Sweden 1250-1397 Sweden 1523-1560






The Kalmar Union, 1397-1523



Union King ERIC OF POMMERANIA, sole king since the death of his adoptive mother MARGARETHA in 1412, ruled over the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, residing in Kopenhagen. In 1434 a rebellion broke out among the miners of the KOPPARBERGET region (Sweden), lead by ENGELBRECHT ENGELBRECHTSSON. Although it was suppressed, it's leader decapitated, it showed Swedish dissatisfaction with the Union. In 1437, the Swedish RIKSDAG deposed king Eric. The new Danish king Christoph of Bavaria was accepted as Swedish King (1442-1448), under conditions, one of which was to 'restore' Gotland to Sweden, a promise he was unable to fulfill. After Christoph's death in 1448, the Swedes elected a Swede as king, KARL VIII, KNUTSSON (also elected by the Norwegians). He ruled from 1448-1457, when after military defeats afflicted by the Danes, he agreed to abdicate in favour of Danish King Christian I. - the union was restored, until Christian was deposed again in 1464 and Karl VIII. Knutsson became king again (1464-1470). Christian I. appeared with a fleet in 1471 and regained the crown (1471-1478). He was succeeded by a number of REGENTS, of the STURE family. Union knigs were able to impose their rule only for brief periods, such as King Hans (1497-1501) and King Christian II. (1520-1523). King Christian II., when entering Stockholm, ordered the Swedish noblemen opposed to him and to Union rule to be massacred (the STOCKHOLM BLOODBATH, 1520), which backfired as it only stiffened Swedish resistance against Danish rule. GUSTAVUS I. VASA rallied support in the DALARNA region, returned to Stockholm and expelled the Danes. He was crowned King Gustavus I., ending the Union Period and reestablishing Swedish independence.
The Union, ever since 1437, has been a fragile one, Danish kings being accepted in Sweden only for limited period of time, under pressure and under conditions.

As a corporation, the nobility insisted on confirmation of it's privileges, on the preservation of the administrative-judicial unity and independence of Sweden as a nation. The ruling dynasty, at that time, was interested in merging their three kingdoms, thus turning Sweden into an appendage to the Danish kingdom, such as they did with Norway. Resistance against the kings ruling from Kopenhagen was organized by Sweden's stubborn nobility, and due to their efforts the country won it's independence in 1523. The corporate nobility, the RIDDARSKAB, formed one of Sweden's 4 parliament chambers. It dominated Sweden's parliament into the 18th century.



EXTERNAL
FILES 		The Kalmar Union, in : History of Sweden, from the Swedish Institute, encyclopedic, scroll down


This page is part of World History at KMLA
Last revised on January 4th 2002