Chapter XV: The Rise of Mecklenburg and Fall of Denmark
On the 11th of February 1503 King Sten I dies, three months after the passing away of his beloved Spanish consort. His last years had seen the rise of the power of the Royal bureaucracy at the expense of the King and the traditional powers of the nobility and clergy. Many looked at their newfound power with jealous eyes and wished to curb it. The King’s death and the ongoing war brought them the opportunity they needed.
For the war against Denmark had bogged down. While the initial stages had seen the rapid Swedish occupation of Sjælland by force under the fairly skilled General Hemming Gadh, there was little hope to capitalize on these successes due to the slow strategic mobility of the armies, unprovoked peasant revolts in Karelia (believed to have been incited by Muscowite agents) and the German surprise attack against Pommern in October 1501.
Though quick Swedish diplomacy had guaranteed the support of England, who sought to protect their holdings in Holstein against Mecklenburg’s expansionism, they invaded and took both Vor- and Hinterpommern in less then a year, and sent large raiding parties into Skåne, Västergötland, and even as far north as Lappland. They hit the dispersed Swedish armies moving towards Norway and scattered them.
In August 1502, the Swedish government decided to accept fact and focus their efforts on Denmark-Norway, grudgingly giving up all their holdings on the German coast to Mecklenburg.
Damn those underhanded Mecklenburgians! But I’ll be back!
The Swedish command used this momentary respite to import new weapons for both their army and navy, but more importantly to prepare for the election of their new King. Though no-one dared mention it in public, many nobles were overjoyed by the news of Sten’s death. For now it was up to them to elect a new King, and they would not make the same mistake twice; this time they would elect one of their own. The war somewhat complicated matters, but eventually all relevant nobles made it to the election without a hitch.
25th of February, 1503
An undisclosed location, somewhere in Sweden. A number of nobles, bigwigs and suchlike are assembled and are making quite a ruckus.
Advisor: Order, to order please. *Sigh*
Olof: Would you all PLEASE SHUT UP?!
The noise abruptly ceases and the nobles take their seats.
Advisor: Alright, you have all made up your minds I hope?
Prominent Noble: That we have, clerk.
Advisor: Eka, since you are apparently the self-proclaimed leader, perhaps you could tell me whom you wish to elect?
Johan Eka: We elect Svante Nilsson Sture.
Advisor: Nilsson? But he is a war-mongering, aristocratic brute!
Johan Eka: Exactly.
Advisor: Oh, I see what you are playing at Johan Eka, but I do not mind. Um, in fact, I WANTED him to be elected all along! Yep.
This rather unexpected declaration causes some murmuring in the crowds.
Lesser Noble, whispering: Sir, what if tells the truth?
Johan Eka: Irrelevant. If that blasted pen-pusher really is so stupid, and the other candidate had been elected, we would have been able to control him, once King, with ease. If on the other hand our favourite candidate-
Lesser Noble: Nilsson.
Johan Eka: Correct. If he’s elected King, he’s too headstrong to be easily controlled by either us or the clerks, but he shares our views and his policies will favour us anyway.
Lesser Noble: Hmm…
Advisor: Very well, do you lot agree with Eka?
The rest of the nobles mumble in agreement. All except for…
Random Noble: I DON’T! I vote for Johann Cicero of Brandenburg!
Advisor: That is not happening. He has been dead for four years.
Random Noble: Oh. Then I vote for Magnus I of Mecklenburg.
Advisor: JUST VOTE FOR NILSSON AND BE DONE WITH IT, YOU TWIT!
Random Noble: If you’re going to be rude, I’ll abstain my vote altogether.
Advisor clutches his fists in silent rage.
Chapter: XVb: The Rise of Mecklenburg and Fall of Denmark
After his election in September 1503, King Svante I (formerly Svante Nilsson Sture) lost no time preparing the army and in the spring of 1503 he felt ready to move against the Danes again. Gotland and Østlandet were captured and much plunder taken, much to the chagrin of the Danish clergy whose complaints thereof went unheard.
Before the end of the year both Bergenshus and Trøndelag were put under siege, supported by mercenaries paid for by generous gifts from the Eka family. Trøndelag fell after less then a month of siege, while Bergenshus held out. The final remains of the Danish-Norwegian army, well led and fighting with desperate vigour made a last ditch attempt to drive the Swedish armies out. It actually won some temporary victories, but by April 1504 Sweden retaliated and shattered it, driving the survivors deep into the Norwegian mountains.
In December the Eka family once again approached the King, offering the services of foreign drill instructors. But the King, valuing independence of action above anything, choose instead to listen to his economic advisors and sent a trading expedition to southern Greenland, were Denmark was unable to maintain control under the rigours of war.
In March 1505, the last Danish stronghold in Bergenshus fell and a ferocious hunt for the Danish King began. In June the Danish monarch, King Hans, was picked up by the patrolling Swedish navy while trying to escape to Iceland. He was brought back to Norway were the Swedish King and harsh peace-negotiations awaited him.
The terms of the peace, ratified as the Treaty of Bergen, were unforgiving. No territory changed hands, but the King of Denmark had to swear eternal fealty to the King of Sweden as his obedient and subservient vassal. The Union of Kalmar had effectively been reversed.
26th of June, 1505
Bergen, the site of the ongoing peace-talks. The King and his staff are seated in his tent.
Guard: Sire! The King of Denmark!
King Svante I: Yes, show him in.
The King of Denmark, obviously shaken, enters together with two adjutants.
King Svante I: Hello there, Mr. King-of-the-Danes. Here is the latest proposal for a peace treaty.
The Danish King takes the scroll from his Swedish counterpart, reads it along with his aides, and recoils with horror.
King Svante I: Are these terms acceptable, then?
Danish advisor, sternly: Sire. We Danes have a saying: Better to be a free beggar then a captured King.
King Svante I: Since you are quite captured now, Mr. Danish King-Whatever, and you too Mr. Royal Flunkey, I take it that you agree to the terms. Otherwise the hobo thing can easily be arranged.
Danish King Hans, weakly: We… we agree…
King Svante I: Good! I knew you would come to your senses eventually. Now get out of my sight.
The Danish King is almost carried away by his aides, completely devastated.
King Svante I: You know, that Danish advisor looked an awful lot like you.
Advisor: If you say so, Sire.
Diplomatic situation after the Treaty of Bergen.
The real mystery is how the Danish trading post was burnt down in the first place…
The Union of Kalmar is born again, sort of.
