Denmark declared war, and the king hastened to embrace the opportunity to leave with honor the trap in which his life and liberty were in danger. Gustavus III. sent word to several provinces, asking the inhabitants to rise in defence of their country. He went himself to Dalecarlia, where he addressed the peasants when coming from church, as had Gustavus Vasa. Everywhere the population rose in arms. The king hastened to Gothenburg, which was threatened by the Danes, and had the city strongly fortified. England and Prussia sided with Sweden, and the Danes found it best to retire from Swedish territory. Gustavus had won the game. Now for the stakes! He called a Riksdag in 1789. Through his personal courage and patriotism, Gustavus III. had recaptured the love of his people. The nobility was hated and despised on account of its responsibility for the mutiny at Anjala and for its intrigues with Russia. Gustavus III. consequently stood exceedingly well with the three lower Estates of the Riksdag, but lost their respect through the many violations of the law which he committed in forcing upon the Riksdag a new constitution which made him a ruler with almost absolute power. The nobility stubbornly refused to accept any change in the constitution. There were many stormy scenes, both among the nobles and in the presence of the king, who also paid a visit to the Riddarhus, which he left with the statement that the nobles were willing to subscribe, the latter loudly protesting. Axel von Fersen the Elder and several other aristocratic leaders were held in a prolonged arrest. Archbishop Troil told the king that he did not wish to be the first archbishop after Gustavus Trolle to sell the liberty of his country, and begged to be excused from being present at the deliberations. The poet and royal favorite Adlerbeth, himself a nobleman, pleaded in the Riksdag the right of his Estate to take action on the royal propositions. These were in private signed by the speakers of the four Estates and pronounced by the government as accepted, and were called an “Act of Union and Security.” This new constitution gave almost absolute power to the king. The state council was once more, and forever, swept away and not even mentioned in the constitution. It was divided into a supreme court and a department for “the preparation of public affairs.” By taking half of their members only from the nobility, the greatest privilege of that class was annulled. To the peasants was extended the privilege of buying land originally belonging to the nobility. By hard pressure, and in opposition to the nobles, the king forced the Riksdag to take the responsibility for the state debt, which had increased considerably.