At Moss, in the main house of the ironworks, the Swedish generals Anders Fredrik Skjöldebrand and Magnus Björnstjerna sign with the Norwegian councillors of state Jonas Collett and Niels Aall the convention between the Crown Prince of Sweden, in the king’s name, and the Norwegian government. The instrument, in French, subject to ratification, is dated 14 August 1814. It is not the Treaty of Kiel of 14 January 1814, and it is not the Eidsvoll Constitution of 17 May.

The July war, after Hvaler, Halden and the surrender of Fredrikstad, had brought Carl Johan’s troops across the border. Kiel had ceded Norway to the king of Sweden; the Norwegians, with Christian Frederik elected king at Eidsvoll, had not recognised the cession. The Swedes do not treat the prince as a party to the convention: they negotiate with the government, not with the claimant.

Article 1 requires Prince Christian to summon, in the manner prescribed by the existing constitution, the Storting, which is to open on the last day of September or, if that is not possible, in the first eight days of October. Article 2 puts the king of Sweden in direct communication with the diet, through one or more commissioners. Article 5 fixes the place: Christiania.

Article 3: the king of Sweden promises to accept the constitution drawn up by the deputies of the diet of Eidsvoll. He will propose no changes except those necessary for the union of the two kingdoms, and he will make none except in concert with the diet. Article 4 confirms, before the Storting, the promises given to the Norwegian people by the king and by the crown prince in the king’s name.

Article 6 forbids prosecution, direct or indirect, for opinions against the union expressed up to that moment. Civil and military officials, Norwegian or foreign, are to be treated with the respect due from the supreme authority; those who do not continue in service receive a pension under the laws of the country. Article 7 binds the king of Sweden to use his good offices with Denmark to revoke edicts issued since 14 January 1814 against public officials and against the kingdom of Norway. The signatures, with seals, stand at the headquarters at Moss; Carl Johan ratifies.

The additional article, with the same force as the text of 14 August, binds Christian Frederik to remit the executive power to the nation, without reservation, and to leave Norway even if the diet should ask him to stay. The declaration is renewed and published throughout the kingdom when the diet opens; the article itself is not published until eight days after the opening. Christian Frederik ratifies it.

The separate and secret article, also signed by Christian Frederik, at once confides the executive to the Council of State, which keeps it until the diet closes or until the diet has pronounced on the form of government. The council acts constitutionally and, until it meets, signs current acts “by supreme order”. An armistice convention, also of 14 August, stops the fighting; Carl Johan ratifies it at Fredrikstad the next day; the Norwegian flag is to be respected for the duration of the truce.

The extraordinary Storting meets on 7 October. The constitution revised for the union is adopted on 4 November 1814, after which the diet elects Charles XIII of Sweden as king. The convention, not the Kiel cession, remains the basis of the personal union. The political original is kept in the Storting archive; it was printed in Tiden on 16 August 1814.

Image: Konvensjonsgården, Moss; Johannes Bjerketvedt Østby, November 2020, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Convention of Moss. Treaty text: Convention conclue à Moss, 14 August 1814.