The Dacke War ( sv, Dackefejden) was a

peasant uprising A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

led by

Nils Dacke Nils Dacke (died 1543) was a Swedish yeoman who was the leader of a mid-16th century peasant revolt in the historic province of Småland in southern Sweden. The resulting Dacke War ( sv, Dackefejden) was fought against King Gustav I of Sweden ...

in Småland, Sweden, in 1542 against the rule of

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...

. Dacke and his followers were dissatisfied with the heavy tax burden, the introduction of

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

, and the confiscation of Church property (the confiscation and taxes were introduced to pay for the Swedish War of Liberation that had brought Gustav Vasa to power). In 1543 the uprising was defeated, and Nils Dacke was killed.

Background

and his peasants were dissatisfied with the policies of the Swedish king

. In his effort to modernize Sweden and gain more power, the king had instituted a more efficient system for

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

collection. The heavy tax burden angered many peasants. Gustav Vasa had also broken relations with

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and promoted

instead of

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in order to confiscate the property of the church (including land), effected by the laws of the Reduction of Gustav I of Sweden. In 1541 the king's men had confiscated many of the belongings of the churches in Småland, such as the church silver and even the

church bell A church bell in Christian architecture is a bell which is rung in a church for a variety of religious purposes, and can be heard outside the building. Traditionally they are used to call worshippers to the church for a communal service, and to ...

s, to finance the army. Dacke criticized the new church order and promoted the old faith. He was also supported by many local

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

s. The rebellion was one of many rebellions during the rule of Gustav Vasa. In contrast with other contemporary rebellions in Sweden, this one was led by peasants, and not supported by the local

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

Uprising

The uprising began in summer 1542 when the king's bailiffs were attacked and killed when they came to collect taxes. Gustav Vasa responded by sending a military force led by his own father-in-law Gustav Olofsson Stenbock the Younger. He was defeated by Dacke's constantly growing army of peasants. Other attempts to defeat Dacke militarily also failed. Dacke and his army reached as far north as

Mjölby Mjölby ( or ) is a city and the seat of Mjölby Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 12,245 inhabitants in 2010. Mjölby is located by the rivulet Svartån. The name "Mjölby" is derived from ''Mölloby'', which comes from or ''m� ...

at the fringes of the Östergötland plains and enjoyed widespread support around

Sommen Sommen () is a lake in the South Swedish highlands lying across the border of the provinces of Östergötland and Småland. Situated about 147 metres above mean sea level, the lake has an area of and has a maximum depth of 60 metres. The lake is ...

and

Ydre Ydre Municipality (''Ydre kommun'') is a municipality in Östergötland County, southeast Sweden. The municipal seat is located in the town of Österbymo. The municipality was created through the local government reform of 1952, when six former ...

. Local aristocrat

Måns Johansson Måns (alternatively Maans) is a Swedish given name that may refer to *Måns, fictional cat in the ''Pelle Svanslös'' children's stories of Gösta Knutsson ** 8536 Måns, a minor planet named after the cat * Måns Andersson, 17th century Swedish e ...

Natt och Dag Natt och Dag (, literally "night and day") is a Swedish noble family and the oldest surviving family of pure Swedish extraction, with origins stretching back at least as far as the late thirteenth century. However, the actual name ''Natt och Dag'' ...

sided with the king despite having a troublesome relation to him. He was put in charge of an army to suppress the rebellion. Next, the Swedish government stopped all supplies of provisions and other necessities to the region. This weakened the rebellion considerably. Defaming propaganda about Dacke was also spread by the government, labeling him a traitor and a heretic. In March 1543 Gustav Vasa ordered his army of Swedish recruits and German

landsknecht The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were Germanic mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front lin ...

mercenaries to attack Småland. This time larger forces were deployed, and Dacke's forces were attacked from two directions – from Östergötland and

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Väs ...

. The uprising was defeated, and Dacke was wounded but managed to flee.

Aftermath

The king's revenge on the instigators of the rebellion was hard. The leaders that were caught were executed together with the priests who had supported Dacke. Peasants who had supported the rebellion were deported to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, where they had to serve in the army, and the counties where the rebellion had taken place had to pay a large fine to the king. Dacke himself was caught and killed in August 1543 when trying to escape the country. According to legend, his body was taken to

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

, where his head was publicly displayed wearing a crown of copper, as a warning to others. Unrest in

continued well after the death of Dacke and ended only after Gustav Vasa sent a force of 400 men to pacify the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

. The rebellion was the most serious threat to the rule of Gustav Vasa, but after having defeated it he managed to consolidate his power, concentrating more and more power in the hands of the monarch.

Idiom

In the Swedish language, the idiom " omething/span> hasn't happened since the Dacke War" is used to mean " omethinghasn't happened for a long time". This expression is especially common in the southern parts of Sweden but is also used elsewhere.

References

Dacke War

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

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OpenLibrary
{{Catholic Church in Sweden Conflicts in 1542 Rebellions in Sweden Popular revolt in late-medieval Europe Wars involving Sweden 1542 in Sweden 1542 in Europe Peasant revolts Feuds 16th-century rebellions Swedish Reformation Catholic rebellions Gustav I of Sweden

Background

Uprising

Aftermath

Idiom

See also

References