The Stockholm Bloodbath was a massacre in which King Christian II of Denmark executed a large number of Swedish nobles, clergy and burghers. He had defeated the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Younger and been crowned king of Sweden, and during the celebrations a trial convened by Archbishop Gustav Trolle declared his opponents to be heretics for having deposed the archbishop. More than eighty people were beheaded or hanged in Stortorget, the main square in Stockholm, over a few days. The killings, instead of securing his rule, provoked a revolt led by Gustav Vasa, whose father was among the victims. Vasa was elected king in 1523, which ended the Kalmar Union, and Christian was deposed in Denmark the same year.
Before and after
- 2 May 1519Death of Leonardo da Vinci
- from 10 August 1519 to 8 September 1522Magellan-Elcano expedition
- from 1520 to 1600Mannerism
- from 1520 to 1648Sultanate of Women
- 1520Stockholm Bloodbath
- 6 April 1520Death of Raphael
- from 30 June 1520 to 1 July 1520La Noche Triste
- from 1521 to 1523Swedish War of Liberation
- from 1521 to 1526Italian War of 1521–1526
More in Society, economy & sport
- 1632Founding of University of Tartu
- 1632Founding of University of Amsterdam
- 26 March 1640Founding of University of Helsinki
- 19 December 1666Founding of Lund University
- 27 July 1694Founding of Bank of England
- 17th centuryFounding of Amsterdam Stock Exchange
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 16th century.