The Final Argument: war and the merging of the military and civilian spheres in 17th-century Sweden

Abstract

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Swedish kings demanded ever increasing taxes and military conscription from their subjects, arguing that they received protection in return. Both types of levy, however, were used for offensive warfare, and when there seemed to be a real threat of invasion during the wars of Charles X Gustav in 1655–1660, his subjects were asked to contribute more, or even to manage their own defences. Since the Diet had not agreed to these new demands, they were open to discussion, and what then followed can be understood as a negotiation of the definitions of the military and civilian spheres. With empirical examples from the counties of Dalarna and Uppland, this article investigates the extraordinary charges placed on Swedish subjects in times of war in addition to the well-known ordinary taxes and conscription, and how the powers that be justified it. How did the peasants respond, and what arguments or other strategies did they use? What happened when the agreement between ruler and subjects was broken, when an invasion was pending, or when the demands went beyond taxation or conscription? Should the critical situation that arose be interpreted as a royal failure? Can these negotiations help us trace the divide between what were considered the responsibilities of ruler and subject in times of war?

Keywords:

• military history
• negotiations
• Sweden
• 17th century

Notes

1 Konung Gustaf den förstes registratur, 27; and Hallenberg, ‘Kungen, kronan eller staten?’, 27.

2 Glete, War and the State, 2–4.

3 Villstrand, Anpassning eller protest, 42.

4 Styffe, Konung Gustaf II Adolfs skrifter, 1–5; for this document, see Nilsson, De stora krigens tid, 227–8.

5 Nilsson, De stora krigens tid, 151.

6 Holm, Konstruktionen av en stormakt, 216.

7 Forssberg, Att hålla folket på gott humör, 80–112.

8 About the use of the word ‘civilian’ in Sweden: Sjöberg, ‘Hur det civila blev kvinnligt’, 5–14. About the use of the word in other parts of Europe: Charters, Rosenhaft, and Smith, Civilians and war in Europe, 11–12.

9 Nilsson, De stora krigens tid, 9.

10 Moore, Injustice, 17–21.

11 Beetham, The Legitimation of Power, 15–16.

12 Hildebrand, Sveriges regeringsformer, 276–7.

13 Ibid., 207–13, quotation on 212–13.

14 Moore, Injustice, 18.

15 Villstrand, Anpassning eller protest, 283–92.

16 For example, Arnoldsson, Krigspropagandan i Sverige.

17 Holm, Konstruktionen av en stormakt, 234–5.

18 Den svenska psalmboken, 1043.

19 Karlsson, Den jämlike undersåten, 222–3.

20 Forssberg, Att hålla folket på gott humör, 118–27, 145–60.

21 Riksarkivet (RA). Kungl. Majt:s kansli. Riksregistraturet (RR), vol. 255, 21 July 1655, fol. 2, to the county governors.

22 Forssberg, Att hålla folket på gott humör, 161.

23 Uppsala Landsarkiv (ULA). Kopparbergs läns landskansli (KL LK), DII, vol. 4, 20 February and 22 June 1657. The bailiffs were to treat the peasants well (ULA, Uppsala läns landskansli (UL LK), AIa, vol. 8, 11 July, 18 August, 26 October and 11 November 1658).

24 For soldiers’ violence, see RA. RR, vol. 253, 8 July 1655, fol. 1544; vol. 266, 10 May 1658.

25 For the list of horses, see ULA. UL LK, DI, vol. 7, with a letter from the council dated 20 May 1659 ‘lista på dhe resande krigzfolck som Wässlandh och Tolffta Sochner fört hafue’, signed ‘Gemeene Man i Wässlandh och Tolffta sochner på beggie sochners wägner Anders Larsson Länsman’.

26 Holm, Konstruktionen av en stormakt, xx.

27 ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, 9 September 1658.

28 Kongel. Mayt: til Swerige, wår allernådigste konung och herres mandat och påbudh, om gäst- och skiutznings frijheeten […] [u. o. 1658]; ULA. UL LK, DI, vol. 7, 16 October 1658; ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, 5 November 1658.

29 ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, 6, and 7 December 1658.

30 ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, 5 February 1659.

31 ULA. UL LK, DI, vol. 7, letter from Charles X Gustav, January 1659.

32 ULA. UL LK, DI, vol. 7, from the council, 17 February 1659.

33 ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, 9 February 1659.

34 ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, 25 February 1659.

35 ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, 3, 11 & 24 March & 20 April 1659.

36 ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, 24 March 1659.

37 ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, 11 April 1659.

38 ULA. UL LK, DI, vol. 7, 25 April 1659.

39 ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, 26 April 1659, to the peasants; 27 April 1659, to the bailiffs.

