8 Ore – Sweden

In 1771, Sweden found itself in a precarious monetary crisis, the direct consequence of the Riksdag of the Estates' prolonged and expensive political conflict known as the "Age of Liberty." For decades, the competing "Hat" and "Cap" parties had financed their ambitions and a costly war against Russia (the Hats' disastrous war of 1741-43) not through taxation, but by printing vast quantities of paper money through the state-owned Riksens Ständers Bank. This unbacked currency, known as riksdaler riksgälds, had steadily depreciated, leading to inflation and a severe lack of public confidence.

The situation reached a critical point following the 1765-66 Riksdag, where the Caps took power and attempted a drastic deflationary policy. They decided to call in and destroy the devalued notes to restore the currency's value. However, this sudden contraction of the money supply triggered a severe economic depression, crippling commerce and industry. By 1771, the nation was deeply divided, suffering from falling prices, bankruptcies, high unemployment, and widespread social distress, all exacerbated by a poor harvest.

This economic turmoil set the stage for a major political shift. The unpopularity of the Caps' harsh monetary policy, combined with the general misery, eroded support for the parliamentary system itself. It created a powerful wave of disillusionment with the faction-ridden Estates, which the young King Gustav III would skillfully exploit. Upon his return to Sweden in 1771, he found a nation ripe for change, and the currency crisis became a central justification for his coup d'état in 1772, which re-established strong royal authority and ended the Age of Liberty.