Concept

Swedish War of Liberation

Summary
The Swedish War of Liberation (1521–23; Befrielsekriget), also known as Gustav Vasa's Rebellion and the Swedish War of Secession, was a significant historical event in Sweden, characterized by a nobleman named Gustav Vasa leading a rebellion and civil war against King Christian II. The war resulted in the deposition of King Christian II from the throne of Sweden, effectively putting an end to the Kalmar Union that had united Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. This conflict played a crucial role in shaping Sweden's national identity and history. King Christian II and his ally, the Swedish Archbishop Gustav Trolle, the scion of a prominent unionist noble family, had tried to eliminate the separatist Sture party among the Swedish nobility by executing a large number of them in the Stockholm Bloodbath. The King was also unpopular for imposing high taxes on the peasantry. Furthermore, German and Danish nobles and commoners held most Swedish castles and this provoked the native Swedish nobles. In the background was an economic power struggle over the mining and metal industry in Bergslagen (the main mining area of Sweden in the 16th century) which added much greater financial resources to military capacity, but also strong dependencies, to a conflict that already lasted for decades over the Kalmar Union. An economic struggle, where the parties were financed and stood between: Jakob Fugger (early extremely rich industrialist in the mining and metal industry on the continent) trying an unfriendly business-takeover of Bergslagen, allied with those of Fugger's economically dependent Pope Leo X (with the Swedish Archbishop Gustav Trolle) and Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in alliance with Christian II of Denmark/Norway, claiming being the union king (also in Sweden), where his marriage in 1515 with Isabella of Austria confirmed the pact. The Hanseatic League (the Free City of Lübeck) who in practice had a trade monopoly in Sweden and Bergslagen, allied with the regents of Sweden Sten Sture the younger and later Gustav Vasa, who made them strongly dependent on the Hanseatic League.
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