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| Cudgel War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar against Sigismund | |||||||
 Burned Village (1879) byAlbert Edelfelt | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Peasants andarmy | Nobility andarmy | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Jaakko Ilkka  Pentti Pouttu (POW) Hannu Krankka Yrjö Kontsas Israel Larsson Support: Enemies of Fleming among the nobility  Duke Charles | Clas FlemingGödik FinckeIvar TavastAbraham Melkiorsson Axel Kurck | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1,000–4,000+ | 1,500–3,300+ | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
>2,550 dead >500POW | Unknown but significant | ||||||
| The strength varied in different engagements and some figures are approximations. | |||||||
TheCudgel War (also known as theClub War; Finnish:Nuijasota; Swedish:Klubbekriget) was a 1596–1597peasant uprising inFinland, which was then part of theKingdom of Sweden.[2] The name of the uprising derives from the fact that the peasants armed themselves with various blunt weapons, such ascudgels,flails, andmaces, since they were seen as the most efficient weapons against their heavily armoured enemies. Theyeomen also hadswords, somefirearms, and twocannons at their disposal. Their opponents, the troops ofClas Eriksson Fleming, were professional, heavily armed and armouredmen-at-arms.[3]
Modern Finnish historiography sees the uprising in the context of the conflict between DukeCharles andSigismund, King of Sweden and Poland (War against Sigismund). Charles agitated the peasants to revolt against the nobility of Finland, which supported Sigismund during the conflict.
The25-year war between theKingdom of Sweden and theTsardom of Russia had increased the tax burden, the most hated of which was the "castle camp", i.e. the accommodation, subsistence and payment of wages at the expense of thepeasants. The peasants found it intolerable, in particular, that noble and inferiorsquires who equippedcavalry soldiers for the army were allowed to collect castle camp dues even when the soldiers were not at war, and that Klaus Fleming kept the army in the castle camp for many years after the war to keep it available for his use. There were many abuses and illegalities towards the peasants committed by the nobles and their armies in collecting castle camp dues. Other key explanations for the outbreak of cudgel warfare have included "the burdens of wartime and severe failed harvests, the chaos caused by war fatigue, political provocations, and the exploitation of peasants by anobility who grew in number and wealth".[4]
An uprising began on Christmas Eve 1595 and was initially successful, but shortly thereafter was crushed by cavalry.[5] Officially, the Cudgel War began inOstrobothnia with an attack by peasants onIsokyrö's church on 25 November 1596.[1][6] The peasants won a number of encounters with infantry.[6]Klaus Fleming began negotiating a truce that required the surrender of peasant leaderJaakko Ilkka. Ilkka, along with his wife and some of his men, fled to avoid being handed over and the peasant army scattered, pursued by the soldiers. At least 1,500 were killed within the next two months.[6] Along with Ilkka, five other rebellion leaders were executed on 27 January 1597.[7]
Israel Larsson was named as the new governor of central and northern Ostrobothnia, and planned to support the rebellion until he fled, rather than face Fleming. Leaderless, the peasants attacked on 24 February 1597, and fought their last battle on theSantavuori Hill inIlmajoki.[1] Over 1,000 were killed and 500 captured.[6]
The insurgents were mostly Finnish peasants fromOstrobothnia, NorthernTavastia, andSavo. The events can also be seen as a part of a larger power struggle betweenKing Sigismund andDuke Charles.[3][8]
In his workNuijasota, sen syyt ja tapaukset (1857–1859) (English:Cudgel War, its reasons and causes), historian andfennomanYrjö Koskinen (né Forsman) saw the peasants as fighting for freedom and justice.Fredrika Runeberg'sSigrid Liljeholm (1862), one of the first Finnish historical novels, depicts women's fates during the war.Albert Edelfelt's paintingBurned Village (1879) depicts a woman, a child, and an old man hiding behind a rock as a village burns in the background.[9] The poetKaarlo Kramsu praised the insurgents and lamented their defeat in patriotic poems such asIlkka,Hannu Krankka, andSantavuoren tappelu, published inRunoelmia (1887). After theFinnish Civil War, the debate has centered on an interpretation that emphasizes Duke Charles's role in inciting the revolt, as found inPentti Renvall'sKuninkaanmiehiä ja kapinoitsijoita Vaasa-kauden Suomessa (1949); and an explanation that stresses the roots of the rebellion in social injustice and class conflict, as argued byHeikki Ylikangas inNuijasota (1977). Ahistorical reenactment of the Cudgel War is conducted yearly in the Kavalahti scout camp.[10] Jaakko Ilkka took the 75th place in theGreat Finns TV show. A commemorativesilvercoin was also minted to mark the occasion.[11]
