ABSTRACT
The three kingdoms of Scandinavia – Denmark, Norway, and Sweden – had been united in a loose personal union called the Kalmar Union since 1397 which lasted until 1523. The first conflict was related to a growing discontent with his centralizing rule as well as continued interest from parts of the political elite in the Kalmar Union, and the latter involved the ongoing border conflict with Russia under Ivan III over Karelia. In addition to the noble and clerical opposition, the fishermen and peasants of Jutland also rebelled due to the increased taxes as well as their fear that Christian’s economic and foreign conflicts with Lubeck and the Hanseatic League would endanger their herring trade. The comparison of the Scandinavian realms in the sixteenth century suggests that the Danish and Norwegian depositions of Christian II were first and foremost against Christian as individual ruler.
