Skåneland
Encyclopedia
   Halland Halland ' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:... Scania Scania Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the... Blekinge Blekinge ' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , situated in the south of the country. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea.The name "Blekinge" comes from the adjective bleke, which corresponds to the nautical term for "dead calm".... |
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| Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... and part of Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... , with the historic region Skåneland (the Scanian Provinces) in brown, consisting of the Swedish provinces Blekinge Blekinge ' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , situated in the south of the country. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea.The name "Blekinge" comes from the adjective bleke, which corresponds to the nautical term for "dead calm".... , Halland Halland ' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:... and Scania Scania Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the... , and the Danish island Bornholm Bornholm Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is... |
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Skåneland (Swedish) or Skånelandene (Danish) are terms used in historical contexts in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
to describe the area on the southern and south-western part of the Scandinavian peninsula
Scandinavian Peninsula
The Scandinavian Peninsula is a peninsula in Northern Europe, which today covers Norway, Sweden, and most of northern Finland. Prior to the 17th and 18th centuries, large parts of the southern peninsula—including the core region of Scania from which the peninsula takes its name—were part of...
, which under the Treaty of Roskilde
Treaty of Roskilde
The Treaty of Roskilde was concluded on 26 February or 8 March 1658 during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde...
(1658) was transferred from Denmark to Sweden. It corresponds to the provinces
Provinces of Sweden
The provinces of Sweden, landskap, are historical, geographical and cultural regions. Sweden has 25 provinces and they have no administrative function, but remain historical legacies and the means of cultural identification....
of Blekinge
Blekinge
' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , situated in the south of the country. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea.The name "Blekinge" comes from the adjective bleke, which corresponds to the nautical term for "dead calm"....
, Halland
Halland
' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...
and Scania. The island of Bornholm
Bornholm
Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...
, which in the Treaty of Copenhagen (1660) was returned to Denmark, is also often included in the term. Equivalent terms in English and Latin are ’’the Scanian provinces” and "Terrae Scaniae" respectivelly. The denomination is seldom used in everyday life or as a geographical region. Nowadays there is some confusion in the terminology. Sometimes the name Scania is in English also used for describing all of the Scanian provinces (i.e. Skåneland). On the other hand the term Skåneland is occasionally used to describe just the province of Scania (i.e. Skåne).
The area became a Danish province, sometimes referred to as the Eastern Province, after the 12th-century civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
called the Scanian Uprising. The region was part of the territory ceded to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1658 under the Treaty of Roskilde
Treaty of Roskilde
The Treaty of Roskilde was concluded on 26 February or 8 March 1658 during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde...
, but after an uprising on Bornholm, this island was returned to Denmark in 1660, under the Treaty of Copenhagen, in exchange for the ownership of 18 crown estates in Scania. Thenceforth, the Dano-Swedish border has remained unchanged.
The term
The name Skåneland is first recorded in print in the year 1719 It is unclear what area is meant. Later (1751) Carl Linnaeus uses it, meaning the province of ScaniaScania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
. The modern use of the denomination as a short form for De skånska landskapen ("The Scanian provinces"), for the combined area of the provinces of Blekinge, Halland and Scania, was launched by the Swedish historian and Scandinavist
Scandinavism
Scandinavism and Nordism are literary and political movements that support various degrees of cooperation between the Scandinavian or Nordic countries...
Martin Weibull
Weibull
Weibull is the surname of a Swedish family.The Weibull family originally came from the village of Weiböl in Widstedts parish in Schleswig-Holstein, at that time closely connected with Denmark...
in Samlingar till Skånes historia (six volumes) 1868-73 in order to illuminate the common pre-Swedish history of Scania, Blekinge, and Halland.
The term is mostly used in historical contexts and not in daily speech. In Danish, Skånelandene is used more often. The terms have no political implications as the region is not a geopolitical entity but a cultural region
Cultural region
Cultural region is a term used mainly in the fields of anthropology and geography. Specific cultures often do not limit their geographic coverage to the borders of a nation state, or to smaller subdivisions of a state...
, without officially established political borders. In some circumstances, the term Skåneland, as opposed to the terms Skånelandskapen and Skånelandene, can also be used as a figure of speech
Figure of speech
A figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile,...
for the province Scania.
