Älvsborg Ransom (1613)

Last updated August 02, 2024

The Second Älvsborg Ransom (Swedish : Älvsborgs Andra Lösen) was an indemnity, stipulated in the 1613 Treaty of Knäred, which ended the Kalmar War. During the war the Danes had occupied the vital border fortress of Älvsborg Castle (near modern Gothenburg, Sweden), and the Swedes were required to pay the ransom in order to redeem the castle. According to the treaty, the ransom was one million silver rixdollars. The ransom would be financed by a nationwide tax, which would be paid during each of the six years 1613–1618 by the entire population of Sweden.^[1] The Danes not only held Älvsborg Castle as a collateral for the ransom, but also the towns of New Lödöse, Old Lödöse and Gothenburg,^[2] as well as seven hundreds of Västergötland. Yet, since the return of Älvsborg was uppermost in the mind of the government, the ransom and the tax to pay for it has in history been named after this castle.^[3]

Payment

The ransom of one million rixdollars was the equivalent in value of four years of Swedish harvests.^[4] It had to be paid in four installments, and in rixdollars, an international currency not in everyday use in Sweden. Most of the rixdollars were obtained by selling Swedish copper on the international market, but the government also had to take Dutch loans of altogether 250,000 rixdollars. In the end Sweden managed to pay the ransom.^[5] The payment was financed by a severe extra tax paid during six years by almost all persons above the age of 15, including the royalty and the nobility. The only exempts were the tenants of noble seat farms, and active duty soldiers.^[6] The Danes had hoped that Sweden would not be able to pay, thereby losing its outlet to the Atlantic.^[7]

The Älvsborg tax

The extra tax financing the Älvsborg ransom was collected through a specially created organization outside the normal revenue system, but in cooperation with it. A special government agency under four Lords of the Realm was created, and provincial tax commissioners appointed. The commissioners organized compulsory parish meetings, where all the peasants had to attend, together with the bailiff and the vicar. New lists of taxpayers were created based on the bailiff's old tax records and the vicar's church records. This extensive apparatus managed to include most taxable individuals, although unmarried men of military age did the utmost to not be entered, to escape future drafts. Those who did not or could not pay, had their property confiscated, whether nobility or peasant.^[6]

The tax had to be paid in good rixdollars, domestic or foreign, or in good silver; 2 lot, 1 quintin (~30 grams) of silver per rixdollar. Anyone who had not rixdollars, had to pay with viable Swedish coins, although not in less than half-daler coins; 6 marks or 1½ Swedish daler per rixdollar. The tax could also be paid in kind; one lispound (~8.5 kilograms) copper per 1½ rixdollars, one shippound (~136 kilograms) bar iron per 4 rixdollars, one tun (~147 litres) of wheat per 1½ rixdollars, one tun of rye or malt per rixdollar.^[8]

Tax rates

Tax subject	Annual tax
The Queen Dowager	According to her will and propensity
The King	32 rixdollars per 100 dalers (48%) of Crown revenues.
The Hereditary Princes	32 rixdollars per 100 dalers (48%) of revenues.
Nobility of the Realm	32 rixdollars per armed horseman levied to the King
Treasurers, masters of the mint, clerks of the mint, customers	50 rixdollars each
Bishops, controllers, secretaries	40 rixdollars each
Captains, lieutenants and ensigns of horse	20 rixdollars each
Superintendents, town and parish priests	16 rixdollars each*
Bailiffs and clerks	16 rixdollars each
Foreign merchants	16 rixdollars each, and then 2 rixdollars per 100 dalers turnover
Each ship arriving from abroad	1 rixdollar per last, and 2 rixdollars per mast, at each arrival
Captains, lieutenants and ensigns of foot	12 rixdollars each
Underlagmän and lagläsare (local judges)	12 rixdollars each
Professors and school masters	8 rixdollars each
Peasant-lensmen	8 rixdollars each
Burghers, including those who have lived in towns now ravaged	2 rixdollars per assessed öre in tax
Kopparbergsmän (copper miners)	2 rixdollars each, and then 3 rixdollars per mine part
Järnbergsmän (iron miners)	2 rixdollars each, and then 2 rixdollars per mine or furnace part
Town curates	4 rixdollars each
Tailors, cobblers, skinners and other artisans without their own workshops	4 rixdollars each
Sergeants and other non-commissioned officers, under-bailiffs and under-clerks	3 rixdollars each
Parish curates	2 rixdollars each
Private soldiers of horse and foot, yeomen and others of the soldiery possessing farms, propertied burghers and peasants, whether freeholders or tenants, whether in possession of a whole or a half holding	2 rixdollars each
Vagrants, labourers, farmhands from 15 years of age, whether serving, staying with the parents, or being his own man	1 rixdollar each
Serving women or maids over 15 years of age, in town or country	½ rixdollar
Source:^[8]^[9]	* The bishop should adjust the tax according to wealth.

