1568 peace treaties between Denmark?Norway, Lubeck, and Sweden
Treaties of Roskilde
The procession to Frederiksborg Castle for the peace banquet following the signing of the Treaty of Roskilde
|
Type
| Trilateral treaty
|
---|
Context
| Northern Seven Years' War
|
---|
Drafted
| 18 and 22 November 1568
|
---|
Condition
| Not ratified
|
---|
Parties
|
|
---|
The
Treaties of
Roskilde
of 18 and 22 November 1568 were peace treaties between the kingdoms of
Denmark?Norway
and the allied
Free and Hanseatic City of Lubeck
on one side, and the
Swedish kingdom
on the other side, supposed to end the
Northern Seven Years' War
after the
de facto
succession of the later king
John III
of
Sweden
. Negotiated on John's initiative, he refused ratification, viewing the concessions his envoys made in Roskilde as too far-reaching. Most notably these concessions included Swedish obligations to pay Denmark?Norway her war costs and to cede
Swedish Estonia
. Thus, the war dragged on until it was concluded by the
Treaty of Stettin (1570)
.
Background
[
edit
]
After the Swedish King
Erik XIV
had become insane and
murdered leading aristocrats
in late 1567, his brother
Duke John
(the later King John III) assumed control of the kingdom and had Erik imprisoned.
[1]
When this was accomplished, he sent a delegation to Denmark to negotiate for an end of the
Northern Seven Years' War
inherited from his brother.
[2]
Frederik II of Denmark
was unable to exploit the inner-Swedish conflict, as his treasury was drained by the costs of his German mercenary armies, on which he had relied throughout the war,
[3]
and the rebuilding of the Danish navy, finished by the summer of 1567, after a large part of it had sunk in a storm in July 1566.
[4]
Furthermore, duke John maintained amicable relations to
Sigismund II Augustus
of
Poland?Lithuania
, thwarting hopes for an anti-Swedish alliance in the contemporary
Livonian War
.
[3]
Terms
[
edit
]
From left to right: chancellor
Johan Friis
, his secretary
Niels Kaas
(who later became chancellor himself), hofmester
Peder Oxe
(Rosenkrantz and Bilde not shown)
The Swedish delegation in Roskilde consented to all Danish and Lubeck demands.
[2]
The Dano-Swedish treaty thus included the restoration of the pre-war borders between the kingdoms, except for the
Swedish dominion in Estonia
, established in 1561 during the Livonian War, which was to be ceded to
Magnus of Holstein
, brother of the Danish king.
[2]
Furthermore, the Swedish crown was obliged to pay for the Danish war costs from 1563 to 1568.
[2]
The draft was signed on 18 November 1568 by the Swedish envoys Joren Ericksson Gyllensterne (Jorgen Gyldenstiern of Fouglevig), Ture Bielke (Thure Bielcke of Salestad) and Niels Jensson (secretary), and for the Danish side by
Peer Oxsse
(Per or Peder Oxe of Gisselfeld,
hofmester
),
Johan Friis
(Frijs of Hesselagger,
chancellor
), Holger Rossenkrantzs (Holger Ottesen
Rosenkrantz
of Boller, governor in North Jutland), Peder Billde (Bilde of Svanholm, commander of Callundborg) and Nils Kaass (Kaas of Taarupgaard, secretary).
[5]
In the treaty between Lubeck and Sweden, the latter confirmed Lubeck's privileges
[6]
as of 1523,
[2]
[nb 1]
and restored peace between the parties.
[6]
The draft was signed on 22 November 1568 by the same Swedish and Danish envoys who signed the Dano-Swedish agreement, and in addition, by Christoffer Thode (Christoph Tode), Calixtus Schein and Frederijck Kuevell for Lubeck as well as by Caspar Paselick, who signed for Denmark.
[7]
Consequences
[
edit
]
By accepting the Danish terms, the members of the Swedish delegation had exceeded their competence, and John (III) refused to ratify the treaties.
[2]
John had his refusal backed up by a declaration from a
Riksdag of the Estates
summoned in
Stockholm
: Frederick II was to receive "powder, lead and pikes" instead of war reparations.
[8]
Likewise, Frederick II summoned a Danish riksdag, the only one summoned between 1536 and 1627,
[9]
in January 1570.
[2]
By threatening to abdicate, Frederick II secured the riksdag's and the Danish Council's consent to new taxes, which were to finance the planned decisive blow on Sweden in the year 1570.
[9]
While this blow never materialised,
[9]
a combined fleet of Danish and Lubeck vessels
[2]
led by
Per Munck
had previously bombarded
Reval
(Tallinn), the principal city in Swedish Estonia, for eleven days in July 1569;
[9]
In November of the same year, Danish land forces had re-captured
Varberg Fortress
from the Swedish defendants but lost their commanders
Daniel Rantzau
and
Franz Brokenhuus
during the siege.
[10]
Lubeck, in addition to war costs and losses amounting to more than 300,000 talers, lost much of her pre-war Swedish trade to other
Hanseatic cities
.
[2]
On 13 December 1570, the parties finally settled for peace in the
treaty of Stettin
.
[11]
Notes
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Crichton & Wheaton (1838), p. 29.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
Roberts (1968), p. 251.
- ^
a
b
Roberts (1968), p. 250.
- ^
Frost (2000), p. 35.
- ^
Odhner et al. (1897), p. 105; Regesta diplomatica ... (1870), p. 288.
- ^
a
b
Bes (2007), p. 498.
- ^
Odhner et al. (1897), p. 244.
- ^
Bain (1905), p. 82.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Frost (2000), p. 38.
- ^
Crichton & Wheaton (1838), p. 30.
- ^
Frost (2000), pp. 13, 37 ff.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Bain, Robert Nisbet
(2006) [1905].
Scandinavia: a Political History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1900
. Boston: Adamant Media Corp.
ISBN
9780543939005
.
- Bes, Lennart; et al., eds. (2007).
Baltic Connections. Archival Guide to the Maritime Relations of the Countries Around the Baltic Sea (including the Netherlands) 1450?1800
(in German). Vol. I: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV.
ISBN
9780543939005
.
- Crichton, Andrew; Wheaton, Henry (1838).
Scandinavia, Ancient and Modern; Being a history of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway
. Vol. 2 (2 ed.). Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.
OCLC
1017006105
.
- Frost, Robert I.
(2000).
The Northern Wars. War, State, and Society in Northeastern Europe, 1558?1721
. Modern wars in perspective. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.
ISBN
0-582-06429-5
.
- Odhner, Clas Teodor (Theodor)
, ed. (1897).
Meddelanden fran Svenska Riksarkivet
. Vol. 4. Stockholm: Kungl. Boktryckeriet.
OCLC
49284794
.
- Regesta diplomatica historiae danicae. Index chronologicus diplomatum et literarum, historiam danicam ab antiquissimis temporibus usque ad annum 1660
. Vol. II.I. Copenhagen:
Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
(Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab). 1870.
OCLC
921900352
.
- Roberts, Michael
(1968).
The early Vasas. A history of Sweden 1523?1611
. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
0-521-06930-0
.
External links
[
edit
]