Northern Seven Years' War
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Northern Seven Years' War | |
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Part of | |
Result |
See Peace negotiations and consequences Full results
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Territorial changes |
Status quo ante bellum in Scandinavia
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Denmark–Norway
Free City of Lübeck
John III
Jakob Bagge
Klas Horn
Charles de Mornay
Claude Collart
Bo Birgersson Grip †
Jakob Hästesko
The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the Nordic Seven Years' War, the First Northern War or the Seven Years War in Scandinavia) was fought between the
Context
The Kalmar Union of the three former Scandinavian Kingdoms of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark lasted on and off from 1397 to 1523, until it finally collapsed following the continued Swedish resentment of Danish domination.[8]
A successful rebellion in 1471 led to Swedish victory at the Battle of Brunkeberg, which established a powerful anti-Union movement under the leadership of the Bonde–Sture nobles. In 1520, Christian II of Denmark reconquered Sweden and took a bloody revenge on the anti-Union faction at the Stockholm Bloodbath.[9] More than 80 noble men and ladies, including leading citizens of Stockholm, were executed, but the result severely backfired on Christian II.[8] The violence elicited strong reactions in Sweden for years to come,[9] and the Union was broken by the successful Swedish War of Liberation from 1521 to 1523. Christian II was condemned by the Pope, and he abdicated in 1523. The subsequent Danish kings Frederick I and Christian III, turned their attention mainly on the Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein and the Count's Feud civil war, and relations with Sweden were generally peaceful.[10]
In Sweden, the internal power vacuum, combined with the abdication of Christian II, provided the opportunity for Gustav Vasa to consolidate control of Sweden and claim the throne in June 1523, with the support of peasants and the Hanseatic towns of Lübeck and Danzig. Under Vasa, the Kalmar Union was finally dissolved, and Sweden began establishing itself as a rival power of Denmark–Norway.[8] Gustav Vasa's Sweden was in a weak position in 1523, as access to the North Sea was dominated by the Danish Sound Dues and limited to a 20 kilometer stretch on the Kattegat in the vicinity of Älvsborg, close to modern Gothenburg. Furthermore, Denmark controlled the Baltic, limiting Swedish movement there.
Gustav Vasa changed the military structure in Sweden, which did not bear immediate fruit in the Nordic Seven Years' War but was to have a lasting impact on Sweden's fortune. In 1544 he used the old Scandinavian concept of Uppbåd (levy or the prerogative to call up some fraction of men from each district in an emergency) to establish one of the first native
Casus belli
After the deaths of Christian III and Gustav Vasa, in 1559 and 1560 respectively, both countries now had young and hawkish monarchs, Eric XIV of Sweden and Frederick II of Denmark. Frederick II envisioned the resurrection of the Kalmar Union under Danish leadership, while Eric wanted to finally break the dominating position of Denmark.[11]
Shortly after his
In 1561, when a sizeable remnant of the
Lübeck, upset over obstacles to trade introduced by Eric to hinder the Russian trade as well as withdrawn trade privileges, joined Denmark in a war alliance. The Polish–Lithuanian union also joined, desiring control of the Baltic trade. Skirmishes broke out in May 1563, before war was officially declared in August that year.
War
Initial phase
In May, the first movements of the war started as a Danish fleet under Jakob Brockenhuus sailed towards the Baltic. At
German royal emissaries were sent to negotiate a peace, but at the meeting place of Rostock no Swedes appeared. On 13 August 1563, war was declared by emissaries from Denmark and Lübeck in Stockholm. The same month, Danish king Frederik II attacked Älvsborg. At the beginning of the war the Danes advanced from Halland with a 25,000-strong army of professional mercenaries and captured Sweden's gateway to the west, Älvsborg Fortress, after only three days of bombardment and a six-hour assault on 4 September. This achieved the Danish aim of cutting off Sweden from the North Sea, blocking the all-important salt imports. Eric then attacked Halmstad, without result; the Swedish counterattack was driven back by the professional Danish army. After the king's departure from his army, Charles de Mornay stepped in as the commanding officer and was beaten by the Danish at the Battle of Mared.
At sea a battle broke out near Öland on 11 September, whereafter the war took a pause.
Campaigns
South
Horn attacked the provinces Halland and
The Swedes fared better at sea. Horn, commanding the Swedish navy, pursued a Danish–Lübeck fleet onto the German coast where most of it was destroyed. After this victory Horn steered for Öresund and levied a toll on passing ships. On 4 June 1565, the Battle at Buchow took place on the Mecklenburg coast, in which the Danish–Lübeck commander Herluf Trolle was mortally wounded. In the Battle of 7 July 1565, the Swedish navy under Horn defeated a Danish–Lübeck navy under Otto Rud near Bornholm, where Sweden captured the Danish flagship the Jegermesther. Thus ensured the command of the eastern Baltic by the Swedes that year.
In January 1566 Sweden unsuccessfully laid siege to Bohus Fortress in Bohuslän (then a Norwegian province). Daniel Rantzau then moved his forces into Västergötland. At sea Horn returned to taking toll charges in the Baltic. An indecisive battle at sea outside of Öland occurred on 26 July 1566. On 28 July, half the Danish–Lübeck Navy was lost in a storm at sea. Horn was then called to command troops on land, where he died 9 September.
