At this time, Sweden was a member of the Kalmar Union. For more than a hundred years, Sweden has been divided into two factions of the "Kalmar Union": the great nobles are in favor of the Union, is the "Union faction", because the Union's king has always been the King of Denmark, living in Copenhagen, Sweden's real power naturally falls in the hands of the Swedish nobles; the majority of the people against the Union Gustav Vasa belonged to the latter group. Gustav Vasa belonged to the latter. As for why he became a hostage, it started with the "Kalmar Union".
The Kalmar Union was an alliance of Denmark, Sweden (including Finland) and Norway. The three Scandinavian kingdoms were historically united and divided, and it was not uncommon for them to be united for a long time and then divided and then united. Their union is sometimes through marriage, sometimes out of *** with the need, and sometimes forced by force, while the separation is always accompanied by pain, and even war. Magnus Ericsson, the 30th king of Sweden, had as his maternal grandfather the king of Norway, and on the death of his grandfather he succeeded to the Norwegian throne. He later gave the Norwegian throne to his second son, Haakon. Haakon married Princess Margrethe, the youngest daughter of the King of Denmark. Margrethe succeeded her father as King of Denmark. After Haakon's death, she succeeded her husband and became King of Norway, which then "remarried" and merged with Denmark. The Scandinavian countries have been "combining" one day and "linking" the next, and it is not surprising that they have been doing so.
Sweden in the Middle Ages was similar to our country during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period. The country's swords and swordsmanship, killing sound: the son cat father, usurping the throne, brothers read the wall, fighting for the world, cousin down cousin, sitting on the mountain. The lords were divided, the nobles were in power, and the king was in vain. King Magnus Erik, whom we mentioned above, made his eldest son, Erik Magnus, heir to the Swedish throne. But the prince could not wait until he was 17 years old and forced his father to abdicate and he ascended to the throne. But he was king for only two years before he was defeated by a coalition of his brother Haakon (King of Norway) and Haakon's father-in-law (King of Denmark), who became King of Sweden-Norway. Haakon was also King of Sweden for only two years. His cousin Albrecht, a German from Munklenburg, led a German army to overthrow him and he had to return to Norway. Albrecht was one of the few kings in Sweden's history who was not a good judge of character. After the death of the "Droz" (equivalent to the chancellor, the highest official under the king), he attempted to carry out "reforms", and the nobles were frightened and felt threatened. 1388 the nobles asked Queen Margrethe of Denmark-Norway for help. Queen Margrethe of Denmark-Norway for help. Queen Margrethe led an army that defeated Albrecht in February 1389. She was the Queen of Sweden, but was now welcomed by the Swedish nobles as the rightful ruler of Sweden.
Queen Margaret was an ambitious monarch. She was betrothed as a child to the Norwegian King Haakon, who was 15 years older than her, and went to Norway at the age of lo to consummate her marriage, gaining a crown prince at 17. When she was 22 years old, her father Valdemar died, the Danish throne is vacant, she immediately embraced the 5-year-old son Ulof grabbed before all the sisters back to Copenhagen, hard to dominate the nephew excluded from the heir to the throne, set up his own son as the king, she became a regent, manipulation of the Danish real power. In the following decades, she not only put the country in good order, but also made the nobles admire her. However, when her son Ulof died at the age of 17, she was no longer able to rule as regent. At the same time, the nobles were unanimous in their support of her as Queen, and when her husband, Haakon, died five years later, at the age of 27, she took over the reigns of Norway again. Not content with this, the ambitious Queen Margrethe defeated King Albrecht of Sweden. It was the only time in Scandinavian history that the country was truly under the rule of the same head of state.
