The Kalmar Union 1397-1523

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The Kalmar Union 1397 – 1523

During that time, the kingdoms Denmark, Norway and Sweden were joined under one rule. They had a common monarch who was queen Margaret I. of Denmark. She was also the founder of the Kalmar Union and the capital was Copenhagen. The more official marking of this unification happened in the Swedish city of Kalmar. The coronation of Eric of Pomerania took place and he was made to rule over all three countries in 1397. ‘The realm had a size of 3,000,000 sq. kilometers in 1397.’

Legally the countries remained separate sovereign states. However they had domestic and foreign policies which were directed by the same common monarch. Afterwards there were different interests, like for instance the Swedish nobleness’ dissatisfaction with the very dominant role of Denmark and Holstein, which were reasons for a conflict. This problem could weight the union down. From the 1430s on, there were issues in intervals which turned out as very hard to resolve. In 1523 then, Gustav Vasa became king of Sweden and the Kalmar Union fell apart. That was also when the Danish king lost control over the Swedish kingdom. As a following, it was only the personal union Denmark-Norway survived until 1814.

The Kalmar Union was created

Since 1375 queen Margaret I. of Denmark fought to gain power in Denmark. At the back of her head she maybe had the idea of also the idea of reigning over the two other kingdoms, namely Sweden and Norway. It was a hard competition with reversals but in the end, she succeeded. The crown of Denmark was hers. In the period of 1375-1385 she also claimed the true power in the country for her son Oluf. When Margaret’s husband Haakon VI of Norway died in 1380, her son Oluf ascended the throne. After Oluf pass...

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...hough, with the signing of lists encouraging a dissolution of the union, 244,765 women showed that they also concerned themselves with the issue.
Negotiations are conducted in Karlstad, Sweden
On 31st August the same year, negotiation related to Norway’s official egression from the union were effected. Moreover the relations were very taut. Troops were committed to the two sides of the boundary as a precaution. The war clouds were gathering. Fortunately, the negotiations between both kingdoms came to a pacific termination on 23rd September. The king Oscar II formally acclaimed Norway as being an autonomous country and hence, he resigned from the Norwegian throne on 26th October 1905. As well as this, he did not show any interest in becoming a prince of Sweden as Norwegian king. Hereby, the Swedish-Norwegian union was disestablished without a single shot being fired.

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