Weibull used the term as a combined term for the four provinces where Skånelagen
Scanian Law
Scanian law is the oldest Danish provincial law and one of the first Nordic provincial laws to be written down. It was used in the geographic region of Danish Skåneland, which at the time included Scania, Halland, Blekinge and the island of Bornholm. It was also used for a short period on the...
("The Scanian law", the oldest provincial law of the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
) had its jurisdiction, as well as the area of the archdiocese of Lund
Lund
-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...
until the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
in 1536, later the Danish Lutheran diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of Lund. This form of Skåneland was then used in the regional historical periodical Historisk tidskrift för Skåneland, beginning in 1901, published by Martin's son, Lauritz Weibull
Lauritz Weibull
Lauritz Ulrik Absalon Weibull was a Swedish historian.He was born in Lund, son of history professor Martin Weibull and the brother of Curt Weibull and Carl Gustaf Weibull, enrolled at the University of Lund in 1892, completed his B.A. 1892, his licentiate degree in 1899 and defended his...
.
Administration
An earlier administrative and political function of the area was to serve as a core area for one of the three provincial thingsThing (assembly)
A thing was the governing assembly in Germanic and introduced into some Celtic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...
that together elected the king of Denmark. The first Danish administrative sub-divisioning occurred as part of the centralization process, when the area became divided into administrative units called hundreds (herreder in Danish). The hundreds were possibly based on older, already existing units, but the establishment of the new form of hundreds was prompted by an increase in royal power during the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
. These differed from the provincial thing areas in that they were not local communities joined under a governing assembly but top-down regional divisions established to ensure royal authority. These medieval Danish hundreds were used to implement military obligations and to expedite the collection of renders due to the king in the provinces. They were first established in Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
, were they replaced previous administrative units called syssel. According to some scholars, they were introduced in Skåneland possible as early as the 11th century.
In the 13th century, a new fiscal
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
system was introduced and the hundreds were gradually included into larger administrative units called len, with a castle serving as the administrative center. This new administrative development was a result of the increased power of the aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
. In each len, a noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
man was put in charge, with the title lensmand.
Each of the four provinces of Skåneland had representation in the Scanian Thing, which, along with the other two Things of the Danish state (Jutland and Zealand), elected the Danish king.
The four Scanian provinces were joined under the jurisdiction of the Scanian Law
Scanian Law
Scanian law is the oldest Danish provincial law and one of the first Nordic provincial laws to be written down. It was used in the geographic region of Danish Skåneland, which at the time included Scania, Halland, Blekinge and the island of Bornholm. It was also used for a short period on the...
, dated 1200–1216, the oldest Nordic provincial law. In the chapter "Constitutional history" in Danish Medieval History, New Currents, the three provincial Things are described as being the legal authority that instituted changes suggested by the elected king. The suggestions for changes submitted by the king had to be approved by the three Things before being passed into law in the Danish state.
Status today
Skåneland is strictly a historic and cultural region. The name has long appeared as a term used in historical contexts in a variety of sources. The southern part of Sweden, including Skåneland, is considered to be included in GötalandGötaland
Götaland , Gothia, Gothland, Gothenland, Gautland or Geatland is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises provinces...
, one of three historic "lands of Sweden
Lands of Sweden
The lands of Sweden are three traditional parts, essentially three collectives of provinces, in Sweden. These "lands" have no administrative function, and there is no official designation for this subdivision level...
". The "land" Götaland bears the same name used for the historic province Götaland (a province referred to as "Gothia" on the 17th-century maps); the inclusion of Skåneland is described as "historically inaccurate" by the Swedish Nationalencyklopedin
Nationalencyklopedin
Nationalencyklopedin is the most comprehensive contemporary Swedish language encyclopedia, initiated by a favourable loan from the Government of Sweden of 17 million Swedish kronor in 1980, which was repaid by December 1990...
.
As in other cultural region
Cultural region
Cultural region is a term used mainly in the fields of anthropology and geography. Specific cultures often do not limit their geographic coverage to the borders of a nation state, or to smaller subdivisions of a state...
s, regionalism in Scania sometimes has a base in regional nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and sometimes in a more general opposition against centralized
Centralization
Centralisation, or centralization , is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, become concentrated within a particular location and/or group....
state nationalism or expansionist nationalism
Expansionist nationalism
Expansionist nationalism is an aggressive and radical form of nationalism that incorporates autonomous, patriotic sentiments with a belief in expansionism...
