Kungliga blodsugare och markattor
En genusstudie av politiska brott på 1700-talet
The purpose of this study is to examine political crimes in and women?s political activity in 18th century Sweden. The cases of political crimes which has been used range from 1700- 1789 and they form an outline of the patterns of political crime in this century. These cases contain different types of political crimes, but most common ar defamation of the royal family, defamatory writings, rumor-spreading and treason. To study women?s political activity, seven cases ranging from 1749 to 1758 have been more closely studied. All of these cases belong to the category defamation of the royal family. The study has shown that the frequency of cases of political crime fluctuates and incidents are most common between 1740 to 1759. Furhtermore different kind of crimes are more common in different periods of time. Treason is most common between 1710 and 1714 and cases of rumor-spreading only exist between 1740 and 1759. Few cases of these crimes being commited by women have been found, in only 19 out of 426 cases is the perpetrator a woman. These cases show that the demfamatory words whih are used depend on who they are used towards. The king is criticized for his politics, whereas the queen?s character is insulted. The study has also shown that there is no evidence that it was considered odd for women to commit these crimes, which can be connected to the different view on gender in early modern times.Keywords: Gender, Politics, Political crimes, treason, defamatory words, royal family, 18th century, Sweden.