What is the Aaland Islands history background?
Sweden occupied the islands from 1157-1809.
The Aaland Islands are geographically important
to Sweden.
Napoleon claimed the islands to be the key to Stockholm, Sweden’s capital,
and so the key to defeating all of Sweden.
From 1809, when Russian invades Sweden and
Finland, till 1918 with the end of
Finish Civil war, the islands have a hard period changing from one country to
another in continuous fight.
·
In 1809, Russia created the Grand
Duchy of Finland after a victorious war against Finland and Sweden. The resulting treaty of Fredrikshamn signed
on September 17, 1809 allowed
Russia to take possession of Finland and
the Åland Islands from Sweden.
·
Russia begins to fortify the Aaland
Islands in 1834.
·
The Franco-British fleet
forced the demilitarization of the islands during the Crimean
War in 1855.
·
The Paris Peace Conference’s
treaty of Paris in 1856 finished the demilitarizationof the Aaland Islands.
·
The Russian October
Revolution begins in 1917, and Finland declared independence
from Russia on December 6, 1917.
·
The Aaland Islands hold an
unofficial vote in late December 1917 and petition to
become annexedby Sweden.
·
Russian, Red and White
Finnish, Swedish, and German troopsall occupied the Aaland Islands during the Finnish Civil War. From
January 27th to May 15th 1918. The Finnish Civil War was
a part of the national and social confuson caused by World War I (1914–1918) in
Europe.
·
After the world war I and
Civil War, Finland's status changed from
a monarchist defender of the German
Empire to an independent democratic republic, with a modernizing civil society.
The system of government, the primary Constitution of Finland, was confirmed on
17 July 1919.