Margaret was a remarkable queen. Along with Ekaterina of Russia and Victoria of England, she is one of the world's three most famous queens. Margaret's successors were straw men compared to her. She was raised by her father to be interested in politics from an early age. As a ruler, she was very good at being strong and soft, and thinking about power. She knew the importance of strength, and was ruthless and murderous in order to conquer her enemies; but she also knew how to gather people's hearts. As a foreign ruler, she was able to make the Swedes feel good about her, which was not easy to do. She capitalized on the Swedes' veneration of Boita by posthumously canonizing her and sponsoring a nunnery for the Boita order in Denmark. She also frequently retired to Vadstena and spent a few days in the convent, and in 1403 she actually spent Christmas there, moving even the most hostile monks to tears. The queen behaved like a normal person in the monastery, asking everyone to treat her as a common nun, and kissing each member of the convent goodbye on her way out. A lay friar did not dare to be reckless, and the Queen's farewell dare not put out his hand, but will be wrapped in a robe to the Queen's hand, for fear that their vulgarity stained the Queen's delicate hands. The Queen saw this and kindly criticized him, saying that he should not be so self-effacing and humble. This little gesture of the queen was more than a match for her army, and conquered the hearts of many.
Margaret was a thoughtful queen. In her old age, her only son, Ulof, had already died, so she made her sister's grandson, Eric of Pomerania, her heir. She made her sister's grandson, Erik of Pomerania, her successor, and in l 388 she made him king of all three kingdoms, and in the following year her coronation took place in Kalmar, a city in the south of Sweden, not far from Denmark. After the coronation, a document was drawn up, and the famous "Kalmar Union" was formed.
In the early days of the League, things were quiet. Queen Margaret used her personal prestige and political skill to make the three kingdoms bow down to her. But later on, the situation was very different. King Erik had neither the power nor the charisma of the Queen. He had only two things in mind: one was to fight Germany militarily; the other was to establish an autocratic monarchy (which was very fashionable in Europe at that time) to unite the three countries. Years of conquest brought a heavy burden to Sweden; the Danes and Germans predominated in the court of the Swedish Chief Executive appointed by him. The autocratic system of government caused the interests of the Swedish nobility to be violated. The nobles could not tolerate it and rose up in revolt.
In 1448 King Christopher of Denmark died without an heir and needed to elect another king for the Triple Alliance. The Swedish Senate pre-empted this by electing Carl Knute, a Swedish nobleman, as king. It was hoped that Denmark and Norway would accept the fait accompli. However, Denmark put forward another Kristian as king, and the conflict sharpened.
In 1470, Karl Knutsson (i.e. Karl the Human) died and appointed Sten Sture as the executor of his will. Stüre and Kris Prisoner dueled on a hillfort on the north side of Stockholm. Kristian employed Swedish and German soldiers, in addition to Danes, and was supported by many Swedish noblemen, and the archbishop sighed to the heavens that there were "good Swedes" on both sides of the battle. As a result, Sture defeated Kristian II as if he were a god. Later legend is even more bizarre, the Sture deified, said the day of the battle over the Swedish army appeared St. Eric's flaming sword; St. Eric drew the sword to help, there is no reason not to win.
Sture became the temporary regent, power quickly expanding, style is also more tyrannical advocate, and other nobles with other conflicts intensified, especially with the archbishop Gustav Troele. The archbishop's castle was destroyed and he was criticized. What's more, the archbishop is appointed by the pope, the king of Sweden can not control him, not to mention the regent 2 archbishop of the youthful ambition, youthful exuberance, can not tolerate it, and the regent swore to be at loggerheads with each other. He twice called upon Christiaan II to attack Sweden, namely, in 1518 and 1520.
In 1518, King Kristian II of Denmark took advantage of the conflict between the Swedish nobles to raise the offense, which resulted in a peaceful settlement, taking six nobles as hostages. One of these six hostages was the 18-year-old young nobleman Gustav Eriksson Vasa of the Vasa family, the young man we saw at the beginning who escaped from the Danish capital Copenhagen disguised as a cattleman.
Gustav Vasa fled to Rübeck, where he took up temporary residence with the help of merchants such as Broms and Koneg. The Danish king asked for extradition from Rübeck, and the city government of Rübeck, with Hayman, Israel and others with financial interests in Sweden, flatly refused. But Gustav Vasa felt in Rübeck is not safe, fate in the hands of others, at the same time, the life of a parasite is not good, so in May 1520 in Broms and Kong Neger two people to help return to Sweden, in Kalmar on the shore. If you receive a drop of water, you should return it. Gustav Vasa owed a debt to the Rübeckers.
