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Union Wars
Part of Dano-Swedish Wars
The famous Saint George and Dragon sculpture in the Stockholm Storkyrkan, symbolising the Swedish victory over the Danes at the Battle of Brunkeberg.
Date 1448-1523 Location Scandinavia, Baltic Sea Result Dissolution of Kalmar Union Sweden and Denmark-Norway become separate kingdoms.
Belligerents
Kalmar Union  Denmark  Norway   Swedish unionists Supported by: Grand Duchy of Moscow	Swedish separatists Supported by: Hanseatic League
Commanders and leaders
Christian I Hans Christian II	Karl Knutsson Sten Sture the Elder Svante Nilsson Sten Sture the Younger Gustav Vasa

The Union Wars (Swedish: Unionskrigen) were a series of conflicts which occurred between 1448 and 1523 over the question of Sweden's position within the Kalmar Union, the tripartite union formed in 1397 between the Kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The wars were fought between the Union kings and unionist Swedes on the one hand, and on the other Swedish separatists who sought to remove Sweden from the Union, or at least to secure greater autonomy within it. The latter group ultimately prevailed with the coronation of Gustav Vasa as king of an independent Sweden in 1523, although the kings of Denmark-Norway did not formally abandon their claims to the Swedish crown until the 1570 Treaty of Stettin.

Background

The Kalmar Union was formed in 1397.

Engelbrekt Rebellion

The Engelbrekt Rebellion is not usually considered to be one of the Union Wars, but

Wars Between King Christian & King Karl (1448-67)

Wars Between Union Kings & Sture Regents (1470-1523)

Rebellion Against King Hans (1501)

Avsättningskriget mot kung Hans

Svante Nilsson's War (1504-12)

Svante Nilsson Stures krig mot Danmark

Sten Sture the Younger's War (1512-20)

Sten Sture den yngres krig mot Danmark

Unionists & Separatists

Although the Union Wars are often characterised, especially in Swedish nationalist historiography, as a straightforward struggle between Sweden on the one hand and Denmark-Norway on the other, there was a strong unionist faction within Sweden throughout this period, as well as a large number of moderates who might be sympathetic to either side depending on the circumstances. There was moreover an element of disunity with regard to war aims on both sides, in part because the issue at stake was not solely whether Sweden should or should not be in the Kalmar Union, but also what the balance of power should be within the kingdom between the crown on the one hand and the Church & aristocracy on the other. Thus while the Union kings sought both to keep Sweden within the Union and to strengthen royal power in Sweden, most of the Swedish unionists actually wanted to keep the crown relatively weak - their model was the situation under Christopher of Bavaria, who had essentially allowed all three of his realms to be run by their respective Councils of the Realm. Similarly, the separatist leaders had to strike a balance between strengthening their own positions without alienating their supporters and driving them into the unionist camp.

Marxist historiography saw the conflict between the Sture Party and Swedish unionists as a class struggle between a generally unionist aristocracy and Church on the one hand, and a separatist-leaning peasantry and bourgeoisie on the other, with the latter social groups forming the backbone of the Sture Party. However, more recent historians have instead tended to stress the fact that factional allegiances were often unstable, and seem to have depended more on personal relationships and political circumstances rather than social station or a fixed ideological outlook.

See also

• Dano-Swedish Wars
• Kalmar Union
• Stockholm Bloodbath
• Gustav Vasa

Sources

Category:Wars involving Denmark Category:Wars involving Norway Category:Wars involving Sweden