Hannu Krankka (birth year unknown - died c. 1630) was one of the leaders of Finnish peasants during the 1596-97

Cudgel War The Cudgel War (also Club War, fi, Nuijasota, links=no, sv, Klubbekriget, links=no) was a 1596–1597 peasant uprising in Finland, which was then part of the Kingdom of Sweden. The name of the uprising derives from the fact that the peasants ...

, the largest uprising (with about 3,000 casualties) in what is now the country of Finland when it was under Swedish rule. The peasants, including those in Krankka's home region of northern Ostrobothnia, rebelled against oppression, including often unbearable borgläger-type taxation. In early 1597, midway into the war after the uprising's first leader

Jaakko Ilkka Jaakko Pentinpoika Ilkka (1550s, Ilmajoki – late January, 1597, Isokyrö) was a wealthy Ostrobothnians, Ostrobothnian landowner and leader of the Cudgel War, a 16th-century Finnish peasant revolt against Swedish rule. Life Early years Ilkka ...

had been executed, the bailiff Israel Laurinpoika with the help of Perttu Palo and Krankka recruited more than 3,000 men. Krankka, a veteran leader during war with Russia, was chosen to serve as commander over companies from Liminka, Kemi and Ii. In February 1597 the leaders and peasants went to Ilmajoki. While preparing for a major battle here, Laurinpoika said he was going to leave to gather more men to fight but fled instead, causing disorganization. Additionally, the peasants had relatively primitive weapons, such as clubs and spears, to use against the well-equipped troops of Clas Fleming serving under Sweden's King Sigismund. The peasants were defeated at this, the final battle, with many casualties. Krankka was captured and imprisoned at

Turku Castle Turku Castle ( fi, Turun linna, sv, Åbo slott) is a medieval building in the city of Turku in Finland. Together with Turku Cathedral, the castle is one of the oldest buildings still in use and the largest surviving medieval building in Finland. ...

. Later that year when Duke Charles (the future King Charles IX of Sweden), an enemy of Sigismund, took control of the castle, he was freed.Katajala, K. “Did the Rich Lead the Poor to Rebel in the Finnish Peasant Revolts of the 15th–17th Centuries?” In: ''Koskinen, U. (eds) Aggressive and Violent Peasant Elites in the Nordic Countries, C. 1500-1700.'' Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016. In more recent times Krankka and the other peasant leaders are remembered as being part of what some historians consider being the first movements toward Finland's independence. Krankka's uprising days are the subject of Kaarlo Kramsu's 1887 poem, "Hannu Krankka." In 2005, a bronze statue of Krankka by sculptor Niilo Rikula was erected near

Liminka Liminka ( sv, Limingo) is a municipality in the Northern Ostrobothnia region in Finland. Liminka is located about south of Oulu. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The n ...

, Finland. Hannu Krankka

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krankka, Hannu Year of birth unknown 1630s deaths Finnish revolutionaries