He came to Sm?land and incited the local garrison to rise up and turn back the tide, driving Christiaan II out of Sweden. The Swedish officers and soldiers had never heard of this unknown young man, and were of course unwilling to risk their lives with him. He had no choice but to continue his journey northward to his own estate in Reifsn?s, where he hid in his house.
In 1520 Christians II again listened to Troele's report, and attacked Sweden from the sea and defense in two ways. Sweden suffered heavy casualties, the regent Littleston Sture was killed in battle, the group was leaderless, and the Swedish Senate was forced to accept Kristian II as king. The Danish king was merciful and forgave the Swedes for their "offense". Kristian was honored by his Swedish subjects on the hill where his grandfather had been defeated half a century earlier, and on November 4 he entered the city and was crowned by Archbishop Troeler.
To celebrate his coronation, Christendom held a great banquet, to which he invited the principal nobles, bishops, and leading citizens of Sweden, and during which Christendom consulted with Troele and others about what to do with the Swedes who had dared to confront him. on November 7, after the consultation was completed, the Swedes who had been present at the banquet were summoned to the palace and imprisoned. on November 8, the king and Troele tried them for having previously had been guilty of heresy in besieging and insulting Archbishop Troele. 2 hours later all confessed and asked the king's forgiveness, except Bishop Brasker of Link?ping, who refused to admit his fault. Troillet was a junior to him, and called him "Father" when he was a child. Although he had signed the resolution of condemnation of Tro?lle at Arbogast, he had added to his signature the words: "I was forced to sign". That little line saved his life today.
The great square had now become a torture chamber. The king first called out Bishop Strannus, Bishop Skala, and a group of nobles, escorted to the execution ground for beheading. ***98 Swedish nobles, bishops and citizens of the leading figures in the difficult. This is the history of the famous "Stockholm massacre", also known as "Stockholm blood". Kristian also lit three fires in the south of the city and dragged the corpses to be burned. As if that weren't enough, the king ordered the body of young Sten Sture to be exhumed and burned, along with his toddler - burning was the ultimate punishment for heretics.
Among those killed were Gustav Vasa's father, brother-in-law and two uncles. His mother, grandmother and two sisters were imprisoned at Stockholm Castle. His rooming aunt, Mrs. Sture (Kristina üllensbühne), was also imprisoned.
Kristian II, apparently satisfied that his opponents had been exterminated, returned to his country. He went back to Denmark by land. All the way, he killed all the way.
But where there is oppression, there is resistance. Kristian II never dreamed that the one who raised the banner of resistance and became the leader of Sweden's national anti-Danish struggle would be a 20-year-old hostage under his command.
Gustav Vassar was almost as close as his father to being a ghost of a knife, his life was taken, and he was determined to fight with Christians, and the hatred of his country and his family was not to go unrewarded. But how? He is a young man who is not familiar with the world, penniless, empty-handed, difficult to return to his home, he is wanted everywhere, where to go?
"The sky is the limit." Gustav Vasa at this critical moment in history jumped up the national responsibility, to complete the great cause of national independence, became the founding monarch of the Vasa dynasty, the establishment of a centralized, feudal hereditary empire. The times gave him the opportunity to create this glorious history of Sweden, and he also made this history of Sweden stamped with his distinctive personal mark.
Since ancient times, heroes have been young. The young man is full of vigor, righteousness, not much to look forward to the accident, fell down and climbed up again in, there is plenty of time and opportunity. Elderly people are different, they are experienced, there are successes and failures, know what can be done, what can not be done, more stability, less intrusion - they do not dare to sniff, in case of a fall, no longer have time to get up.
Gustav Vassar, the first-born calf, he was bent on avenging his father's murder and snowing the shame of losing his country.
