Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“warrior monks” fought a similar crusade against the loosely organized Esto-
nian people, divvying up that region between themselves.
The many castles that dot Scandinavia attest to the civil warfare between
nobles. A strong central government headed by a dominant king was still cen-
turies away.
Sea trade between the Scandinavian neighbors boomed. The lucrative
trade was controlled by enterprising German businessmen who organized
Scandinavia's ports into a free-trade zone known as the Hanseatic League (c.
1200-1400). Under German direction, Scandinavia became a powerful play-
er in overseas commerce with the Continent. Cities such as Bergen, Norway,
reaped big rewards under the Hanse (see Håkon's Hall on here ). German set-
tlersemigrated toScandinavia, influencing thecultureandlanguage.By1370,
these German businessmen were so rich that they wielded more actual power
than any Scandinavian king. It took a queen to break them.
Dominant Danes: Wars and Reformation (1400-1600)
When Margrethe I of Denmark married the Norwegian king in 1363, Norway
came under Danish control (where it would remain for the next 450 years).
Denmark emerged as the region's main power. In 1397, Margrethe took on
the Hanseatic League by uniting Norway, Denmark, and Sweden against the
league with the Treaty of Kalmar. The German monopoly was broken, and
Scandinavia gained control of its own wealth. But after Margrethe, the uni-
on faltered. For a century, Swedish nobles chafed and occasionally rebelled
against Danish domination.
In 1520, Denmark invaded Sweden and—in the notorious Stockholm
Bloodbath—massacred 80 rebellious Swedish nobles in the city's main
square, Stortorget (see here ) . Gustav Vasa rallied the enraged Swedes and
drove out Denmark's King Christian (known as Christian II in Denmark and
asChristiantheTyrantinSweden).VasawascrownedkingofSwedenonJune
6, 1523 (now Sweden's flag day). He centralized the Swedish government and
Protestantized the country, seizing church property to form a strong nation-
state. In many ways, this was the birth of modern Sweden (and the origin of
the name for Wasa flatbread).
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