British Reactions to Charles XII’s Stay in the Ottoman Empire
British Reactions to Charles XII’s Stay in the Ottoman Empire

Summary/Abstract: In 1709 the Great Northern War took an unfortunate course for Sweden, as following Charles XII’s defeat at Poltava, he was forced to retreat to Bender in the Ottoman Empire, where he would remain for 5 years.. The Swedish King’s retreat in the Ottoman Empire also reverberated in Britain, which at the time was involved in the War for Spanish Succession (1709-1714), and consequently sought for tranquillity at the North and Baltic Sea. While politicians were worried about the Swedish fleet, a worry which only aggravated after George I’s accession to the British thrones in 1714, writers such as Daniel Defoe and others could not refrain from expressing their admiration for the ‘Warrior King’ Charles XII. Soon after his return, Charles XII would even be associated with the Jacobite faction, rival to the House of Hanover which at the time ruled Britain. The purpose of this paper is to offer an overview of the whole spectrum of British publications and reactions regarding Charles XII’s sojourn in the Ottoman Empire, during his stay’s duration (1709-1714) and up to his death and the immediately subsequent period.

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