The Dacke War ( sv, Dackefejden) was a peasant uprising led by Nils Dacke in

Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized ...

, 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 Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, and the confiscation of Church property (the confiscation and taxes were introduced to pay for the

Swedish War of Liberation The Swedish War of Liberation (1521–23; sv, Befrielsekriget, lit=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 nobleman Gustav Vasa deposed King Chr ...

that had brought Gustav Vasa to power). In 1543 the uprising was defeated, and Nils Dacke was killed.

Background

Nils Dacke 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 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

, 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 ...

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 particu ...

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 (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

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 at the fringes of the

Östergötland plains Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older Engli ...

and enjoyed widespread support around Sommen and Ydre. Local aristocrat Måns Johansson

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 line ...

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

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English ...

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. Vä ...

. 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 Bo ...

, 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 o ...

, where his head was publicly displayed wearing a crown of copper, as a warning to others. Unrest in Ydre 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 An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language, ...

" 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 ...

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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