An anomalous war

Tomas Blom´s book ”Dackefejden -  det stora upproret” is a book about an intriguing episode in Swedish history, the so-called Dacke War in 1542-43, actually a peasant rebellion in Småland directed against the rule of King Gustav Vasa. While the rebellion was brutally suppressed, it´s nevertheless considered to be the most successful “pure” peasant uprising in Swedish history. Its leader, Nils Dacke, was vilified for centuries in Swedish establishment propaganda, but today the tables have pretty much turned, with Gustav Vasa being considered the bad guy instead.

Gustav Vasa was king of Sweden from 1523 to 1560, and had come to power already in 1521 after defeating the tyrannical Danish king Christian II, who also claimed the Swedish throne. At the time, Vasa was supported by armed peasants in various parts of the country, including Småland. After the successful war of liberation, Vasa soon encountered opposition from various groups in Swedish society, including sections of the peasantry, who felt betrayed by the new king. During most of the 15^th century, Sweden had been relatively decentralized. Peasants had organs of local self-government and frequently didn´t pay any taxes, various royal and noble factions often called upon armed peasant detachments to fight for their interests, and the Catholic bishops had their own castles and private armies. Gustav Vasa, by contrast, wanted to create a centralized state administration with the king (i.e. himself) firmly in command. This necessitated a sharp increase in the tax burden for the peasantry, but also less power for various local factions of the nobility or the clergy. The Protestant Reformation, which Gustav Vasa supported, gave the king an excellent opportunity to increase royal revenues by confiscating Church property. The king´s bailiffs were notoriously meticulous, often taking all valuable objects from the churches, including monstrances, statues of the saints or tapestry. This was not just a way of taxing the Church, but also an indirect taxation of the peasantry, since parish churches were built and financed by the local peasants. Of course, the removal of monstrances and other typically Catholic objects of worship could be given a Protestant theological spin.

Thus, Gustav Vasa was the creator of the “early modern state” in Sweden, or perhaps even the first truly centralized Swedish kingdom. As already noted, however, this course arouse considerable opposition – and the rebels often took to arms. While all revolts failed, the Dacke War nevertheless stands out on a number of points. First, it was a rebellion organized and led by the peasants themselves, not by nobles mobilizing peasant detachments. The main leader, Nils Dacke, must have been a man of considerable intelligence and charisma. Second, the rebellion initially succeeded in defeating the king´s mercenaries, forcing Gustav Vasa to sign a truce with Dacke. For a short while, Dacke and his men controlled Småland and parts of Östergötland as a de facto independent republic. One reason was that Småland had an effective military organization, originally created and led by the nobility, but now turned against the king by the peasant population.

Third, the rebellion was unabashedly Catholic. Other peasant or popular rebellions in Europe during the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period were usually associated with “heretical” movements. A good example would be the German Peasants´ War, usually regarded as Protestant in inspiration. In Sweden, by contrast, Protestantism was connected to royal prerogatives and centralization, and the number of Anabaptist radicals roaming the Swedish hinterland must have been exactly zero. This created the somewhat anomalous situation that the Dacke War defended the Catholic Church against state encroachment, and the rebels were indeed supported by the local clergy. Fourth, the rebels had contacts with outside forces – German towns and princes – interested in overthrowing the Swedish monarch. In the end, nothing came out of it, but it sure is an interesting question what could have happened if Dacke had gotten military support from more powerful players…

The author of “Dackefejden” is a popular history writer rather than a “real” historian. This is usually no problem, since his book is (of course) based on works by historians. However, sometimes his interpretations of events are somewhat peculiar. Thus, he constantly refers to Gustav Vasa´s actions as “Machiavellian” and compares them to various pieces of advice given by Machiavelli to rulers. Yet, he admits that there is no evidence Vasa ever read “The Prince”! Something tells me Gustav Eriksson Vasa wasn´t the first ruler in world history that lied, dissimulated, broke his promises, manipulated public opinion by skilful propaganda, and so on. Indeed, I believe this happened long before Machiavelli. Where did Old Nicky get his ideas from, do you think? I also managed to find one factual error in the book. Yes, Blom has confused the Elevation with the Benediction. The monstrance is used during the latter.

Nils Dacke went into hiding after the final suppression of the revolt, and was eventually killed by royal troops while trying to escape. Gustav Vasa was for centuries revered as the father of the modern Swedish nation. Indeed, the date of his coronation (6^th June) is still celebrated as the national holiday of Sweden. However, in the long run Vasa´s reputation couldn´t survive the democratization of Sweden during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Autocratic monarchs are no longer in fashion. After 500 years, the Catholic peasant commander Nils Dacke has been rehabilitated by a society he would have considered just as strange as a Protestant early modern state…