Related Research Articles

Västergötland, also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, situated in the southwest of Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sture</span> Swedish noble family

Sture was a name borne by three distinct but interrelated noble families in Sweden in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. It was originally a nickname, meaning 'haughty, proud', but later became a surname. Particularly famous are the three regents from these families who ruled Sweden in succession during the fifty-year period between 1470 and 1520, namely:

The Treaty of Knäred was signed on 21 January 1613 and ended the Kalmar War (1611–1613) between Denmark-Norway and Sweden. The peace negotiations came about under an English initiative. The peace was guaranteed by King James I of England and VI of Scotland.

The Kalmar War (1611–1613) was a war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. Though Denmark-Norway soon gained the upper hand, it was unable to defeat Sweden entirely. The Kalmar War was the last time Denmark-Norway successfully defended its dominium maris baltici against Sweden, and it also marked the increasing influence of the two countries on Baltic politics.

The Engelbrekt rebellion (Engelbrektsupproret) was an uprising during 1434–1436 led by Swedish miner and nobleman Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson and directed against Eric of Pomerania, the king of the Kalmar Union. The uprising, with its center in Dalarna and Bergslagen, spread throughout Svealand and Götaland. The rebellion caused erosion within the unity of the Kalmar Union, leading to the temporary expulsion of Danish forces from Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Stettin (1570)</span> 1570 peace treaty between Denmark and Sweden

The Treaty of Stettin of 13 December 1570, ended the Northern Seven Years' War fought between Sweden and Denmark with its internally fragmented alliance of Lübeck and Poland. It also settled Swedish, Danish, and Holy Roman Imperial claims regarding the Livonian War. Unfavourable for Sweden, the treaty assured Danish hegemony in Northern Europe for 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.

New Älvsborg, so-called to distinguish it from the earlier fortress at Old Älvsborg, is a sea fort on the island of Kyrkogårdsholmen within the urban area of modern Gothenburg, Sweden. Situated near the mouth of the Göta River, it protected what was at the time of its construction Sweden's only access to the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Construction began in 1653, and the fortress remained in service until 1869, though it only saw significant action in one conflict, the Great Northern War.

Lödöse, also known as Gamla Lödöse is a locality situated in Lilla Edet Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It is situated 40 kilometers northeast of Gothenburg and is considered the precursor to modern-day Gothenburg.

The history ofGothenburg begins with the foundation of the city in 1621, although by that time people had already been living in the area for thousands of years, since the Neolithic Period, and moreover there had already been a series of earlier settlements on the lower Göta Älv, including one which also bore the name Gothenburg.

Peter (Per) Wieselgren, born Jonasson was a Lutheran priest, librarian, archivist, literary historian, and leader of the Swedish temperance movement who formed the first organised temperance society in Sweden.

The Westrogothian rebellion, also known as Västgötabullret or Västgötaherrarnas uppror was a Swedish rebellion which took place in the provinces of Småland and Westregothia in Sweden during the spring of 1529. The rebellion was led by members of the Swedish nobility, and the purpose was to depose the Swedish King Gustavus Vasa in an attempt to end the recently initiated Swedish Reformation.

Maerten Thijssen, died 1657, was a Dutch admiral who entered into Swedish service, becoming a Swedish admiral and a Swedish nobleman under the name Mårten Anckarhielm. He played an important role at the Battle of Fehmarn 1644.

Skansen Lejonet, formally Westgötha Leijon, is a redoubt on the hill Gullberg in Gothenburg, Sweden, built in 1687–92 on the site of an earlier medieval castle. It was decommissioned in 1822 and has since served a range of other purposes.

Taxeringskalendern is the Swedish blanket term for a directory that contains public information on taxed income from work and capital of all natural persons above 18 years of age in Sweden. Some taxeringskalender also include the income of legal persons. Sweden and the Swedish Tax Agency apply a uniquely, at least compared internationally, high legal transparency regarding the material privacy of individual citizens, only equivalent to Norway and Finland.