. As noted about regionalism in Norway, Scandinavian regionalism is not necessarily separatist.
Modern usage
The collective terms Skåneland or Skånelandskapen for the provinces are uncommon in daily speech, but are in general use among historians focused on the centuries immediately before and after 1658, and are often used in professional, peer-reviewed journals and history magazines aimed at the general public. In most cases the term is explained the first time it is mentioned in such articles, as many readers are not familiar with it.The term Skåneland (here called "Scania", which in English normally refers to Skåne) is also used to denote the area accepted as an unrepresented nation into UNPO (Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation) and FUEN (Federal Union of European Nationalities), and in order to differentiate it from the historical province Scania proper (Skåne), the now Swedish province Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
(Skåne) and from the administrative Skåne County
Skåne County
Skåne County is the southernmost administrative county or län, of Sweden, basically corresponding to the historical province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronoberg and Blekinge. The seat of residence for the Skåne Governor is the town of Malmö...
(Skåne län), established in 1998.
In UNPO and FUEN, Scania, like many other historic regions, is currently represented by a NGO, in the case of Scania, the private foundation Stiftelsen Skånsk Framtid (Scania Future Foundation).
The modern usage is mostly found in historical research as a way to refer to the common culture, language and history of Skåne, Blekinge, Halland and Bornholm before the Swedish acquisition of Skåne, Blekinge and Halland, as a way to stress the culturally unique features of the region. Although the term is rarer in official contexts, recent interest has spurred the national broadcaster Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
to examine the concept and the word is therefore becoming more familiar in Sweden.
History
Early history
From 1104 the Danish archbishop had his residence in Lund; and it was also here the first Danish university was founded, the Lund Academy (1425–1536).The earliest Danish historians, writing in the 12th and 13th century, believed that the Danish Kingdom had existed since king Dan
Dan I of Denmark
Dan I was the progenitor of the Danish royal house according to Saxo Grammaticus's Gesta Danorum. He held the lordship along with his brother Angul, the progenitor of the English.See also: Dan -References:...
, in a distant past. Eighth century sources mention the existence of Denmark as a kingdom. According to 9th century Frankish sources, by the early 9th century many of the chieftains in the south of Scandinavia acknowledged Danish kings as their overlords, though kingdom(s) were very loose confederations of lords until the last couple medieval centuries saw some increased centralization. The west and south coast of modern Sweden was so effectively part of the Danish realm that the said area (and not the today Denmark) was known as "Denmark" (literally the frontier of the Daner
Daner
The Danes were a North Germanic tribe residing in modern day Denmark. They are mentioned in the 6th century in Jordanes' Getica, by Procopius, and by Gregory of Tours....
). Svend Estridsen (King of Denmark 1047 – ca. 1074), who may have been from Scania himself, is often referred to as the king who along with his dynasty established Scania as an integral, and sometimes the more important, part of Denmark.
In 1332 the king of Denmark, Christopher II, died as a "king without a country" after he and his older brother and predecessor had pawned Denmark piece by piece. Magnus IV of Sweden
Magnus IV of Sweden
Magnus Eriksson as Magnus IV was king of Sweden , including Finland, as Magnus VII King of Norway , including Iceland and Greenland, and also ruled Scania . He has also vindictively been called Magnus Smek...
took advantage of his neighbour's distress, redeeming the pawn for the eastern Danish provinces for a huge amount of silver, and thus became ruler also of Skåneland. But got replaced in 1360 by Valdemar IV of Denmark
Valdemar IV of Denmark
Valdemar IV of Denmark or Waldemar ; , was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375.-Ascension to the throne:...
.