40 Ibid.

41 ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, 7 June 1659; ULA. UL LK, DI, vol. 7, 17 August 1659, early September 1659, 10 September 1659.

42 ULA. UL LK, DI, vol. 7, 21 August 1658; see also RA. RR, vol. 267, 21 August 1658, fol. 1679, to all county governors; for the negotiations, see ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, August 1658, to Lars Andersson Höök; for the other bailiffs, see ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, 24 and 28 September, and 11 November 1658.

43 ULA. UL LK, AIa, vol. 8, 28 September 1658. The landsgevaldiger was in charge of upholding order, and was akin to an early modern policeman (see Asker, I konungens stad och ställe, 359–60).

44 ULA. UL LK, DI, vol. 6, 10 June 1657; see also Svenska riksrådets protokoll (SRP) XVII, 157, 10 June: ‘Resolverades att brev skola avgå till alla landshövdingarna vid gränserna, det de hålla allmogen vid ett gott mod, och att de göra motstånd så gott de kunna’.

45 ULA. KL LK, DIV, vol. 1a, Rättvik, 18 August 1657, signed ‘Petrus Schottenius ibidem Verbi Dei Ministre, Carl Olofsson, Ländzman Hans Wincentson i Gersio, Per Ericson ibidem, Mats Hansson i Västgärde, Nils Person i Tammeråhsen, Andhers Janson i Gulleråsen’.

46 Pihlström, Kungl. Dalregementets historia, 9.

47 ULA. KL LK, DIV, vol. 1a, Mora, 14 August 1657, signed ‘Adolph Elai Ters. pretatur fil rese aprobatu, Päder Mathson länsm., Mats Larsson, Anders Matsson, Erick Larsson, Wenian: Matthias Olai Pastor, Länsman Nils K […]’.

48 ULA. KL LK, DII, vol. 4, 22 November 1659, the council to the county governor.

49 RA. RR, vol. 269, 1 January 1659, fol. 6, to the peasants in Dalarna.

50 Ibid.; for the publication of the letter, see RA. RR, vol. 268, 29 December 1658, fol. 2719, to Erik Fleming.

51 ULA, Hedemora församling J, vol. 1; ULA. Vika församling, J, vol. 1.

52 ULA. KL LK, DVI, vol. 1, 3 August 1659; ULA. KL LK, DVI, vol. 1, 21 October 1659, letter from Charles X Gustav; ULA. KL LK, AIa, vol. 3a, 12 November 1659.

53 Unfortunately, sources for the first negotiations are scarce (ULA. KL LK, DII, vol. 4, 21 July 1659).

54 ULA. KL LK, AIa, vol. 3a, 11 October 1659.

55 See ULA. KL LK, DIIIb, vol. 1, 26 October 1659, letter from Jonas Jönson.

56 ULA. KL LK, DIIIb, vol. 1, 18 October 1659, Johan Arvidsson to Erik Prÿtz.

57 Ibid.

58 See ULA. KL LK, AIa, vol. 3a, n.d. but 22 December 1659, to all parish priests except those in Västerdalarna; ULA. KL LK, DIV, vol. 1a, 28 December 1658.

59 This was reported by the bailiff Jonas Jönsson (ULA. KL LK, DIIIb, vol. 1, 26 October 1659).

60 ULA. KL LK, AIa, vol. 3a, 5 November 1659.

61 ULA. KL LK, DI, vol. 2, 23 November, and 10, 17, 28 and 30 December 1659.

62 ULA. KL LK, AIa, vol. 3a, 22 December 1659.

63 This was later described by Creutz; Asker, I konungens stad och ställe, 50.

64 Ibid.

65 ULA. KL LK, DIV, vol. 1a, 28 December 1658.

66 ULA. KL LK, DIV, vol. 1a, 28 December 1658, letter from Rudbeck; ULA. KL LK, DIV, vol. 1a, 28 December 1659, from the parish priest in Mora.

67 ULA. KL LK, AIa, vol. 3a, 31 December 1659.

68 ULA. KL LK, DIV, vol. 1a, arrived in Falun, 21 October 1658.

69 SRP XVI, 25 June 1656, 503; RA. Rådets handlingar och brev (RHB), vol. 15, 27 June 1656.

70 Rosenhane, Johan Rosenhanes dagbok, 177.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anna Maria Forssberg

Anna Maria Forssberg, PhD, was born in 1976. She presented her doctoral thesis ‘Keeping the People in a Good Mood: Dissemination of Information, War Propaganda and Mobilisation in Sweden, 1655–1680’ at Stockholm University in 2005. She has worked as a senior curator at The Swedish Army Museum since 2006 and is currently studying 17th-century French and Swedish war propaganda, and co-editing a book on museum collections and material culture.