Nils Dacke
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Nils Dacke (died 1543) was a Swedish
yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...
who was the leader of a mid-16th century peasant revolt in the historic province of
Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...
in southern Sweden. The resulting
Dacke War The Dacke War ( sv, Dackefejden) was a peasant uprising led by Nils Dacke in Småland, Sweden, in 1542 against the rule of Gustav Vasa. Dacke and his followers were dissatisfied with the heavy tax burden, the introduction of Lutheranism, and the ...
( sv, Dackefejden) was fought against
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Gustav I of Sweden Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...
of the
Vasa family The House of Vasa or Wasa Georg Starbäck in ''Berättelser ur Sweriges Medeltid, Tredje Bandet'' pp 264, 275, 278, 291–296 & 321 ( sv, Vasaätten, pl, Wazowie, lt, Vazos) was an early modern royal house founded in 1523 in Sweden. Its mem ...
. It was the most widespread and serious civil war in Swedish history and almost toppled the king.


Background

King
Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...
had come to power at the head of a
peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
army in 1523. He had established Sweden's independence from
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
and made Protestantism the national religion. Småland found itself on the border between
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 ...
and
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
and was hit hard by Vasa's ban on cross-border trade. In addition, the heavy handed way in which the church was reformed and the increasing tax burden led to much dissatisfaction among the poor peasants.


The Dacke War

Already in 1536, Nils Dacke was tried at a local court for killing a
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
; according to court records he was fined 10
oxen An ox ( : oxen, ), also known as a bullock (in BrE British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer spec ...
. The uprising started in Södra Möre during June 1542 with the assassination of more sheriffs and tax collectors. Gustav Vasa underestimated the military prowess of the peasants and sent his German
mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
(''
Landsknecht The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were Germanic mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line wa ...
'') to quell the revolt. The landsknechts were, however, unsuited for battle in the rugged forests and suffered heavy losses. Dacke had devised defensive tactics that allowed the peasants to use their steel
crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fi ...
s with devastating effect. Dacke's successes helped spread the revolt over all the southern provinces of Sweden. The situation was so serious that the king was forced to sue for peace, and a one-year
ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
was signed on 8 November. During the ceasefire, Dacke was the de facto ruler of most of southern Sweden and received offers of foreign support from the
Elector Palatine The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind ...
Frederick II (1482–1556), who was the son-in-law of King
Christian II of Denmark Christian II (1 July 1481 – 25 January 1559) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union who reigned as King of Denmark and Norway, from 1513 until 1523, and Sweden from 1520 until 1521. From 1513 to 1523, he was concurrently Duke ...
, and
Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg Albrecht VII, the Handsome, Duke of Mecklenburg in Güstrow (25 July 1486 – 5 January 1547), was a minor ruler in North Germany of the 16th century. He also asserted claims to Scandinavian thrones based on the royal lineage of the House of M ...
(1486–1547). He reinstated the ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church and reopened the cross-border trade in the areas under his control. With Danish support, Gustav Vasa mounted an invasion of
Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...
which neutralised the German threat. In the autumn of 1542, the king had to agree to a truce with Dacke. The king broke the ceasefire in January 1543 and sent a new and larger army into the rebellious area. His forces moved in from
Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...
and
Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Väs ...
. Royal propaganda had been spread to win over the population and turn them against Dacke. Dacke himself had become overconfident after earlier successes and met the Swedish Royal Army in a
pitched battle A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...
in March. The trained soldiers fighting on their own terms shattered the peasant army, and Dacke was severely injured. After this defeat, the rebellion was effectively over and Dacke became an
outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...
.


Death

Dacke was shot during the summer of 1543 in the forests of the parish of Virserum. According to contemporary sources, he had been injured in both legs by hits from the king's crossbows during the decisive battle a few months earlier, his forces had been routed, and he was likely trying to escape from the king's mercenaries. Dacke eventually fell in August 1543 at a farm in the parish of Gullabo in Södra Möre. Dacke was executed posthumously, quartered, and his limbs were sent for public display in larger communities that had supported him during the rebellion. Gustav Vasa ordered the annihilation of Dacke's entire family, but showed some leniency against those who had given themselves up. Dacke's wife, brother-in-law and other relatives were executed. His son was taken to prison in Stockholm where he either starved to death or died from the plague. Thus, the unity of the realm was restored. As a result of the war, the king was henceforth more careful when dealing with his subjects. The reliance on foreign mercenaries in the army was reduced in favour of soldiers of Swedish extraction (many of which were recruited in Småland), and this laid the foundation for Sweden's military successes in later wars.


Legacy

Nils Dacke is commonly perceived as a Småland freedom hero. His name is often linked to an independent streak in Småland. Statues in memory of him have been erected, including one in
Virserum Virserum () is a locality situated in Hultsfred Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 1,742 inhabitants in 2010. Prior to 1971 it was a ''köping''. The history of Virserum goes back to the Middle Ages, and in the 1950s the town was a centre fo ...
, where the final battle allegedly took place during 1543. The ( sv, Nils Dacke-partiet) is a local political party in the township of
Gnosjö Gnosjö is a locality and the seat of Gnosjö Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 4,326 inhabitants in 2010, out of a municipal total of 9,600. In business management, Gnosjö is known for the Gnosjö SpiritKarlsson, C ., Larsson, J. ( ...
. ' is a vessel, owned by
TT-Line TT-Line GmbH is a shipping company based in Lübeck, Germany, which has been providing ferry service between Travemünde in Schleswig-Holstein and Trelleborg in southern Sweden since 1962. Since 1992, it has also operated a service from Rostock ...
serving the
Trelleborg Trelleborg () is a town in Skåne County, Sweden, with 43,359 inhabitants as of December 31, 2015. It is the southernmost town in Sweden located some west from the southernmost point of Sweden and the Scandinavian peninsula. It is one of the mo ...
-
Świnoujście Świnoujście (; german: Swinemünde ; nds, Swienemünn; all three meaning "Świna ivermouth"; csb, Swina) is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. Situated mainly on the islands o ...
route. ''Dacke'', a made-for-television film, was released in 1961 by Swedish director and screenwriter . The asteroid 7217 Dacke is named for him.


References


Other sources

*Månsson, Fabian (1938) ''Gustaf Vasa och Nils Dacke: historisk skildring om bondeklassens undergång och herregårdens födelse'' (Stockholm: Tiden)


Related reading

* Moberg, Vilhelm (2005) ''A History of the Swedish People: Volume 1: From Prehistory to the Renaissance'' (University of Minnesota) * Larsson, Lars-Olof (1979) ''Dackeland'' (Stockholm: Norstedts förlag)


External links


M/S Nils Dacke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dacke, Nils 1543 deaths People from Småland Deaths by firearm in Sweden Swedish Christians Swedish rebels 16th-century Swedish people Year of birth unknown Peasant revolts 16th-century rebels