From the Kalmar Union to Denmark's loss of Skåne, Blekinge and Halland
When the Kalmar UnionKalmar Union
The Kalmar Union is a historiographical term meaning a series of personal unions that united the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway , and Sweden under a single monarch, though intermittently and with a population...
was formed in 1397, the union was administered from Copenhagen. By 1471 Sweden rebelled under Sture
Sture
Sture was the name of two influential families in Sweden from the late 15th century to the early 16th century. One member of one of these families and two members of the other served as Regents of Sweden in the Kalmar Union between 1470 and 1520...
family leadership. In 1503, when Sten Sture the Elder
Sten Sture the Elder
Sten Sture the Elder was a Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden from .-Background:...
died, eastern Sweden’s independence from Denmark had been established.
In 1600 Denmark controlled virtually all land bordering on the Skagerrak
Skagerrak
The Skagerrak is a strait running between Norway and the southwest coast of Sweden and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area, which leads to the Baltic Sea.-Name:...
, Kattegat
Kattegat
The Kattegat , or Kattegatt is a sea area bounded by the Jutland peninsula and the Straits islands of Denmark on the west and south, and the provinces of Västergötland, Scania, Halland and Bohuslän in Sweden on the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Øresund and the Danish...
, and the restricted Sound (Øresund). The current Swedish provinces of Skåne, Blekinge
Blekinge
' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , situated in the south of the country. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea.The name "Blekinge" comes from the adjective bleke, which corresponds to the nautical term for "dead calm"....
and Halland
Halland
' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...
were still Danish and the province of Båhuslen
Bohuslän
' is a Swedish traditional province, or landskap, situated in Götaland on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the west, and the county of Østfold in Norway to the north...
was still Norwegian. Skåneland became the site of bitter battles, especially in the 16th, 17th and 18th century, as Denmark and Sweden confronted each other for control of the Baltic and of Swedish access to western trade. Danish historians often represent this as a period of unending Swedish aggression during which Sweden was continuously at war, while Swedish historians often represent this as "Sweden's Age of Greatness".
Sweden intervened in the Danish civil war known as the Count's Feud
Count's Feud
The Count's Feud , also called the Count's War, was a civil war that raged in Denmark in 1534–36 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark...
(1534–1536), launching a highly destructive invasion of Skåneland as the ally of later king Christian III
Christian III of Denmark
Christian III reigned as king of Denmark and Norway. He was the eldest son of King Frederick I and Anna of Brandenburg.-Childhood:...
, who upon his coronation introduced Protestantism to these provinces. Subsequently, in the period between the breakup of the Kalmar Union and 1814, Denmark and Sweden fought 11 times in Skåneland and other border provinces: during the Northern Seven Years' War
Northern Seven Years' War
The Northern Seven Years' War was the war between Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck and the Polish–Lithuanian union, fought between 1563 and 1570...
(1563–70), Kalmar War
Kalmar War
The Kalmar War was a war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. Though Denmark soon gained the upper hand, she was unable to defeat Sweden entirely...
(1611–1613), Torstenson War (1644–1645), Second Northern War
Second Northern War
The Second Northern War was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , Russia , Brandenburg-Prussia , the Habsburg Monarchy and Denmark–Norway...
(1657–1658 and 1659–1660), Scanian War
Scanian War
The Scanian War was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark-Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish provinces along the border with Sweden and in Northern Germany...
(1674–1678), Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
(1700 and 1709–1720), Theater War
Theater War
The Theater War , alias Cowberry War , was a brief war between Denmark–Norway and Sweden, starting on 24 September 1788, formally lasting until 9 July 1789...
(1788), and during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
(1808–1809 and 1814).
- During the Northern Seven Years' WarNorthern Seven Years' WarThe Northern Seven Years' War was the war between Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck and the Polish–Lithuanian union, fought between 1563 and 1570...
, attacks were launched on Sweden from Danish HallandHalland' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...
in 1563, and Swedish counterattacks were launched against Danish provinces of HallandHalland' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...
and Skåne in 1565 and 1569. In 1570 peace was finally agreed when the Swedish king withdrew the claims to Danish Skåne, Halland, Blekinge and GotlandGotlandGotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
, while the Danes withdrew their claims to Sweden as a whole. - During the Torstenson War, a theater of the Thirty Years' WarThirty Years' WarThe Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, extensive combat took place in the Danish provinces of Skåne, Halland, and Blekinge. By the Second Treaty of Brömsebro (1645) Denmark ceded the Norwegian provinces of JämtlandJämtlandJämtland or Jamtland is a historical province or landskap in the center of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders to Härjedalen and Medelpad in the south, Ångermanland in the east, Lapland in the north and Trøndelag and Norway in the west...
and HärjedalenHärjedalen' is a historical province or landskap in the centre of Sweden. It borders the country of Norway as well as the provinces of Dalarna, Hälsingland, Medelpad, and Jämtland...
and agreed Sweden was to occupy the Danish province of HallandHalland' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...
for 30 years as a guarantee of the treaty provisions. - During the Second Northern WarSecond Northern WarThe Second Northern War was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , Russia , Brandenburg-Prussia , the Habsburg Monarchy and Denmark–Norway...
