Thus
Sweden lost her ancient duchy of Finland, and she was permitted to
retain a small part of Pomerania only at the humiliating price of
making peace with Napoleon and excluding British goods from all her
ports, In the same year, Gustavus IV was compelled to abdicate in favor
of his uncle, Charles XIII (1809-1818), an infirm and childless old
man, who was prevailed upon to designate as his successor one of
Napoleon's own marshals, General Bernadotte. Surely, Napoleon might
hope henceforth to dominate Sweden as he then dominated every other
Continental state. Of course, Great Britain, triumphant on the seas,
remained unconquered, but the British army, the laughingstock of
Europe, could expect to achieve little where Austria, Prussia, Russia,
and Sweden had failed.
[Sidenote: Height of Napoleon's Power, 1808]
The year that followed Tilsit may be taken as marking the height of
Napoleon's career. The Corsican adventurer was emperor of a France that
extended from the Po to the North Sea, from the Pyrenees and the Papal
States to the Rhine, a France united, patriotic, and in enjoyment of
many of the fruits of the Revolution.
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