The 1808-09 war belonged to the wider Napoleonic struggle, with Finland as its principal battlefield. Russia demanded that Sweden observe a settlement it had not signed and break with Britain by joining the Continental System. Sweden also retained possessions on the German coast that could become targets of further demands. Gustav IV feared that accepting Russian and French pressure would encourage additional concessions. The belligerents were Sweden and Russia even though the war's name and principal theatre were Finnish.
Chapter · 22:18-28:10
A Finnish war inside the Napoleonic crisis
The Finnish War grew from Russia's effort to enforce Napoleon's Continental System against Sweden and its British alliance.