Älvsborg, now generally known as Old Älvsborg or Älvsborg Castle to distinguish it from the later New Älvsborg and Älvsborg Fortress, was a medieval castle situated on the rocky outcrop known as Klippan, on the south bank of the Göta Älv river within the urban area of the modern city of Gothenburg. It was demolished in the late seventeenth century, but some of its ruins are still visible today, close to the southern pylon of the Älvsborg Bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindholmen Castle (Gothenburg)</span> Castle in Gothenburg, Sweden

Lindholmen Castle was a medieval castle on the former island of Lindholmen, which is now part of the larger island of Hisingen and lies within the urban area of modern Gothenburg. The castle stood on a rocky outcrop, which is still known as Slottsberget, overlooking the Göta Älv. This was an area of immense strategic significance in the Middle Ages, as at that time Hisingen straddled the Norwegian-Swedish border, and the mouth of the Göta Älv was Sweden's sole point of access to the North Sea.

Knut Fredrik Söderwall was a Swedish philologist, professor at Lund University, and member of the Swedish Academy.

Fogd is a historical Scandinavian official title, translated as bailiff, relating to the administration of bailiwicks. He was in charge of the administration and collection of taxes on behalf of the government, either in a rural area or in a town.

The Västbo peasant uprising was a peasant uprising in Västbo parish, Småland, Sweden, in 1616. They were upset about the thievery of their bailiff, Lars Andersson.

The Siege of Älvsborg, also known as the Siege of Elfsborg, was a siege of the Swedish fortress of Älfsborg by the Danish army under King Frederick II at the start of the Northern Seven Years' War. The siege ended in a quick Danish victory, and the Swedish commander would surrender the fort before any direct assault would be initiated.

References

↑ "Älvsborgs lösen 1571 och 1613." Riksarkivet. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
↑ Note that this was not the modern city of Gothenburg, founded in 1621 on the south bank of the Göta Älv, but an earlier settlement of the same name on the north bank of the river. See History of Gothenburg.
↑ Meijer & al., Bernhard (1904–1926). Nordisk familjebok. Stockholm: Nordisk familjeboks förlag. Vol. 33, p. 1195. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
↑ Derry, T. K. (1979). History of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, p. 104.
↑ Roberts, Michael (1998). Gustavus Adolphus. London: Routledge, p. 35.
1 2 Palm, Lennart Andersson (2016). Sweden’s 17th century – a period of expansion or stagnation?. Institutionen för historiska studier, Goteborg. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
↑ Scott, Franklin D. (1988). Sweden: the Nation's History. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, p. 168.
1 2 Geijer, Erik Gustaf (1836). Svenska folkets historia. Orebro: N.M. Lindhs boktryckeri, vol. 3, p. 40, n. 3.
↑ Starbäck, Carl George & Bäckström, Per Olov (1885-1886). Berättelser ur svenska historien. Stockholm: F.O. Beijers förlag, vol. 4, p. 145, n. 1. Retrieved 2016-12-30.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Älvsborgs lösen 1571 och 1613." Riksarkivet. Retrieved 2016-12-30.

[2] Note that this was not the modern city of Gothenburg, founded in 1621 on the south bank of the Göta Älv, but an earlier settlement of the same name on the north bank of the river. See History of Gothenburg.

[Meijer-3] Meijer & al., Bernhard (1904–1926). Nordisk familjebok. Stockholm: Nordisk familjeboks förlag. Vol. 33, p. 1195. Retrieved 2016-12-07.

[4] Derry, T. K. (1979). History of Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, p. 104.

[5] Roberts, Michael (1998). Gustavus Adolphus. London: Routledge, p. 35.

[Palm-6] 1 2 Palm, Lennart Andersson (2016). Sweden’s 17th century – a period of expansion or stagnation?. Institutionen för historiska studier, Goteborg. Retrieved 2016-12-31.

[7] Scott, Franklin D. (1988). Sweden: the Nation's History. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, p. 168.

[Geijer-8] 1 2 Geijer, Erik Gustaf (1836). Svenska folkets historia. Orebro: N.M. Lindhs boktryckeri, vol. 3, p. 40, n. 3.

[9] Starbäck, Carl George & Bäckström, Per Olov (1885-1886). Berättelser ur svenska historien. Stockholm: F.O. Beijers förlag, vol. 4, p. 145, n. 1. Retrieved 2016-12-30.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]