North
Sweden occupied the undefended Norwegian province of Jemtland, which was quickly reconquered by a counterattack by forces under command of the Norwegian governor of Trøndelag. The forces were unwilling to launch a counterattack on Swedish land. In 1564 the Swedes marched under Claude Collart[15] and re-occupied Jemtland, as well as Herjedalen and Trøndelag, including the city of Trondheim. Initially facing little opposition from the locals, their subsequent ill treatment of the Trøndelag natives, along with tax pressure, laid the groundwork for later resistance to Swedish invasion.[15] Also, Trøndelag was assisted by the governor of Bergenhus, Erik Rosenkrantz, who forced 3500 local peasants to assist him and his 50 professional soldiers. The Swedes saw Bergenhus as their next target. Although the 400 Swedish soldiers were repelled from Trøndelag, Sweden continued to occupy Jämtland and Härjedalen. These provinces were later regained by Denmark–Norway following the peace process in 1570.[16]
Sweden also launched attacks towards Eastern Norway. In the south-east Sweden captured
Later phase
The Danish mercenary army was superior to the Swedish peasant army, but the professional army would not fight until their pay was current. Because only a fraction of the army would march, Denmark had to give up the plan to take the fortress of Kalmar and settle for an attack on Stockholm instead. In August 1564, Eric attacked Blekinge and his army occupied it cruelly (most infamously during the Ronneby Bloodbath), though the Danish later[when?] reclaimed this.
Eric XIV turned insane, paralyzing the Swedish war effort. The Danish were exhausted and made no serious attacks until Rantzau attacked Småland and Östergötland with about 8,500 men.[when?] He burned every field and house and destroyed every head of livestock he could. An attempt to cut off his retreat over the Holaveden failed, as Rantzius' army went over the ice of lake Sommen[17] and in the middle of February 1568 he returned to Halland.
Attempts were made to make peace between the fighting nations during these years. Negotiators included the dukes of
In 1568, the Swedish duke
Peace negotiations and consequences
At this point, both armies were exhausted,
See also
- List of wars involving Poland – Chronological list of wars involving Poland
- Livonian War – 16th century war in Eastern Europe – contemporary struggle for hegemony on the eastern Baltic coast (1558–1583)
- Naval battle near Hel – 1627 battle
- Polish–Swedish wars– History of military conflicts between the nations
Notes
- ^ Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth after July 1569.[1]
- ^ Sweden fought Poland–Lithuania in Estonia, which ended in a Swedish victory.
- ^ Marginal victory.
Sources
- Eriksson, Bo (2007). Lützen 1632. Norstedts Pocket, Stockholm. ISBN 978-91-7263-790-0. In Swedish.
- Ersland, Geir Atle; Sandvik, Hilde (1999). Norsk historie 1300-1625. Volume two of ISBN 82-521-5182-5.
Footnotes
- ISBN 9780521559171.
- ISBN 9789189080140.
- ISBN 978-0-19-153382-2.
- ^ R. Nisbet Bain, Scandinavia: A Political History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1900, 2006 [1905], p. 83, ISBN 0-543-93900-6, ISBN 978-0-543-93900-5
- ^ Eriksson, Bo (2007). Lützen 1632 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedts Pocket. p. 50. ISBN 978-91-7263-790-0.
- ^ Nisbet Bain, Scandinavia: A Political History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1900, 2006 [1905], p. 83, ISBN 0-543-93900-6, ISBN 978-0-543-93900-5
- ^ Nordstrom, Byron J. (2000). Scandinavia Since 1500, p. 36, ISBN 0-8166-2098-9, ISBN 978-0-8166-2098-2
- ^ a b c Bjørn Poulsen, Home > About Denmark > History > The Middle Ages > The Kalmar Union Archived 3 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 7, 2008
- ^ a b Forside > Om Sverige > Historie Archived 2007-02-11 at the Wayback Machine, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Danish Embassy, Stockholm", August 5, 2009
- ^ Knud J.V. Jespersen, Home > About Denmark > History > Reformation & Absolutism > Danish Sovereignty Archived 28 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, February 13, 2008
- ^ a b Knud J.V. Jespersen, Home > About Denmark > History > Reformation & Absolutism > The Dano-Swedish Wars Archived 2010-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 7, 2008
- ^ När Hände Vad?: Historisk uppslagsbok 1500-2002 (2002) pp. 41
- ^ När Hände Vad?: Historisk uppslagsbok 1500-2002 (2002) pp. 42
- ^ Den Nordiske Syvårskrig at Gyldendals Åbne Encyklopædi
- ^ ISBN 978-82-997479-7-4.
- ^ a b c Ersland and Sandvik, 1999: pp. 205–206
- ^ "Här slaktades hundratals när de försvarade sina hem" (in Swedish). JP.se. 19 November 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ a b Eriksson 2007, pp.49–50
Further reading
- Anderson, R.C. (1910). Naval Battles in the Baltic 1553-1850.
- Andersson, Ingvar (1956). A History of Sweden. Frederick A. Praeger.
- Frost, Robert I. (2000). The Northern Wars, 1558-1721. Longman, Harlow. ISBN 0-582-06429-5.
- Gjerset, Knut (1915). History of the Norwegian People. The MacMillan Company. Volumes I & II.
- Lisk, Jill (1967). The Struggle for Supremacy in the Baltic: 1600-1725. Funk & Wagnalls, New York.
- Mathisen, Trygve (1952). Fra Bondeoppbud til Legdshær. Guldendal Norsk Forlag.
- Scott, Franklin D. (1988). Sweden - The Nation's History. Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 0-8093-1489-4.
- Stagg, Frank N. (1956). East Norway and its Frontier. George Allen & Unwin, Ltd.
- Stagg, Frank N. (1953). The Heart of Norway. George Allen & Unwin, Ltd.
- Stiles, Andrina (1992). Sweden and the Baltic, 1523 - 1721. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-54644-1.
External links
- Media related to Northern Seven Years' War at Wikimedia Commons