(1655–1658), Danish attempts to recover control of HallandHalland' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...
ended in a serious defeat administered by Sweden. As a result, in the Treaty of RoskildeTreaty of RoskildeThe Treaty of Roskilde was concluded on 26 February or 8 March 1658 during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde...
(1658), which was largely confirmed by the Treaty of Copenhagen (1660), Denmark ceded the provinces of Skåne, Blekinge and Halland (i.e., Skåneland). Initially, Danish attempts of recovery were supported by local snaphaner guerillas, yet Denmark lost this support in subsequent wars.
Vilhelm Moberg, in his history of the Swedish people, provides a thoughtful discussion of the atrocities which were committed by both sides in the struggle over the border provinces, and identified them as the source of propaganda to inflame the peoples’ passions to continue the struggle. These lopsided representations were incorporated into history text books on the respective sides. As an example, Moberg
Vilhelm Moberg
Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg was a Swedish author and historian, most commonly associated with his four novels known as The Emigrants Series.-Early life:...
compares the history texts he grew up with in Sweden which represented the Swedish soldier as ever pure and honorable to a letter written by Gustavus Adolphus celebrating the 24 Scanian parishes he had helped level by fire, with the troops encouraged to rape and murder the population at will, behavior that may well have been mirrored equally on the Danish side. Skåneland was a rather unpleasant place to dwell for an extended period.
Assimilation with Sweden
Treaty of Roskilde
The Treaty of Roskilde was concluded on 26 February or 8 March 1658 during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde...
in 1658 – but in direct contradiction of its terms – the Swedish government in 1683 demanded that the elite groups (nobility, priests and burghers) in Skåneland accepted Swedish customs and laws. Swedish became the only language permitted in the Church liturgy and in schools, religious literature in Danish was not allowed to be printed, and all appointed politicians and priests were required to be Swedish. However the last Danish bishop, Peder Winstrup
Peder Winstrup
Peder Winstrup was Bishop of Lund in Scania during a period spanning both Danish and Swedish sovereignty of the region....
remained in charge of the Diocese of Lund until his death in 1679. To promote further Swedish assimilation the University of Lund was inaugurated in 1666; the inhabitants of Scania were not allowed to enroll in Copenhagen University until the 19th century.
The population was initially opposed to the Swedish reforms, as can be ascertained from church records and court transcripts. The Swedes did encounter civil revolts in some areas, perhaps most notably in the Göinge
Östra Göinge Municipality
Östra Göinge Municipality is a municipality in Skåne County in southern Sweden. Its seat is located in the town Broby....
district, in dense forest regions of northern Scania. The Swedish authorities resorted to extreme measures against the 17th-century rebels known as the "Snapphane
Snapphane
A snapphane was a member of a 17th century pro-Danish guerrilla organization that fought against the Swedes in the Second Northern and Scanian Wars, primarily in the former eastern Danish provinces which in the course of these wars became southern Sweden....
", including the use of impalement
Impalement
Impalement is the traumatic penetration of an organism by an elongated foreign object such as a stake, pole, or spear, and this usually implies complete perforation of the central mass of the impaled body...
, in which a stake was inserted between the spine and the victim's skin, the use of wheels to crush victims alive, as well as the nailing of bodies to church doors. In that way, it could take four to five days before the victim died.
The transformation of age-old customs, commerce and administration to the Swedish model could not be effected quickly or easily. In the first fifty years of the transition, the treatment of the population was rather ruthless. Denmark made several attempts to recapture the territories – the last in 1710, during which it almost recovered the entire Skåneland.
