The Danish attack on Åland occurred during the Dano-Swedish War of 1501–1512 in July 1507, when

Søren Norby Søren Norby, self-styled as Severin Norbi (died 1530), was a Danish leading naval officer in the fleets of Danish kings Hans I and Christian II. He commandeered the greatest ship of the Danish fleet in naval wars against Sweden and Lübeck. Nor ...

attacked the island with a squadron of nine ships. He besieged Kastelholm, eventually forcing it to capitulate and bringing its commander Sten Turesson along with others back to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

. The Danes also forced the island to pay 1,500 marks in ''brandskattning'' (Ransom) and several villages were razed.

Background

In early May 1507, four Danish ships arrived outside

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, raiding parts of it. In the Gulf of Finland, two other Danish ships with 60 crew had made sailing there dangerous, having captured 12 ships off Nargö in the spring. During the capture of these ships, Hans von Eken jumped into the water and managed to save himself.

Attack

On July 21, a Danish squadron of nine ships unde the command of

arrived off

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

, and there was little hope of the Swedes being helped by Viborg. Sten Turesson held command over the island's main castle, Kastelholm. However, he had not held the position for long, and his stockpiles were running low. Instead, he requested that his brother come to the rescue since Norby's forces were plundering the countryside. Unfortunately for Turesson, the request did not arrive to Viborg until 21 July. While the message was in transit, Kastelholm had already been captured, plundered, and razed after a brief defense, with Sten Turesson, his wife, and others being captured. Turesson was later blamed for this as Svante Sture believed he had a small garrison and blamed him for not putting up a better defense. Around 1/8 of Åland's farms had been burned, and the rest were forced to pay a '' brandskatt'' (ransom) of 1,500 marks.

Aftermath

News of the attack quickly reached

and

Åbo Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while the metropolitan area ...

, and people from both sides came and provided assistance. This was made easier after Norby's fleet left.

References

Works cited

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Åland 1507 Battles of the Dano-Swedish wars 1507 in Europe History of Åland Conflicts in 1507 1500s in Sweden