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The Kalmar Union united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden under one monarch in 1397. The countries had given up their sovereignty but not their independence and Swedish dissatisfaction over the Danish centralized government gave rise to the conflict that would lead to its dissolution in 1523.
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1 Union
The union was formed by Queen Margaret I ( 1353– 1413) in the Swedish town of Kalmar, close to the Danish border, after Danish and Swedish troops in 1389 had defeated the Swedish king, Albert of Mecklenburg, and he subsequently failed to pay the tribute of 60,000 silver marks within three years after his release. King Albert, born in Germany, was ill-liked by the Swedish nobility and their rebellion had received help from the Danes, who intended the union to serve as a check on the growing power of the German Hanseatic League. Queen Margaret, who was a daughter of the late Danish king Valdemar Atterdag and wife of the late Norwegian king Haakon VIHaakon VI Magnusson (appr. 1340- 1380), King of Norway, son of King Magnus Ericsson of Sweden and Norway and Blanche of Namur. In 1343 he succeded his father to the Norwegian throne, who would still rule during his minority. In 1363 he married Margaret of, maneuvered to have her grand-nephew, Eric of PomeraniaEric of Pomerania Erik af Pommern (Danish title), Erik av Pommern (Erik III (Norwegian title) or Erik av Pommern (Eric XIII (Swedish title), was adopted by Margaret I of Denmark and became king of Norway ( 1389-1442), of Denmark ( 1412- 1439), and of Swed recognized as heir to the Norwegian throne and then elected king over the two other countries. Queen Margaret promised to protect the political influence and privileges of the nobility under the union, but King Eric wanted to strengthen the monarchyFor related meanings see also Monarch (disambiguation A monarchy (from the Greek monos archein , meaning "one ruler") is a form of government that has a monarch as Head of State. The distinguishing characteristic of monarchies is that the Head of State ho.
2 Conflict
The Swedes were not happy with the Danes' frequent wars on SchleswigThis article is about the region of Schleswig on the German/Danish border. There is also Schleswig, Iowa in the United States of America. The region of Schleswig Slesvig in Danish) covers the area about 30 km north and 40 km south of the border between Ge, HolsteinHolstein also refers to a breed of cattle. Holstein Hol shtayn) is the southern part of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, between the rivers Elbe, Eider and the Schlei firth. The capital of Holstein is Kiel. 1111- 1474 an Imperial Reichsunmittelbar County of, MecklenburgMecklenburg located in Northern Germany, was a duchy within the Holy Roman Empire, then divided, and after 1815 two Grand Duchies, then a state, and now part of the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Its borders are the Baltic Sea to the north, and PomeraniaPomerania ( Polish: Pomorze German: Pommern and Pommerellen Pomeranian (Kashubian): Pomorze and Pomorsk Latin: Pomerania Pomorania is a geographical and historical region in northern Poland and Germany on the south coasts of the Baltic Sea between and on, which were a disturbance to Swedish exports to the European continent (notably ironThis article is about metallic iron. For the ironing device, see ironing manganese iron cobalt Fe Ru Full table General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metal Group, Period, Block 8 (VIIIB), 4 , d Density, Hardness 7874 kg/m3,). Furthermore, the centralizing of government to Denmark caused suspicions. The Swedish Privy Council wanted to retain a fair degree of self-government. The unity of the union eroded in the 1430s, even to the point of armed rebellion, leading to the expulsion of Danish forces from Sweden. Eric was deposed in 1438– 1439 as the union king and succeeded by the childless Christopher of Bavaria. In the power vacuum that arose following Christopher's death in 1448, Sweden elected Charles VIII king with the intent to reestablish the union under the Swedish Crown. Charles was elected king of Norway in the following year, but the counts of Holstein were more influential than the Swedes and the Norwegians together, and made the Danish Privy Council appoint Christian I of Oldenburg as king, and were not about to surrender their claim to the union throne that easily. During the next seven decades struggle for power and the wars between Sweden and Denmark would dominate the union.
After the successful re-taking of Sweden by Christian II and the subsequent Stockholm bloodbath in 1520, the Swedes started yet another rebellion which ousted the Danish forces once again in 1521. While independence had been reclaimed the election of King Gustav of the Vasa on June 6, 1523 restored sovereignty for Sweden and finally dissolved the union.
