Gustaf Otto Douglas
Encyclopedia
Count Gustaf Otto Douglas (1687–1771) was a Swedish
mercenary
, grandson of Robert Douglas, Count of Skenninge
. He was captured by Russia
ns during the Battle of Poltava
. He was eventually employed by the Russian army during the Great Northern War
, and in 1717 was placed in charge of the occupation of Finland
. While resident in Turku, Douglas is reputed to have killed a Russian attendant during festivities of some kind. After being sentenced to imprisonment, Douglas bought his freedom with the lives of two hundred Finns, followed by the same number of horses, one from each of the families of these men. Douglas is believed to have made several inhumane pronouncements on the scorched earth
policy he employed during the occupation of Finland
. By making the land uninhabited and uninhabitable, he sought to leave nothing for his former employers the Swedes to retake. He is generally believed to have been a more cruel and sadistic figure even than his Russian superiors, and bears comparison with Kurtz
of Joseph Conrad
's Heart of Darkness
, particularly when one considers the 10,000 slaves estimated to have been taken to Russia from Finland during the Greater Wrath
.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
, grandson of Robert Douglas, Count of Skenninge
Robert Douglas, Count of Skenninge
Robert Douglas , Count of Skenninge, Baron of Skalby, was a Scottish Field Marshal in the Swedish army, during the Thirty Years' War and the Swedish-Polish wars...
. He was captured by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
ns during the Battle of Poltava
Battle of Poltava
The Battle of Poltava on 27 June 1709 was the decisive victory of Peter I of Russia over the Swedish forces under Field Marshal Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld in one of the battles of the Great Northern War. It is widely believed to have been the beginning of Sweden's decline as a Great Power; the...
. He was eventually employed by the Russian army during the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
, and in 1717 was placed in charge of the occupation of Finland
Greater Wrath
The Greater Wrath is a term used in Finnish history for the Russian invasion and subsequent military occupation of Eastern Sweden, now Finland, from 1714 until the treaty of Nystad 1721, which ended the Great Northern War, although sometimes the term is used to denote all of the Great Northern...
. While resident in Turku, Douglas is reputed to have killed a Russian attendant during festivities of some kind. After being sentenced to imprisonment, Douglas bought his freedom with the lives of two hundred Finns, followed by the same number of horses, one from each of the families of these men. Douglas is believed to have made several inhumane pronouncements on the scorched earth
Scorched earth
A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area...
policy he employed during the occupation of Finland
Greater Wrath
The Greater Wrath is a term used in Finnish history for the Russian invasion and subsequent military occupation of Eastern Sweden, now Finland, from 1714 until the treaty of Nystad 1721, which ended the Great Northern War, although sometimes the term is used to denote all of the Great Northern...
. By making the land uninhabited and uninhabitable, he sought to leave nothing for his former employers the Swedes to retake. He is generally believed to have been a more cruel and sadistic figure even than his Russian superiors, and bears comparison with Kurtz
Kurtz (Heart of Darkness)
Mr. Kurtz is a central fictional character in Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness. A trader of ivory in Africa and commander of a trading post, he monopolises his position as a demigod among native Africans. Kurtz meets with the protagonist, Marlow, who returns him to the coast via steamboat...
of Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
's Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...
, particularly when one considers the 10,000 slaves estimated to have been taken to Russia from Finland during the Greater Wrath
Greater Wrath
The Greater Wrath is a term used in Finnish history for the Russian invasion and subsequent military occupation of Eastern Sweden, now Finland, from 1714 until the treaty of Nystad 1721, which ended the Great Northern War, although sometimes the term is used to denote all of the Great Northern...
.