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tigerfaceswe — Stockholm Bloodbath - 1520

Published: 2015-12-22 00:24:56 +0000 UTC; Views: 1876; Favourites: 28; Downloads: 1
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Description The Stockholm Bloodbath was a series of massexecutions in the Swedish modern capital of Stockholm between 7th and 9th of November 1520.

After the founding of the Kalmar Union (1397-1523) between Denmark, Norway and Sweden under Danish rule a series of conflicts rose up between the danish leading monarchy and the Swedish peasants and nobility who craved lowered taxes and later in during the 1400's even independance. In 1520 the Kalmar Union was under the rule of the Danish king Christian II (1481-1559) who wanted to unify the union again under a strong central power under political and economic stability. And to do so he had to solve the dispute and triumph over the rebellious Swedish people and high nobility.

Meanwhile in Sweden the Swedish forces under the governship of Sten Sture the younger (1492/1493-1520) continued to crave independance and fought fiercly against institutions and people that supported the union governship, such as arch bishop Gustav Trolle (1488-1535) whose manor was burnt to the ground and term as arch bishop ended, ordered by Sten Sture the younger. The arch bishop would soon get under the protection of king Christian II. The opposition however started to stagnate in early 1520 after the sudden death of Sten Sture the younger who had been wounded in a battle against Christian II's armies.

Soon enough, without the leadership of Sten Sture the younger, the nobility surrendered and Christian II was victorious. The 1st of November 1520 Christian II entered Stockholm and was crowned three days later as union king of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The coronation was itself solemnized by arch bishop Gustav Trolle.

Christian II promised with his coronation amnesty and safety to the Swedish high nobility and would invite many of them to his coronation feast. But after three days of feast it all changed. On the evening of that day, Christian summoned many Swedish leaders to a private conference at the palace. At dusk on 7th of November, Danish soldiers, with lanterns and torches, entered a great hall of the royal palace and took away several noble guests and imprisoned them, as ordered by Gustav Trolle, who wished revenge for the opposition he had faced under Sten Sture the younger and the Swedish nobility. Gustav Trolle accused the high nobility for high treason against the crown and the church and accused them for heresy - an accusion only punishable by death.

Following the days between 7th and 9th of November 1520 all of the visitors of the Swedish high nobility were executed, together with a bunch of bishops, priests and burghers, as well suspected and accused for high treason against king Christian II. According to the executioner 82 people were killed.

Normally the king Christian II was blamed for the events, as well as arch bishop Gustav Trolle and the danish army. Christian II himself justified the massacre in a proclamation to the Swedish people as a measure necessary to avoid a papal interdict. The mass executions would soon enough start a big rebellion under Gustav Eriksson "Vasa" (1496-1560) who would successfully overthrow Christian II in 1523, make Sweden independant and make himself king.

I am actually quite proud of this thing. :J
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Comments: 16

commanderjonas [2016-11-09 08:59:26 +0000 UTC]

Well... Guess this explains why Denmark and Sweden has a hard time getting along together.

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tigerfaceswe In reply to commanderjonas [2016-11-09 19:48:33 +0000 UTC]

Not exactly. The origins go way back until the founding of the Kalmar Union. The main reason behind the Swedish hatred of Denmark however is rooted in the propaganda regent Karl Knutsson Bonde of Sweden held.

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AndreaSilva60 [2016-09-14 18:44:15 +0000 UTC]

I didn't know this piece of history, we just study that there was the Kalmar Union, but not the conseguences.  Thank you very much.

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tigerfaceswe In reply to AndreaSilva60 [2016-09-14 18:55:20 +0000 UTC]

Huh, weird...because this is actually quite a huge thing that led up to the end of the Kalmar Union.

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AndreaSilva60 In reply to tigerfaceswe [2016-09-14 19:00:53 +0000 UTC]

I see, I hate to admit it, but in the Italian textbooks Sweden appears at the time of the Vikings, then it disappears and returns with the third phase of the Thirty Years War.

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tigerfaceswe In reply to AndreaSilva60 [2016-09-14 19:04:16 +0000 UTC]

That's a huge gap, holy heck.
Then again, not much singificant happened during the middle ages. However, the Vasa Era (ca 1520-1611) was kind of like a Swedish version of the Tudor Era.

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AndreaSilva60 In reply to tigerfaceswe [2016-09-14 19:09:14 +0000 UTC]

Of course I speak about high school, I think that it should be different for the university course of history.
I imagine that the study of  italian history in Sweden will stop with Renaissance, then again, not much singificant happened during the modern era.

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JohnTheR [2016-09-14 11:22:22 +0000 UTC]

By now you would think that word "unify" others together is basically saying "you are either one of us or against us"
and then this is the result for second option.

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tigerfaceswe In reply to JohnTheR [2016-09-14 13:41:34 +0000 UTC]

I'd rather point to the problematic choices many kings made during the Kalmar Union. In the beginning the Swedes weren't really angry with the fact that they had a Danish or German king. What made them so angry was more the fact that these kings was that they hired German tax collectors, mercenaries and court members instead of Swedish ones. That and the high taxes laid the foundation for several rebellions during the 1300's and 1400's, such as the Engelbrecht Rebellion. The nationalistic pride started however under the rule of regent Karl Knutsson from the House of Bonde, whose propaganda mostly blamed the Danes as the bad guys.
 

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JohnTheR In reply to tigerfaceswe [2016-09-15 03:24:05 +0000 UTC]

 

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Samuraiknight-1600 [2016-01-10 01:33:03 +0000 UTC]

talk about backfire, in this desperate attempt to destroy opposition, the slaughter paved the way for the danish defeat

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tigerfaceswe In reply to Samuraiknight-1600 [2016-01-16 18:17:41 +0000 UTC]

Darned Gustav "Vasa" Eriksson flipped out and stirred up a rebellion.

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HeroWolfMod [2015-12-22 13:43:41 +0000 UTC]

"Sovngarde awaits m-"
Wait, wrong topic.

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tigerfaceswe In reply to HeroWolfMod [2015-12-22 16:28:06 +0000 UTC]

Indeed. I don't even know where that came from.

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Nerfedtroll [2015-12-22 11:47:51 +0000 UTC]

HERESY!
Huh. I keep forgetting its an actual word.

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tigerfaceswe In reply to Nerfedtroll [2015-12-22 16:28:17 +0000 UTC]

So did I as well. Must be my atheism.

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