“ Most of the legislation during Oscar I.'s reign aimed at improving the economic position of Sweden, and the riksdag, in its address to him in 1857, rightly declared that he had promoted the material prosperity of the kingdom more than any of his predecessors. In foreign affairs Oscar I. was a friend of the principle of nationality. In 1848 he supported Denmark against Germany; placed Swedish and Norwegian troops in cantonments in Fünen and North Schleswig (1849-1850) ”

“ OSCAR I. (1799-1859) , king of Sweden and Norway, was the son of General Bernadotte, afterwards King Charles XIV. of Sweden, and his wife, Eugénie Désirée Clary, afterwards Queen Desideria. When, in August 1810, Bernadotte was elected crown prince of Sweden, Oscar and his mother removed from Paris to Stockholm (June 1811) . From Charles XIII. the lad received the title of duke of Södermanland (Sudermania) . He quickly acquired the Swedish language, and, by the time he reached manhood, had become a general favourite. ”

“ His very considerable native talents were developed by an excellent education, and he soon came to be regarded as an authority on all social-political questions. In 1839 he wrote a series of articles on popular education, and (in 1841) an anonymous work, Om Straff och straffanstalter, advocating prison reforms. ”