This day 1520 - Gustav Vasa

On this day in 1520 the nobleman Gustav Eriksson Vasa set foot on Swedish land after being imprisoned in Denmark for a year. Two years earlier, in 1518, the Danish king Kristian II had demanded hostages in exchange for making negotiations with the head of the Swedish nation, Sten Sture, in Stockholm. Instead of holding his word he sailed home to Denmark with the five hostages, Gustav Vasa beinge the youngest of them. Gustav spent a year in prison at Kalö castle before escaping to Lübeck where he stayed for eight months.

King Kristian beat Sten Sture at the battle on the ice of Åsunden in January 1520. The Swedish resistance stood without a leader. What really happened when Gustav set foot south of Kalmar has been debated. He was still very young, only 24 years old, and maybe leader of the resistance and becoming king was not on top of his agenda.

Negotiations between Swedes and Kristian II took place from June until a deal was made in early September. Everything would be forgotten and nobody would be harmed because of their actions. The king entered Stockholm 7 September and the church bells were ringing to honor the new ruler.

Gustav was at the time visiting his brother-in-law, Joakim Brahe, near Nyköping when he heard the news. Brahe was called to Stockholm and would not listen to Gustav's warnings. Kristian was crowned King of Sweden 4 November and 8-9 November over 80 Swedish noblemen were executed, there among Joakim Brahe and Gustav's father, Erik Johansson Vasa. Gustav became a fugitiv, wanted by the Danes, and now his war against Kristian II really took off.

Source:  http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Vasa

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