1434: The Engelbrekt rebellion
Part 13: From Vikings to Modern Sweden: A Chronological Journey through Swedish History
In many Swedish cities there are statues of Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, the man who from 1434 led the first major peasant uprising in Sweden. Engelbrekt has been called a national hero and freedom fighter, and he fit perfectly into the national romantic historiography, and since during the 1430s Sweden was part of a personal union called the Kalmar union, which was dominated by Denmark, the Engelbrekt rebellion was described as a national Swedish rebellion against Danish supremacy. This even though the rebellion never demanded that Sweden left the Kalmar union.
The Engelbrekt rebellion did have far-reaching consequences, because it weakened the position of King Eric of Pomerania, and in time he was also deposed as king, but the goal of the rebellion was not primarily that Sweden would leave the Kalmar Union but to get a more just social system where the power of the foreign bailiffs was limited and where the farmers were not taxed so heavily.
King Erik had introduced a system where German and Danish bailiffs stayed in different castles to be able to collect taxes from the farmers. The fact that the bailiffs were precisely foreign was a way for the king to ensure that they were loyal to him, instead of the native noble families.
Farmers, on the other hand, loathed the bailiffs, especially in the areas of Dalarna and Bergslagen where there was a strong tradition of self-government and freedom.
Engelbrekt was a nobleman with German roots who around 1432 was appointed to contact the king to protest against the bailiff of Västerås, the Dane Jösse Eriksson, who was known for his brutal methods of collecting taxes.
King Eric of Pomerania was not prepared to change the system. He was trying to buy time by referring to the Swedish National Council, which did nothing in the case of Jösse Eriksson.
In 1434, the stakes were high for the people of Dalarna, and on Midsummer's Day that year they burned down the castle in Borganäs, which was located near present-day the Dalarna town of Borlänge.
Then the insurgents moved on to Västerås, something that led to the Riksdag deposing Jösse Eriksson and now the rebellion spread to many other places and Engelbrekt was involved in capturing rows of castles, including Örebro Castle. Large parts of the Swedish nobility now sided with the rebellion against the king, and Engelbrekt was elected in early 1435 as "Rikshövitsman", a military appointment corresponding to commander-in-chief.
But eventually, Engelbrekt was murdered
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