Okay, family tree time, because Horowski is right, the connections are key!
1.
Sorry about the quality: that's Charles XI up there in the top right.
This family tree is why Peter III was:
- Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (son of the previous duke) - Heir to the Russian throne (grandson of Peter the Great) - Temporarily heir to the Swedish throne (great-nephew of Charles XII, great-grandson of Charles XI) - Temporarily king of Finland (great-nephew of Charles XII, great-grandson of Charles XI).
To elaborate, 1742 was an iiinteresting year. I remind you that this is in the middle of the 1741-1743 war in which Sweden tries to get lost territory back from Russia.
James Keith is occupying Finland in the war and calling a diet to decide what to do next. There's talk of making Finland into a buffer state between Sweden and Russia, and Peter's voted king in October 1742.
At the same time, the Swedes are in a succession crisis, because Charles XII's sister has just died without leaving her husband an heir. So Peter, her great-nephew, is voted heir to the throne in October 1742.
Over in Russia, Elizaveta is also having a succession crisis, because she's just taken over the throne a year before, and she's in her 30s, unmarried, childless, and without good marriage prospects, so she names Peter, her nephew, her heir on November 7, 1742.
You can see that all these things were happening simultaneously, and as soon as everyone found out, two of the offers were taken back, and Peter got to keep his inheritance to the biggest and most powerful country, and unfortunately the one he had least personal connection to or interest in.
Going back to Sweden and elaborating a bit more, the vote for Peter played into class and party politics in Sweden, and was related to the ongoing war in Finland. The part relevant to our discussion is that the people who voted for Peter were hoping that his election would make Elizaveta happy and more lenient in her peace. Why would this make her happy?
Because Russia and Holstein had been allies. Peter's dad had lived at Peter the Great's court for a while, trying really hard to get Peter the Great to help get Schleswig back. Peter the Great apparently liked him, and he did make an effort! But critically, he did it after he had won his war, not after handing back the territory gained in the war and switching sides, and he didn't do so at the expense of Russian interests. Which meant he didn't end up expending the resources necessary to recover it for his buddy Peter's dad (Charles Frederick), and Schleswig remained in Denmark's hands. But you can see where future Peter III got the idea that Russia helping Holstein recover Schleswig was totally natural. He was just...really bad at politics.
2.
This family tree is why Catherine the Great is considered an appropriate bride for Peter (this and some intriguing by Fritz, who wants more Germans near the throne in Russia, to counteract Elizaveta and her Prussian-hating foreign minister Bestuschev).
3.
This family tree is how Catherine the Great is related to Ulrike's husband.
I need to end this post for now, but since the discussion has turned this way, I'll try to cover the Swedish succession crises (yes, two of them) briefly, with family trees, hopefully tomorrow. Remind me if I forget, one is relevant to Charles XII and the other to Ulrike!
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Re: The Great Northern War: Holstein Genealogy
Date: 2021-11-01 10:56 pm (UTC)1.
Sorry about the quality: that's Charles XI up there in the top right.
This family tree is why Peter III was:
- Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (son of the previous duke)
- Heir to the Russian throne (grandson of Peter the Great)
- Temporarily heir to the Swedish throne (great-nephew of Charles XII, great-grandson of Charles XI)
- Temporarily king of Finland (great-nephew of Charles XII, great-grandson of Charles XI).
To elaborate, 1742 was an iiinteresting year. I remind you that this is in the middle of the 1741-1743 war in which Sweden tries to get lost territory back from Russia.
James Keith is occupying Finland in the war and calling a diet to decide what to do next. There's talk of making Finland into a buffer state between Sweden and Russia, and Peter's voted king in October 1742.
At the same time, the Swedes are in a succession crisis, because Charles XII's sister has just died without leaving her husband an heir. So Peter, her great-nephew, is voted heir to the throne in October 1742.
Over in Russia, Elizaveta is also having a succession crisis, because she's just taken over the throne a year before, and she's in her 30s, unmarried, childless, and without good marriage prospects, so she names Peter, her nephew, her heir on November 7, 1742.
You can see that all these things were happening simultaneously, and as soon as everyone found out, two of the offers were taken back, and Peter got to keep his inheritance to the biggest and most powerful country, and unfortunately the one he had least personal connection to or interest in.
Going back to Sweden and elaborating a bit more, the vote for Peter played into class and party politics in Sweden, and was related to the ongoing war in Finland. The part relevant to our discussion is that the people who voted for Peter were hoping that his election would make Elizaveta happy and more lenient in her peace. Why would this make her happy?
Because Russia and Holstein had been allies. Peter's dad had lived at Peter the Great's court for a while, trying really hard to get Peter the Great to help get Schleswig back. Peter the Great apparently liked him, and he did make an effort! But critically, he did it after he had won his war, not after handing back the territory gained in the war and switching sides, and he didn't do so at the expense of Russian interests. Which meant he didn't end up expending the resources necessary to recover it for his buddy Peter's dad (Charles Frederick), and Schleswig remained in Denmark's hands. But you can see where future Peter III got the idea that Russia helping Holstein recover Schleswig was totally natural. He was just...really bad at politics.
2.
This family tree is why Catherine the Great is considered an appropriate bride for Peter (this and some intriguing by Fritz, who wants more Germans near the throne in Russia, to counteract Elizaveta and her Prussian-hating foreign minister Bestuschev).
3.
This family tree is how Catherine the Great is related to Ulrike's husband.
I need to end this post for now, but since the discussion has turned this way, I'll try to cover the Swedish succession crises (yes, two of them) briefly, with family trees, hopefully tomorrow. Remind me if I forget, one is relevant to Charles XII and the other to Ulrike!