Danish attack on Åland (1507)
{{Short description|1507 attack on Åland}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Danish attack on Åland
| place = Åland, Sweden
| width =
| partof = the Dano-Swedish War of 1501–1512
| image = Geographisch delineation öffver Ålandh.jpg
| image_size = 275
| caption = Map of Åland made prior to 1667 by Hans Hansson
| date = July 1507
| territory = Kastelholm is razed by Danish forces
| result = Danish victory{{Sfn|Carlsson|1924}}
| combatants_header =
| combatant1 = {{flag|Medieval Sweden|name=Sweden}}
| combatant2 = {{flag|Medieval Denmark|name=Denmark}}
| commander1 = {{flagdeco|Medieval Sweden}} Sten Turesson{{POW}}
| commander2 = {{flagdeco|Medieval Denmark}} Søren Norby
| units1 = {{flagdeco|Medieval Sweden}} Kastelholm garrison
| units2 = {{flagdeco|Medieval Denmark}} One squadron
| strength1 = Unknown
| strength2 = 9 ships
| casualties1 = Several captured
| casualties2 = Unknown
}}
The Danish attack on Åland occurred during the Dano-Swedish War of 1501–1512 in July 1507, when Søren Norby attacked the island with a squadron of nine ships. He besieged Kastelholm, eventually forcing it to capitulate and bringing its commander Sten Turesson along with others back to Copenhagen. The Danes also forced the island to pay 1,500 marks in brandskattning (Ransom) and several villages were razed.
Background
In early May 1507, four Danish ships arrived outside Stockholm, raiding parts of it.{{Sfn|Hildebrand|1879|p=964}}{{Sfn|Styffe|1884|p=XCVIII}} In the Gulf of Finland, two other Danish ships with 60 crew had made sailing there dangerous, having captured 12 ships off Nargö in the spring.{{Cite web |last= |title=SDHK-nr: 35821 |url=https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sdhk?SDHK=35821&page=1&postid=sdhk_35821&tab=post |access-date=2025-02-19 |website=sok.riksarkivet.se |publisher=National Archives of Sweden |language=sv}}{{Sfn|Styffe|1884|p=XCVIII}} During the capture of these ships, Hans von Eken jumped into the water and managed to save himself.{{Sfn|Styffe|1884|p=XCVIII}}
Attack
On July 21, a Danish squadron of nine ships{{Sfn|Hildebrand|1879|p=964}}{{Sfn|Styffe|1884|p=XCIX}}{{Sfn|Starbäck|1885|p=573}} unde the command of Søren Norby arrived off Åland, and there was little hope of the Swedes being helped by Viborg. Sten Turesson held command over the island's main castle, Kastelholm. However, he had not held the position for long, and his stockpiles were running low. Instead, he requested that his brother come to the rescue since Norby's forces were plundering the countryside. Unfortunately for Turesson, the request did not arrive to Viborg until 21 July. While the message was in transit, Kastelholm had already been captured, plundered, and razed after a brief defense, with Sten Turesson, his wife, and others being captured.{{Sfn|Hildebrand|1879|p=964}}{{Sfn|Styffe|1884|p=XCIX}}{{Sfn|Carlsson|1924}} Turesson was later blamed for this as Svante Sture believed he had a small garrison and blamed him for not putting up a better defense. Around 1/8 of Åland's farms had been burned, and the rest were forced to pay a brandskatt (ransom) of 1,500 marks.{{Sfn|Styffe|1884|p=XCIX}}{{Sfn|Starbäck|1885|p=573}}{{Sfn|Schybergson|1887|p=149}}
Aftermath
References
{{reflist}}
Works cited
- {{Cite book |last=Styffe |first=Carl Gustaf |author-link=:sv:Carl Gustaf Styffe |url=https://runeberg.org/biskandhi/5/ |title=Sverige under de yngre Sturarne, särdeles under Svante Nilsson, 1504-1520 |publisher=P.A. Norstedts och söner |year=1884 |series=Bidrag till Skandinaviens Historia ur utländska arkiver |location=Stockholm |language=sv |trans-title=Sweden under the younger Sture's, especially under Svante Nilsson, 1504-1520}}
- {{Cite book |last=Hildebrand |first=Hans |author-link=Hans Hildebrand |url=https://runeberg.org/medeltid/2/0964.html |title=Sveriges medeltid kulturhistorisk skildring |publisher=P.A. Norstedts och söner |year=1879 |language=sv |trans-title=Cultural and historical depiction of Sweden's Middle Ages}}
- {{Cite website |last=Carlsson |first=G. |year=1924 |title=Sten Turesson (Bielke) |url=https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sbl/artikel/18181 |website=sok.riksarkivet.se |publisher=National Archives of Sweden}}
- {{Cite book |last=Starbäck |first=Carl Georg |author-link=:sv:Georg Starbäck |url=https://runeberg.org/sverhist/2/0574.html |title=Berättelser ur svenska historien: Medeltiden. II. Kalmare-unionen |publisher=P. O. Bäckström |year=1885 |language=sv |trans-title=Stories from Swedish history: The Middle Ages. II. The Kalmar Union}}
- {{Cite book |last=Schybergson |first=M.G. |author-link=:sv:M.G. Schybergson |url=https://www.google.se/books/edition/Finlands_Historia_af_Magnus_Gottfried_Sc/gxcgFtfHcEIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%C3%A5land+juli+1507&pg=PA149&printsec=frontcover |title=Finlands historia |publisher=G.W. Edlund |year=1887 |location=Helsinki |language=sv |trans-title=Finland's history}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Åland 1507}}