Swedish War of Liberation

Part of

The Entry of Gustav Vasa into Stockholm
Carl Larsson, oil on canvas, 1908

Date	1521–23
Location	Scandinavia
Result	Treaty of Malmö: Regained Swedish independence, dissolution of Kalmar Union, Sweden renounced its claims to Scania and Blekinge.

Belligerents

Sweden

Free City of Lübeck (from 1522)

Kalmar Union

Denmark

Norway

Commanders and leaders

Gustav Vasa

Christina Gyllenstierna

Anna Eriksdotter

King Christian II

King Frederick I

Admiral Henrich Krummedige

Archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson

Lord General Nils Henriksson

Strength

12,000

27,000

Casualties and losses

Somewhat light

Somewhat heavy

The Swedish War of Liberation (1521–23; Swedish: Befrielsekriget, "The Liberation War"), also known as Gustav Vasa's Rebellion and the Swedish War of Secession, was a rebellion and a civil war in which the Swedish nobleman Gustav Vasa successfully deposed the Danish-Norwegian king Christian II as regent of the Kalmar Union in Sweden.

The King and his ally the Swedish Archbishop Gustav Trolle, the scion of a prominent unionist noble family, had tried to eliminate the separatist Sture party among the Swedish nobility by executing a large number of them in the . The King was also unpopular for imposing high taxes on the peasantry. Furthermore, German and Danish nobles and commoners held most Swedish castles and this provoked the native Swedish nobles.

The war started in January 1521 when Gustav Vasa was appointed hövitsman (commander) over Dalarna by representatives of the population in the northern part of the province. After Gustav Vasa sacked the copper mine of Kopparberg and the town of Västerås, more men joined his army. In 1522, the Hanseatic city of Lübeck allied with the Swedish rebels. After the capture of Stockholm in June 1523, the rebels effectively controlled Sweden, and on 6 June Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden in the town of Strängnäs. By September, Swedish Finland was also controlled by Gustav Vasa's supporters. By the Treaty of Malmö signed on 1 September 1524, Sweden seceded from the Kalmar Union.

In 1520, Gustav Vasa traveled to the Swedish province of Dalarna, disguised as a farmer to avoid detection by King Christian's scouts. In December, Gustav Vasa arrived in the city of Mora, where he asked the peasantry for their help in his revolt against Christian II. The peasants refused his request, so Gustav Vasa decided to travel north to find men who would support his revolt. Shortly thereafter, a couple of refugees arrived in Mora, where they told the peasantry about the brutality of Christian II and his men. The people of Mora then decided to find Gustav Vasa and join his revolt. They sent two skilled skiers to find him. In Sälen, they finally caught up with him.

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Wikipedia