Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Protest and revolution are historically integral to the democratic transformation of Sweden from an autocratic monarchy to a constitutional democracy with egalitarian norms. Many of the major social changes in the country's political and economic development occurred over the three centuries of Gustav rule, from 1521 to 1792. A period of civil war undermined the effectiveness of the Union of Kalmar. Following the defeat of King Kristian I's army by Sten Sture the Elder in 1471 at the Battle of Brunkenberg, the realm was ruled by regents until 1523. In 1515 a dispute developed between the regent, Sten Sture the Younger, and the elected archbishop of Uppsala, Gustav Trolle, instigated when Sture threatened the castle and fief of Stäket, the traditional demesne of the archbishopric. Tension between Trolle and Sture escalated in 1517 when Sture appealed to the Riksdag (parliament) and to peasants and miners of Dalarna in opposition to the archbishop. Sture was summarily excommunicated, and Kristian, an ally of Trolle, attacked Stockholm in 1517, but was defeated and imprisoned by Sture's forces. After another attack in 1518, Sture was forced to sign an armistice permitting six members of the Swedish nobility to return from Denmark, one of whom was Gustav Vasa. In 1520, after careful planning, Kristian raised a mercenary army and won major battles in Halland, Västergötland, and Tiveden. ... log in or subscribe to read full text