The union was not quite continuous; there were several short interruptions. Legally, the countries remained separatesovereign states, but their domestic and foreign policies were directed by a common monarch.Gustav Vasa's election as King of Sweden on 6 June 1523, and his triumphantentry into Stockholm 11 days later, marked Sweden's final secession from the Kalmar Union.[2] The Danish king formally renounced his claim to Sweden in 1524 at theTreaty of Malmö.
The union was the work of Scandinavian aristocracy who sought to counter the influence of theHanseatic League, a northern German trade league centered around the Baltic and North Seas. Denmark in particular was in apower struggle with the League and had recently suffered a humiliating defeat in theDanish-Hanseatic War (1361-1370) that allowed the League to become even more powerful. On the personal level, the union was achieved by QueenMargaret I of Denmark (1353–1412). She was a daughter of KingValdemar IV of Denmark and had married KingHaakon VI of Norway and Sweden, who was the son of KingMagnus IV of Sweden, Norway andScania. Margaret succeeded in having her and Haakon's sonOlaf recognized as heir to the throne of Denmark. In 1376, Olaf inherited the crown of Denmark from his maternal grandfather as King Olaf II, with his mother as guardian; when Haakon VI died in 1380, Olaf also inherited the crown of Norway.[3]
Margaret became regent of Denmark and Norway when Olaf died in 1387, leaving her without an heir.[4] She adopted her great-nephewEric of Pomerania the same year.[5] In 1388, Swedish nobles called upon her help against KingAlbert.[6] After Margaret defeated Albert in 1389, her heir Eric was proclaimed King of Norway.[4] Eric was subsequently elected King of Denmark and Sweden in 1396 under the banner of theHouse of Griffin.[4] His coronation was held inKalmar on 17 June 1397.[7]
One main impetus for the union's formation was to block German expansion northward into theBaltic region. The main reason for its failure to survive was the perpetual struggle between the monarch, who wanted a strong unified state, and the Swedish and Danish nobility, which did not.[8]
Diverging interests (especially theSwedish nobility's dissatisfaction with the dominant role played by Denmark andHolstein) gave rise to a conflict that hampered the union in several intervals starting in the 1430s. TheEngelbrekt rebellion, which started in 1434, led to the overthrow of King Erik (in Denmark and Sweden in 1439, as well as Norway in 1442).[11] The aristocracy sided with the rebels.[11]
King Erik's foreign policy, in particular his conflict with the Hanseatic League, necessitated greater taxation and complicated exports of iron, which in turn may have precipitated the rebellion.[11] Discontent with the nature of Erik's regime has also been cited as a motivating factor for the rebellion.[11] Erik also lacked a standing army and had limited tax revenues.[11]
The death ofChristopher of Bavaria (who had no heirs) in 1448 ended a period in which the three Scandinavian kingdoms were uninterruptedly united for a lengthy period.[11]Karl Knutsson Bonde ruled as king of Sweden (1448–1457, 1464–1465, and 1467–1470) and Norway (1449-1450).Christian of Oldenburg was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). Karl and Christian fought over control of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, leading Christian to seize Sweden from him from 1457 to 1464 before a rebellion led Karl to become king of Sweden again.[11] When Karl died in 1470, Christian tried to become king of Sweden again, but was defeated bySten Sture the Elder in the 1471battle of Brunkeberg outside Stockholm.[11]
After Karl's death, Sweden was mostly ruled by a series of "protectors of the realm" (riksföreståndare), with the Danish kings attempting to assert control. First of these protectors was Sten Sture, who kept Sweden under his control until 1497, when the Swedish nobility deposed him. A peasant rebellion led Sture to become regent of Sweden again in 1501. After his death, Sweden was ruled bySvante Nilsson (1504–1512) and then Svante's sonSten Sture the Younger (1512–1520).[11] Sten Sture the Younger was killed in the 1520 Battle of Bogesund when the Danish kingChristian II invaded Sweden with a large army.[11] Subsequently, Christian II was crowned King of Sweden, and supporters of Sten Sture were executed en masse in theStockholm Bloodbath.[11]
One of the union's last structures remained until 1536/1537, when theDanish Privy Council, in the aftermath of theCount's Feud, declared Norway a Danish province. In practice, Norway kept its status as a separate kingdom and its own laws, but its council and other central institutions were dissolved, and it became politically subordinate to Denmark.[13][14][15] ThisDenmark–Norway union lasted nearly three centuries, until Norway wasceded to Sweden in 1814. The laterSwedish–Norwegian union lasted until 1905, when PrinceCarl of Denmark was elected king of independent Norway.[16]
According to historian Sverre Bagge, the Kalmar Union was unstable for several reasons:[9]
The power of national aristocracies.
The varied effects of the Kalmar Union's foreign policy on the three kingdoms. For example, attempted expansions into Northern Germany may have served Danish interests, but was costly to Swedes who had to pay higher taxes and were unable to export iron to the Hanseatic League.
Geography complicated control of the union in the event of rebellion.
The large territorial size of the union complicated control.
Denmark was not strong enough to force Norway and Sweden to stay within the union.
^Norway retained none of its prior possessions, but Christian I pledged theNorthern Isles toScotland as insurance for his daughter's dowry in 1468; the dowry was not paid, and the islands transferred to perpetual Scottish sovereignty in 1470. After the Union's dissolution, all remaining overseas possessions Norway brought into the Union became property of the Danish monarch, who retained ownership following the transfer of the Kingdom of Norway from the Danish crown to Swedish crown (discussed in further detail below) after theNapoleonic Wars.
^Nominal possession: Norway claimed suzerainty over the island prior to the Union's formation, but it had long since ceased exercising any administrative control over the European settlements there. No direct contact took place between Greenland and the Kalmar Union during the latter's existence.
^For a somewhat different view see"The Union Of Calmar —Nordic Great Power Or Northern German Outpost?".Politics and reformations: communities, polities, nations, and empires essays in honor of Thomas A. Brady, Jr. Studies in Medieval and Reformation traditions. Leiden: Brill. 2007. pp. 471–472.ISBN978-90-04-16173-3.
Albrectsen, Esben, ed. (1997).Danmark-Norge. 1: Fællesskabet bliver til / af Esben Albrectsen. Oslo: Univ.Forl.ISBN978-87-500-3496-4.
Carlsson, Gottfrid (1945).Medeltidens nordiska unionstanke (in Swedish). Geber.
Christensen, Aksel Erhardt (1980).Kalmarunionen og nordisk politik 1319-1439. København: Gyldendal.ISBN978-87-00-51833-9.
Enemark, Poul (1979).Fra Kalmarbrev til Stockholms blodbad: den nordiske trestatsunions epoke 1397-1521. Temahæfter i Nordens historie. København: Nordisk ministerråd : Gyldendal.ISBN978-87-01-80611-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
Gustafsson, Harald (20 October 2017). "The Forgotten Union: Scandinavian dynastic and territorial politics in the 14th century and the Norwegian-Swedish connection".Scandinavian Journal of History.42 (5):560–582.doi:10.1080/03468755.2017.1374028.ISSN0346-8755.
Helle, Knut; Kouri, E. I.; Olesen, Jens E., eds. (2003).The Cambridge history of Scandinavia. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-47299-9.OCLC53893623.
Politics and reformations: communities, polities, nations, and empires essays in honor of Thomas A. Brady, Jr. Studies in Medieval and Reformation traditions. Leiden: Brill. 2007.ISBN978-90-04-16173-3.
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