He came home without attracting attention - who would pay attention to a single-armed nobody? His father was not well known or influential in the country, and although he had followed Sture, he was not the most prominent of the young men around him. It was only after his escape from Denmark that he became famous. It was because of this fame that Christiaan II offered a reward for his capture; and it was also because of this that his aunt Christiane Julenstienne included his name in the list of those who petitioned Christiaan II to grant him amnesty. Nevertheless, Christiaan II sent his henchmen to arrest him. For months, Gustavo Vassa traveled by day and by night, hiding and running for his life. He lurked in the countryside, where the emperor was far away and Christiaan II's power could not yet reach these poor villages. Gustavus Vassa would not have much trouble staying safe, as long as he could put up with the peasant life of a simple servant. But it was also too difficult to persuade the peasants to go with him on his adventures. He traveled from village to village, mobilizing them one by one, but only a few of them responded. He went from south to north, insisting on propaganda and mobilization all the way. Gustavo. Vassar is different from the average young people here is very clear, firm beliefs and perseverance, not for a moment of frustration and despair, discouragement.
One day came to Dalarna in west-central Sweden.
This is a mining area. The Swedish mining industry began in the Middle Ages. 15 and 16 centuries, Dalarna mining industry has been quite developed, the owner of the mine is the country's most Palace people. But their social status was not high, because they were all commoners. They not only mined, but usually owned forests and farmland. The place is quite independent and the king is not allowed to send officials to rule over them. Prisoners escape here to work as laborers and the government is not allowed to arrest them. They have a martial tradition and used to support the Sture family against the "Ka" peasants, who were sometimes so excited by what he said that they clenched their fists, but when it came to the crucial moment, the peasants hesitated. They ask: Is this articulate young man any good?
There are no impervious walls. Gustav Vassar's movements in Dalarna were discovered by Kristian minions. A good friend, Pearson, who was born and bred here and knew the landscape well, advised him to escape west, towards the Norwegian border. Along the way a field, uninhabited, easy to hide. He was used to this, having lived the life of an outlaw for a long time. Hadn't he had a few brushes with the soldiers and officers chasing him? A few times, thanks to the cover of the masses, he escaped from the tiger's mouth. He was blessed with a great life, and every time he was always safe. There is no mountain he can't cross, no river he can't cross, and he will be safe this time. Following the instructions of his friend, he fled to the vicinity of Lake Silijan and made contact with the farmers in Retvik and Mora. But before he could settle down, spies tracked him down and he fled again.
One evening, he was so exhausted that he could no longer move his legs. He took off his skis and fell to the ground, thinking of his dead father, brother-in-law, and his mother and sister whose deaths are still unknown, of the innocent people killed by Kristian, and of his country's misfortune, and wondering when he would be able to avenge this bloodshed, and could not help but be secretly saddened. However, just when he was weeping and feeling sorry for himself, people came from Dalarna. It turned out that they heard from the survivors of the Stockholm
Mo massacre and eyewitnesses to the details of the tragedy of the piece of discretion, accurate information, all righteous indignation, and then sent two good skiers, played a "snow chase Vassar," a good show, and finally in the Salen (Salen) caught up with him. The people of Dalarna were straight-laced and known throughout the country for their strong spirit of defiance. They carefully pondered over the speech of Gustav Vasa, and felt that although this young man was not very old, what he said was true, and that the king of Denmark had no justice, killed the innocents indiscriminately, and imposed exorbitant taxes, so they took the lead in the revolt. 1521 a few leading figures of Dalarna, such as Anders Pilzong, Pastor Rong, and Mans, held a meeting at Maulana. Nilsson and others held a pledge meeting at Maura, elected Gustav Vasa as commander-in-chief, and raised the banner of the national liberation struggle. Helsingland, Jystrikland and Upland responded quickly.
The volunteer army was unstoppable and won every battle. They took over towns and cities along the way and made a great deal of noise. On behalf of Chris Tian ruling Sweden's nobles, mandarins happen to Neijiang, simply can not resist the fierce attack of the righteous army.
Christian left Troele, Troele's father Eric Troele, Jens Andersson when he left Sweden. Berdnak and Diederik Slahaker to form the regency team. Slahaker, a barber, was a relative of Kristian's beloved discretionary wife Dyvik, and thus gained favor as Bishop of Skala and Commander of Stockholm Castle. Bildernak is a shoemaker and a flatterer. The youthful ambition of Troele simply despise him
They, Neijiang is inevitable. Troelei and the two of them commanded a large army to swat Dharana, and met with the righteous army at Brock's Ferry in Brenner, only to be crushed and defeated.
