pechlin was supposed to secure order in Stockholm with voluntary young nobles. At this Reichstag he received orders that show that the hat party valued him. He was given control of the election of the land marshal (spokesman for the nobility). He was also appointed elector and appointed to the secret committee, which was rare among newcomers. The French envoy Louis d'Havrincourt gave him a large portion of French bribes to distribute. In the following Reichstag he was given similar tasks involving influence and money.

During the Reichstag in 1755/56, improper promotions in the military and administration were discussed. This led to the administrative report "tjänstebetänkandet", according to which promotions should take place after years of service. Pechlin suggested that the stands should not have any say in promotions. The Reichstag approved this request. With his appearance at the Reichstag he drew attention to himself through his eloquence, but also received criticism.

Pechlin basically represented the opinion of the Party of Hats, but also deviated from it, for example in discussions about the manufacturing fund founded in 1739, which was supposed to support the Swedish economy in the spirit of mercantilism. Pechlin believed that the funds' loans, awards, and subsidies were wasting government money. In doing so, he maliciously attacked the royal couple and their intrigues, which his party friends would not tolerate.

The Seven Years War and the following years

In June 1757, the Reichstag decided to enter the Seven Years' War in order to conquer parts of Pomerania and take the Oder estuary. Pechlin went to Pomerania as deputy head of the Jönköping regiment, which reached Rügen at the end of June 1758 . In the defense of Wolgast he took over the command as well as in operations on Usedom. In September 1759 he was wounded while storming Wollin. For his achievements he was appointed colonel of the Jönköping regiment.

In the autumn of 1760, the Swedish Imperial Council called the estates to a Reichstag. The reason was the lack of funds for a war in Pomerania. Even at the beginning of the meeting there were disputes over the so-called Capita matter. Some officers who were heads of their families had traveled from Pomerania to the Reichstag without being given leave for this purpose. The Reichsrat had seen this as a breach of duty and therefore dismissed her. The knight's house had given them back to their posts. Pechlin had already appeared as a spokesman for the critics in Pomerania. Also at the Reichstag he spoke out in favor of the officers and led the opposition to the government. Critics from all directions united to form a new country party ("lantpartiet") led by Pechlin.

On December 5, 1760, Pechlin attacked the Reichsrat with a petition in which he accused the council of violating the basic laws when making the declaration of war. He successfully proposed the creation of a special deputation to control the actions of the Reichsrat since the last Reichstag. Before the deputation's first actions, Pechlin negotiated with Fredrik Axel von Fersen , whom he was able to convince to convert to the party of hats ( Hattarne ) for allegedly 700,000 thalers copper coins . The party had to accept the resignation of Anders Johan von Höpken and two other ministers. This betrayal on the part of Pechlin sparked general bitterness and the dissolution of the rural party; the special deputation could not take action. When Pechlin criticized the government ineptly, his opponents took revenge. On August 24, 1761, the knighthood and the nobility decided that he had to stay away from this and the following Reichstag in 1765/66.

In 1769/70 the party of hats won the Reichstag elections and took over government from the hat party ( Mössorna ). Pechlin was initially considered a hat supporter and received seats on the secret committee and the bank deputation. He quickly distanced himself from the party that wanted to strengthen the king's power. He contacted representatives from Russia, Denmark and England to jointly take action against the state reform and end Sweden's dependence on France. In May 1769 he received 100,000 thalers copper coin, with the help of which he should find followers. In July of the same year he openly switched to the hat party and rose to become one of the leaders.

The reign of Gustav III.

In 1771 Gustav III took over. the Swedish throne. In order to increase the power of the king, he wanted to level the differences between the parties and therefore contacted the party leaders, including Pechlin, to find a comparison, but failed. In November 1771, the knighthood and the nobility decided that the process was invalid from their point of view. The king reacted by changing course and abolished the constitution of the period of freedom in August 1772, thereby increasing his power considerably. On August 18, 1772, Pechlin received an order signed by the king from the Diet, according to which he should end an uprising in Skåne. He did not obey the order until a few days later. When he reached Jönköping, he was arrested a little later and had to appear before a court martial. Since there were no serious accusations against him, the proceedings ended in January 1773. Three months later he was retired and went to his estates in Småland.

Pechlin did not attend the Reichstag in 1778 and contacted the Russian Prime Minister in January 1780. With this he discussed whether the unrest of the peasants due to a 1772 ban on the private production of brandy from grain was appropriate to take action against the king. Pechlin tried to stir up the mood among the peasants, whereby he was not guilty of any offense. The king visited the peasants and made a few concessions to pacify the situation. Pechlin had to wait until the Reichstag in 1768, when strong opposition emerged, criticizing the unauthorized actions of the king, the ruined state finances and the economic problems. Pechlin acted here as an elector and on the bank committee. He rarely spoke in debates at the Ritterhaus, but was very active in the banking committee. Here the independence of the bank could be secured against the intentions of the king. During the Reichstag, Pechlin again maintained his contacts with Russian envoys.

During the Swedish-Russian War , Pechlin visited the Reichstag on January 26, 1789 to defend the freedom of the estates. He was not elected to his own committee, probably at his own request, and only rarely spoke at the debates of the knight house. The king secured his position and defeated opposition nobles. After an arrest on February 20, 1789, Pechlin was placed under house arrest like other opposition members.

The assassination attempt on the king

On January 23, 1792 Pechlin took part in the last Reichstag Gustav III. part. He held back and tried to moderate the young, heated participants in the debates. He did not speak in the knight's house and was not a member of the secret committee. Since party leader Fredrik Axel von Fersen did not want to take part in the Reichstag, Pechlin had an important role in the opposition, whose leaders met at his accommodation in Gävle . Before the end of the Reichstag, he left the Reichstag on February 24, 1792 for Stockholm, where he received like-minded people in his house. It was here that plans were made for an assassination attempt on the king, a liberal constitution and a one-chamber parliament. Pechlin always discussed important aspects in private without witnesses.

Pechlin's grave slab in Varberg

The attack on the king took place on March 16, 1792 at a masked ball in the Stockholm Opera . Since the king did not die immediately, he could still take action against his opponents. The conspirators were quickly arrested and confessed. The detained Pechlin denied having been involved in any way. Despite the lack of comprehensive evidence, he was imprisoned in the Varberg Fortress until the end of his life.

family

Pechlin married Anna Kristina von Plomgren (born March 3, 1727; August 7, 1788 in Lundstorp ). Her father Thomas von Plomgren (1702–1754), who was ennobled in 1751, was a mayor of Stockholm and married to Brigitta Kristina, geb. Funck. The Pechlin couple had a daughter and three sons.

literature

• Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , pages 273-278.

Web links

Commons : Carl Fredrik Pechlin  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 273.
2. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 273.
3. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , pages 273-274.
4. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 274.
5. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 274.
6. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , pages 274-275.
7. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 275.
8. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 275.
9. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 275.
10. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , pages 275-276.
11. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 276.
12. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 276.
13. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 276.
14. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 277.
15. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 277.
16. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , pages 277-278.
17. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 278.
18. ^ Dieter Lohmeier: Pechlin, Carl Fredrik . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1982–2011. Vol. 9 - 1991. ISBN 3-529-02649-2 , page 273.