Treaty of Stettin (1570)

TheTreaty of Stettin(German:Frieden von Stettin,Swedish:Freden i Stettin,Danish:Freden i Stettin) of 13 December 1570, ended theNorthern Seven Years' Warfought betweenSwedenandDenmarkwith its internally fragmented alliance ofLübeckandPoland.^[1]It also settled Swedish, Danish, andHoly Roman Imperialclaims regarding theLivonian War.^[2]Unfavourable for Sweden, the treaty assured Danish hegemony inNorthern Europefor a short period. Yet, because of its inconclusiveness, it did not prevent further warfare between Denmark-Norway and Sweden, which ended only in the 1720s.^[1]^[3]^[4]

Background

TheKalmar UnioncomprisingSweden,DenmarkandNorway,had broken apart in 1523.Frederick II of Denmarkattempted to restore the Union under his rule. Frederick underlined his claim by using the Union's three crowns in his coat of arms and invading Sweden in 1563; both actions are considered the starting events of the Seven Years' War.^[1]While the Danes had the upper hand in land battles and capturedÄlvsborg,the Swedes performed better in naval battles and inLivonia,which had been secularized before and now was a subject of territorial competition of the surrounding powers.^[5]

The treaty

In July 1570,Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor,initiated a peace congress in Stettin (after 1945Szczecin), aiming to mediate betweenSwedenandDenmark.^[4]Several diplomats acted asmediators:The host,Pomeranian duke Johann Friedrich of Pomerania-Stettin,acted as head of the delegates sent by his emperor, Maximilian;Frenchenvoy at the Danish courtCharles Dancey,who had been heavily involved in the preparation of the congress, was among the mediators;Martin Kromer,bishop of Warmia(Ermland) and others were sent by the Polish kingSigismund Augustus;Augustus of Saxonyattended in person. Of the parties, Denmark was represented byPeder Bille(Bilde),Jørgen Rosenkrantz,Henrik Rantzau,Niels Kaas,andJoachim Henke(Hinck); Sweden sent baronJöran Gera,Bengt Gylta,Erik Gyllenstjerna(Gyllenstierna), and others.^[6]

In the resulting treaty, Sweden and Denmark-Norway agreed on the following:

The Danish-Norwegian king,Frederick II of Denmark,renounced all claims upon Sweden.^[4]
The Swedish king,John III of Sweden,renounced all pretensions to Norwegian provinces andGotland.^[4]Thus, Sweden acknowledged for the first timeSkåne,BlekingeandHallandas Danish provinces.
Sweden was forced to pay 150,000riksdalerfor the ransom ofÄlvsborg Castle(Älvsborgs lösen;Elfsborgs løsen).^[1]^[4]To pay this extraordinarily high amount of money, Sweden heavily taxed all moveables in the country, resulting in further impoverishment of the war-torn population. Unburned towns had to pay one twelfth, peasants one tenth, burned down towns one eighteenth of their properties' value.^[7]
Sweden was also forced to pay 75,000dalerto Lübeck.^[8]
Sweden turned over her possessions inLivoniafor a payment by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II.^[1]

Outcome

With the treaty, Denmark became the supreme and dominating power inNorthern Europefor a short period, yet failed to restore theKalmar Union.The disputes concerning the three crowns insignia remained unsolved, and the unfavorable conditions for Sweden led to a series of future conflictsending only in 1720/21.^[1]

Lübeckgained nothing from the treaty: though granted privileges by Sweden, these did not enhance Lübeck's position asJohn III of Swedengranted the same privileges to thePomeranianport ofStralsund,his war-time ally. The payments promised to Lübeck were never transferred. Swedish pirates continued to capture Lübeck's shipments, and the town as well as the wholeHanseatic Leaguehad to acknowledge her degradation to a second-class power.^[2]

Neither didMaximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor,pay the compensation promised to Sweden, and therefore lost his influence on the Baltic affairs. The terms of the treaty regardingLivoniawere ignored, and the contemporaryLivonian Wardragged on.^[2]