The volunteer army started from nothing and grew from a small force to a very strong force very quickly, and in just a few months they were able to attack big military strongholds such as Vestras and were able to take big cities such as Uppsala.
The man who guarded Uppsala on Troele's orders was Bengt Beronger. This male was arrogant and incompetent, short-tempered and witless. When he learned of the report of the imminent attack on the city, instead of preparing for the battle, he held a grand banquet, saying wildly that the righteous army was unbeatable, and that if they came to attack the city, they would surely be sent to their deaths. Late at night at 2 o'clock the army attacked Uppsala, Belonger and his soldiers are still drunk in bed. When he woke up, he ordered his men to set fire to the city and then fled. On the way to Stockholm, he was killed by archers. 1521 years later, Troele also fled, and was almost killed on the way by his subordinate Lars Ulsson. ① Before the evacuation he had ordered Siciliemma, the mother of the imprisoned Gustav Vasa, to write to her son to persuade him to surrender. Sicily was forced by Troele to write the letter. But Gustav Vasa, who had no **** in common with China's Xu Shu, would not change his resolve because of his mother's safety.
The army then turned eastward, capturing ports on the east coast of Dinden so that it could get help from the sea and isolate Stockholm even further, and in July two noblemen defected to the army (Bishop Brasker of Link?ping and Ture Jungsson, governor of Sj?tland, the "Three Roses"). These two were powerful men. Blasque was influential not only in the religious world, but also in politics and business. He was personally in business and did a great deal of business; he had-an army of thousands of men, and when he roared, the peninsula trembled. He and Ronson were at best fellow-travelers with Gustav Vassar. Still, Gustav Vasa was very glad that they had joined at this moment; the presence of nobles in the peasant ranks seemed to carry weight and to make the name right. As the army became more victorious, more and more nobles joined the revolution. These nobles believed that they could handle a young, inexperienced general and keep the leadership in their own hands, while at the same time they believed that when the young man was no longer needed, they would send him away like a servant. Did not Gustavus Vassa heed their words and quickly make a joint proposal to the Archbishop of Troele? This proposal caused a great deal of trouble: the peasants of Dalarna protested against it in writing, and there was almost chaos in the army, but fortunately Tro?lle rejected it, and the matter died out without being mentioned again. Gustavus Vassa welcomed the nobles to the fold, but was offended by their condescending attitude as elders.
I am the commander of the righteous army, how can you speak to me in a tone of superiority? On one occasion he had a verbal altercation with Bishop Brasker. It was caused by a letter from Christain II. As soon as Gustavus Vassa heard the name of Christiaan II, he said angrily: "The devil!" "Is this your statesmanship?" Blask said unimpressed
"That's my demeanor, honestly, spot on / Gustav. Vassar showed no weakness. "What does the letter say? Read it!"
"The letter from Kristian says that if you move the Archbishop's chair, your mother and sister, who are incarcerated in Copenhagen's "Ranta", will die in a car." (His mother eventually died of "cold and starvation" in Lanta).
But generally he could endure. A little patience goes a long way.2 This is another thing that sets Gustav Vassar apart from the norm. He was able to prioritize and prioritize. The central task of the moment was to unite all forces to fight Kristian, and everything else had to be subordinate to this central task. Therefore, he did not bother with Bishop Brasker and others. The nobles in turn believed that their original estimate was correct and that the young general was a plaything in their hands. Therefore, when the regent was elected in August, they voted for Gustave Vasa. When the king was elected two years later, Gustavus Vasa was so feathered and powerful that the crown was his. Leaders emerge from struggles. Self-appointed leaders do not last long and have no prestige, and in 1523 Gustavus Vasa was crowned king. But he had to struggle before that day came.
