Editing Absolute monarchy (section)

====Sweden====
{{Further|Swedish Empire}}
The form of government instituted in [[Swedish Empire|Sweden]] under King [[Charles XI of Sweden|Charles XI]] and passed on to his son, [[Charles XII of Sweden|Charles XII]] is commonly referred to as absolute monarchy; however, the Swedish monarch was never absolute in the sense of wielding [[arbitrary power]]. The monarch still ruled under the law and could only legislate in agreement with the [[Riksdag of the Estates]]; rather, the absolutism introduced was the monarch's ability to run the government unfettered by the [[Privy Council of Sweden|privy council]], contrary to earlier practice. The absolute rule of Charles XI was instituted by the crown and the Riksdag in order to carry out the [[Reduction (Sweden)|Great Reduction]] which would have been made impossible by the privy council which comprised the high nobility.

After the death of Charles XII in 1718, the system of absolute rule was largely blamed for the ruination of the realm in the [[Great Northern War]], and the reaction tipped the balance of power to the other extreme end of the spectrum, ushering in the [[Age of Liberty]]. After half a century of largely unrestricted parliamentary rule proved just as ruinous, King [[Gustav III of Sweden|Gustav III]] seized back royal power in the [[Revolution of 1772|coup d'état of 1772]], and later once again abolished the privy council under the [[Union and Security Act]] in 1789, which, in turn, was rendered void in 1809 when [[Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden|Gustav IV Adolf]] was deposed in a coup and the [[Instrument of Government (1809)|constitution of 1809]] was put in its place. The years between 1789 and 1809, then, are also referred to as a period of absolute monarchy.