Denmark received all payments, though always late except for the first. John III was determined to keep hisonly porton the Scandinavian west coast, and his efforts included the sale of warships and devaluation of the Swedish currency.^[2]

References

^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^fNordstrom, Byron J. (2000).Scandinavia Since 1500,p. 36,ISBN 0-8166-2098-9,ISBN 978-0-8166-2098-2
^^a ^b ^c ^dPeterson, Gary Dean (2007).Warrior Kings of Sweden. The Rise of an Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.McFarland. p. 90.ISBN 0-7864-2873-2.
^The Riverside Dictionary of Biography: A Comprehensive Reference Covering 10,000 of the World's Most Important People, From Ancient Times to the Present Day, herausgegeben von American Heritage Dictionary,2005, p. 295,ISBN 0-618-49337-9,ISBN 978-0-618-49337-1
^^a ^b ^c ^d ^eR. Nisbet Bain,Scandinavia: A Political History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1900,2006 [1905], p. 83,ISBN 0-543-93900-6,ISBN 978-0-543-93900-5
^Fred Singleton, Frederick Bernard Singleton, Anthony F. Upton,A Short History of Finland,1998, p. 37,ISBN 0-521-64701-0,ISBN 978-0-521-64701-4
^Eduard Maria Oettinger,Geschichte des dänischen Hofes,1857, pp. 242-3
^Charles Poor Kindleberger,A Financial History of Western Europe,1993, p. 227,ISBN 0-19-507738-5,ISBN 978-0-19-507738-4
^Eriksson, Bo (2007).Lützen 1632(in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedts Pocket. p. 50.ISBN 978-91-7263-790-0.

External links

[Nordstrom_2000-1] Nordstrom, Byron J. (2000).Scandinavia Since 1500,p. 36,ISBN 0-8166-2098-9,ISBN 978-0-8166-2098-2

[Peterson90-2] Peterson, Gary Dean (2007).Warrior Kings of Sweden. The Rise of an Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.McFarland. p. 90.ISBN 0-7864-2873-2.

[3] The Riverside Dictionary of Biography: A Comprehensive Reference Covering 10,000 of the World's Most Important People, From Ancient Times to the Present Day, herausgegeben von American Heritage Dictionary,2005, p. 295,ISBN 0-618-49337-9,ISBN 978-0-618-49337-1

[Bain_2006-4] R. Nisbet Bain,Scandinavia: A Political History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1900,2006 [1905], p. 83,ISBN 0-543-93900-6,ISBN 978-0-543-93900-5

[5] Fred Singleton, Frederick Bernard Singleton, Anthony F. Upton,A Short History of Finland,1998, p. 37,ISBN 0-521-64701-0,ISBN 978-0-521-64701-4

[6] Eduard Maria Oettinger,Geschichte des dänischen Hofes,1857, pp. 242-3

[7] Charles Poor Kindleberger,A Financial History of Western Europe,1993, p. 227,ISBN 0-19-507738-5,ISBN 978-0-19-507738-4

[8] Eriksson, Bo (2007).Lützen 1632(in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedts Pocket. p. 50.ISBN 978-91-7263-790-0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

v t e Campaigns and treaties of theLivonian War(1558–83)
Campaigns	Narva (1558) Dorpat (1558) Neishloss Neuhausen Ringen Zessvengen Dorpat (1559) Erms Ergeme Ula Reval (1571–72) Wesenberg Reval (1576–77) Wenden (1577–78) Narva (1581) Radziwiłł's raid (1581) Báthory's campaign (1577–82)(Pskov)
Treaties	Pozvol Vilnius (1559) Novgorod Vilnius (1561) Mozhaysk Dorpat Grodno Roskilde¹ Stettin¹ Drohiczyn Jam Zapolski Narva-Plussa
¹Treaties primarily concerning theNorthern Seven Years' Warwhich contain agreements regarding Livonia

Background

The treaty

Outcome

See also

References

External links