The victories of the rebels on the military and political fronts did not go unnoticed by the haughty and foolish Kristian. The summer after the uprising, he actually had the leisure to visit the Netherlands for three months. By the end of the year most of the Swedish territory had been occupied by the rebels. The following year (1522), Berend von Mehren, the commander-in-chief of Christians, surrendered to the rebels, and Gustavus Vasa gained a well-equipped
army at no cost to himself. Christians Field was left with only three lonely castles in Sweden: Stockholm, Kalmar, and Elfsborg. The city's defense commander here is still holding out. Without the liberation of these three cities, Kristian is likely to make a comeback. And without outside help, Gustav Vasa can't take care of these three cities for a while. Vasa can not solve these three cities for a while: his army are some peasants, do not receive the army scout, with patriotic zeal to fight, but they care about the crops and home wife and children, only hope to go back to the family reunion soon. Gustav. Vasa then took the strategic step of asking for help from the Hanseatic League. Rübeck took advantage of this opportunity to blackmail Gustav Vasa into granting him very special commercial privileges when he ascended to the throne in the future. Gustavus Vasa, after weighing his options, agreed. Thus in April 1522, Lubeck and Danzig agreed in principle to support the rebels. In June of that year, they sent a well-trained, well-equipped and logistically well-stocked force of 750 men by ferry to Sweden. Gustav. Vasa bought this unit in the form of a loan. Chris Field did nothing about it, and the Rübeck officials were so encouraged that they sent another fleet in October. This time the fleet arrived in time to meet the Danish fleet sent to relieve the siege of Stockholm. The Danish fleet was annihilated, and the right to control the sea fell into the hands of the volunteers. On land, the army was even more invincible, and in the beginning of the year 523, it began to attack the Danish territories of Blekinge, Sk?ne and Viking.
There was civil unrest in Denmark at this time. The Danish nobility felt that Christians were sacrificing their interests, and the church found Christians flirting with the Lutherans and could not tolerate it. The nobles and the church were interested in changing horses, and Holstein's platoon of Tetrarchs, supported by Rübeck, was elected king of Denmark. Kristian II is a complete coward, he saw that the big thing is not good, do not make any resistance, in April 1523 with the important children fled to the Netherlands to take refuge.
The Swedish problem could only be solved by the new king. The new king could only solve the problems of Sweden by the new king, who was supported by Rudbeck to get the throne. The new king would have to be the king of Sweden, and the new king would have to be the king of Sweden, and the new king would have to be the king of Sweden, and the new king would have to be the king of Sweden, and the new king of Sweden would have to be the king of Sweden. Therefore, any fool knows how Rübeck wants the Swedish problem to be solved. The situation suddenly became clear: Denmark was to withdraw from Sweden, and Gustav Vasa was to be King of Sweden. The Swedish nobility, led by Tulare Junt and Hans Blask, saw that the tide had turned and had to go along with it.
Sweden is a country that is narrow from east to west and long from north to south. If you fold a map of Sweden up and down, there is a Lake M?laren in the middle of the fold. Lake M?laren is the cradle of Swedish culture, many mighty and majestic historical stories happened around it. At the mouth of M?laren is the old town of Str?ngn?s. Small town today is still very silent, beautiful, a few streets lying lazily, motionless, half a day can not see a car; streets on both sides of a few children's books in the common old house; the largest building should be the early 17th century left behind the stadium; a plain church on the hillside, overlooking the jungle-dense lakeshore and the lake of the Hao Indefinitely, it is a typical small town in Sweden. Beautiful and peaceful. Unusually, it has not been affected by modern industry, even the tourism industry has been rejected. 1523 June 6, this quaint little town occurred a shocking event, on the Swedish history has had a great impact.
