The Kalmar Bloodbath ( Swedish: ''Kalmar blodbad''), sometimes described as the First Kalmar Bloodbath to distinguish it from a later massacre in the same location, was a politically-motivated mass execution that was carried out in

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, in July 1505. The victims included the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Kalmar, the city councillors and a number of the leading

burgher Burgher may refer to: * Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn ** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain ** Grand Burg ...

s of the city. The executions were ordered by

King Hans John (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian and sv, Hans; né ''Johannes'') (2 February 1455 – 20 February 1513) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Kingdom of Denmark, Denmark (1481–1513 ...

of Denmark-Norway, ostensibly in retaliation for help rendered by the citizens of Kalmar to the Swedish regent

Sten Sture the Elder Sten Sture the Elder ( sv, Sten Sture den äldre; 1440 – 14 December 1503) was a Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden from 1470–1497 and 1501–1503. As the leader of the victorious Swedish separatist forces against the royal unionist for ...

in his 1503 siege of

Kalmar Castle Kalmar Castle ( sv, Kalmar slott) is a castle in the city Kalmar in the province of Småland in Sweden. History During the twelfth century a round defensive tower was built on Kalmarsund and a harbour constructed. At the end of the thirteen ...

. Hans had become King of Denmark-Norway in 1481, and was also acclaimed as King of Sweden in 1497, thereby briefly restoring the pan-Scandinavian

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under ...

. However, in 1501 the Swedes rebelled against him under the leadership of Sten Sture. A Danish garrison continued to hold out for some time at Kalmar Castle, close to the Danish border (

Blekinge Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second ...

then being part of Denmark), but it was eventually compelled to surrender in 1503. Sten Sture died over the winter of 1503-4 and was succeeded as regent by his distant cousin Svante Nilsson. The two sides used the change of leadership as an opportunity to open negotiations, and in May 1504 a preliminary peace was agreed. As part of the deal it was arranged to hold a summit meeting between the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian ''

riksråd Riksrådet (in Norwegian and Swedish), Rigsrådet (in Danish) or (English: the Council of the Realm and the Council of the State – sometimes translated as the "Privy Council") is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that rule ...

'' (

privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

s) at Kalmar in July 1505 to discuss possible conditions under which the Swedes might accept Hans as king again. However, the political situation in Sweden became unstable in spring 1505, and Svante Nilsson cancelled the meeting. Hans nevertheless travelled to Kalmar with his entourage, either because Svante's message failed to reach him in time or because he intended to send a message to the Swedes. In Kalmar, Hans assembled a court and tried Svante Nilsson ''in absentia'' for the crime of

lèse-majesté Lèse-majesté () or lese-majesty () is an offence against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or the state itself. The English name for this crime is a borrowing from the French, w ...

, along with several other Swedish nobles including Nils Klausson, Sten Kristersson, Trotte Månsson (Eka), Erik Turesson, Åke Hansson (Thott),

Erik Johansson Vasa Erik Johansson Vasa (c. 1470 – 8 November 1520) was a Swedish noble and the Lord of Rydboholm Castle in Roslagen. His son would rule as King Gustav I of Sweden from 1523–1560. Biography He was born around the year 1470 to Johan Kristiern ...

, Tönne Eriksson (Thott) and Peder Turesson (Bielke). They were all declared to be guilty, and Hans decreed them sentenced to confiscation and imprisonment. Obviously the sentences could not be enforced as none of the Swedes were actually present, and so instead Hans demonstrated his power by having the leading citizens of Kalmar arrested and executed for having supposedly helped Sten Sture's forces in the 1503 siege of Kalmar Castle.

References

Other sources

*{{cite book, journal=

Nordisk familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...

, volume=13, title=Kalmar Blodbad, pages=673-4, url=http://runeberg.org/nfbm/0363.html * Petersson, E, Den skoningslöse,

Natur & Kultur Natur & Kultur is a Swedish publishing foundation with head office in Stockholm known for an extensive series of teaching materials. Its logotype is an apple tree. Overview The publishing house was founded in 1922 by Johan Hansson and his wif ...

, 2008 1505 in Sweden Massacres in Sweden Political history of Sweden Conflicts in 1505 16th-century executions by Denmark

See also

References

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