This is the man who gave his name to the capital city of St. Barts, Gustavia.
There is no doubt that Gustavus III of Sweden was a great king in his day; he has been called an absolute monarch, because he was determined to rule without a parliament. Gustavus III also had an affection for the finer things in life. Building marcelous palaces and chateaux during his reign. Incidentally, he managed to bankrupt the state.
But, for all the downfalls he may have had, he also worked toward making his state a better place to live. Criminal Justice became a bit more lenient and the death penalty was removed for many crimes; torture was absolutely abolished. He was incredibly involved in every department of business, working hard to end the corruption that had plagued the government during the age of the Hats and Caps..
It was in 1785 that Gustavus III of Sweden decided that he wanted an island in the Caribbean; likely another of his extravagances. He exchanged the island of St Barthelemy to Louis XV against trading rights in the Swedish port of Gothenburg. Though the island itself was sold back to France in 1878, many of the streets still bear Swedish names and the capital city, Gustavia, still honors the mighty king.
In the end, Gustavus III was assasinated during a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm at midnight on March 16, 1792. Arriving earlier in the evening to enjoy dinner with friends, he was handed an anonymous note that threatened his life. Due to the nature of his life, he had received numerous threats and chose to ignore it; leaving dinner on time and fully prepared to participate in the ball.
Soon after entering however, he was surrounded by men in black masks; Anckarström and his co-conspirators Claes Horn and Adolf Ribbing. The kind was shot in the back of the head, but not killed and he continued to serve as the head of state until his wound got infected and he died on March 29th. Anckarström was arrested the morning immediately following the shooting, and confessed to the murder, although he denied a conspiracy until informed that Horn and Ribbing had also been arrested and had confessed in full.
Verdi’s opera, The Masked Ball, is based on Gustavus’ assassination.