From the beginning of June, representatives of all classes arrived here: several members of the Senate, a vast procession of noblemen and lords, citizens, peasants and miners, and so on. The town was so crowded that it was hard to breathe, and even lodging was difficult. Also coming to Stranraeris were three foreign observers, who were evidently very much interested in the great events that were about to take place. One of them was Berend von Mellen, the former commander-in-chief of the Danish army, who had recently defected to Sweden. The other two were the official representatives of Rübeck, and they were Berendt Baumhofer and Youlmann Bronis. All these men were gathered here to elect a king of Sweden. Sweden had been united with Denmark and Norway for more than a hundred and thirty years, and had fought for more than a hundred years, and now it was time for Sweden to become independent and to be its own master. Gustav Vasa was the man to beat in this election. Since 1521 he had been recognized as the leader of the national struggle against King Christian II of Denmark. Now that the final victory of the struggle had come, he was to be crowned king, and the representative of Rübeck had already given him his greetings. Gustav, after a short exchange of views between Vasa and the three German guests, did the same, and took the oath as King of Sweden amidst cheers. The next day he celebrated mass in that church on the hillside as a sort of celebration of his coronation. It was noticed that when the young new king entered the church, he was flanked on his left by Burgnis, and on his right by Mhofer. They occupied such prominent positions throughout. After the mass, the king addressed the common people gathered outside the church, and spoke to them of what a great help Rübeck had been in their struggle, and that the Swedes should know how to repay and never forget those who had given them help in the snow. The people chanted: "We are always loyal to Rübeck! We are forever loyal to Rübeck!"
Gustav Vasa became king and announced the dissolution of the Kalmar Union of Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
On June 17 Stockholm surrendered. The surrender itself was a clear indication of the authority of the Rübeck delegates. The Rübeck delegates went to Str?ngn?s with a proposal in their pockets: if they elected Gustav Vasa as king, they would guarantee that Stockholm would be won without a single soldier.
It did not take long for Denmark to be all but purged of its power on Swedish soil. The king appointed a new senate and set up a new government. The few members of the Senate bounced back and forth. Among them were many newcomers, including Berend from Rübeck. Von Mellen from Rübeck. A foreigner would not be expected to be given such an important position, but he was not just any foreigner, he was a native of Rübeck.
Gustav Vasa relied on the support of the peasants to win the war against the enemy, but post-independence Sweden was likely to be an aristocratic country, with a king who would continue to be elected and have limited power.
The young king saw such a situation as detrimental to himself and to the country. Looking at Sweden over the past 20 years, and the more than 120 years of its history before joining the Kalmar Union, the lesson is clear: centralization of power is essential. Sweden must have a strong and powerful king who has all the power in one person: he must have financial power, sufficient income, and a standing army. "At the end of the Kalmar Union, Sweden had become a mono-national state, and it was necessary to set up the machinery of a nation-state. The nobility and the Church were bound to oppose it, and a struggle was inevitable. Thanks to Kristian II, who killed the most prestigious nobles in the country, the aristocracy was greatly weakened. Yet it still had to be curbed, or they would rise again. Can the nobility and the Church be mastered? By what means could they be conquered? The fate of the Vasa dynasty, and the fate of Sweden, depended on it.
The map of Sweden in the 16th century was not quite the same as it is today. Skopje, Blekinge and Halland in the south were Danish territories, and thus the Sundstrand was a Danish inland waterway. In terms of geography and political relations, it basically sat west to east, with few links to Western Europe, and Gustav Vasa had only one small window to Western Europe, the mouth of the J?tta River at its southwestern end. On this river were the fortresses of Elfsburg and Neuerdeser, two of the last forts to which Christiaan II retreated. To the north of Elfsborg was the Norwegian province of Viking (today's Buhus); to the south was the Danish territory of Harland, which was only a stone's throw away from the J?tta. To the northeast was the Danish territory of Blekinge. Sm?land resided in Sweden, but for economic reasons the farmers and citizens of this province were very close to Denmark, and they had to make use of Danish ports and markets. In the center, the Swedish border with Norway runs abruptly eastward almost as far as the Gulf of Bothnia, and on the border are the two large provinces of J?mtland and H?rjedalen, but the center of economic activity of the inhabitants of the two provinces is in Norwegian Holding Rondheim, not in Swedish G?vle. As for the Baltic Sea, Bauthlem belongs to Denmark, as does the island of Gotland. As a result, Denmark and Norway almost completely separated Sweden from the Atlantic Ocean, and Denmark not only held the Sundstrand, but also put an obstacle in Sweden's dealings with Germany. Sweden was only open to the east, and Finland was a part of Sweden as a result of past eastern conquests. Today, however, there was also a formidable enemy to the east: Russia. Further north is a vast barren area inhabited by nomadic Lapps, which has no borders and would be meaningless even if they did.