Before 1658, one of the provinces of Skåneland, Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
proper, had consisted of four counties: the counties of Malmøhus, Landskrone, Helsingborg and Christianstad. When Skåneland was annexed by Sweden, one of the counties of the Scania proper, Kristianstad County, was merged with Blekinge to form one of a total of three Blekinge counties.
Bornholm rebellion
In 1658, shortly after the Swedish general Printzenskiold was sent to Bornholm to start the "Swedification" process, the population of Bornholm rebelled against their new masters. Led by Jens Kofoed and Poul Anker, the rebellion formed in the town of Hasle, north of the largest city, RønneRønne
Rønne is the largest town on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,904 . Once a municipality in its own right, it is now the administrative centre of the Bornholm municipality....
. Before the rebel army reached the Swedish headquarters in Rønne, Printzenskiold was shot by Willum Clausen in the street of Sølvgade, in central Rønne.
The Swedish fled the island as a result of the confusion and fear amongst the conscripts; Jens Kofoed installed an intermediate rule and sent a message to King Frederick III of Denmark
Frederick III of Denmark
Frederick III was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death. He instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark and Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in western historiography. He was born the second-eldest son of Christian IV of Denmark and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg...
that Bornholm had liberated itself, and wished to return to Danish rule. This was confirmed in the 1660 peace settlement between Denmark and Sweden.
Swedish administration
Gustaf Otto Stenbock
Count Gustaf Otto Stenbock was a Swedish soldier and politician.He was son of Friherre Gustav Eriksson Stenbock and Countess Beata Margareta Brahe , born in Torpa, Länghem parish, Tranemo Municipality, Västergötland, Sweden.He was appointed head of Kronobergs regemente in 1637, Major General in...
, between 1658 to 1664. His residence was in the largest city, Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
.
The office of Governor General was abandoned in 1669, deemed unnecessary. However, when the Scanian War
Scanian War
The Scanian War was a part of the Northern Wars involving the union of Denmark-Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden. It was fought mainly on Scanian soil, in the former Danish provinces along the border with Sweden and in Northern Germany...
erupted in 1675, the office was reinstated, and Fabian von Fersen
Fabian von Fersen
Baron Fabian von Fersen was a Swedish soldier and statesman, who received appointments Field Marshal, and then Governor General of the Scanian lands, which included the provinces of Skåne, Halland and Blekinge in 1676....
held the office between 1675 to 1677, when he died in the defence of Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
.
He was replaced by Rutger von Ascheberg
Rutger von Ascheberg
Count Rutger von Ascheberg was a soldier, officer and civil servant in Swedish service, being appointed Lieutenant General in 1670, General in 1674, Field Marshal in 1678, Governor General of the Scanian provinces, in 1680, and Royal Councilor in 1681.-Biography:Ascheberg was born on the estate...
, in 1680, who held it to his death in 1693. It was during Ascheberg's time in office that the stricter policy of Swedification was initiated, as a reaction to the threats of war and possible Danish repossession.
Following the death of Ascheberg, the Governor Generalship was dismantled into a separate county governor for each of the Swedish provinces Blekinge, Halland and Scania. However, a Governor Generalship was reinstated in the province of Scania during the Napoleonic War, when Johan Christopher Toll
Johan Christopher Toll
Count Johan Christopher Toll , Swedish statesman and soldier, was born at Mölleröd in Scania Count Johan Christopher Toll (1 February 1743 – 21 May 1817), Swedish statesman and soldier, was born at Mölleröd in Scania Count Johan Christopher Toll (1 February 1743 – 21 May 1817), Swedish...
became the last Governor-General in the region, a post he held 1801–09.
Recent history
The complete history of Skåneland was not taught for a long time in schools in Skåneland, especially during periods with the immediate threat of revolt. Instead a Swedish-centric history was taught, and the Scanian history before 1658, for instance concerning the list of monarchs, was disregarded as a component of Danish history. In reaction, a movement began in the late 19th century to revive awareness of the history and culture of Skåneland. The renewed focus resulted in the publication of several books about Scanian history.It is still disputed whether children of the Scanian provinces should learn the local Danish-era history or the Swedish history for the period before 1658. Proposals from representatives of the Scanian constituencies in the Swedish parliament to include Scanian history in the curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
of Scanian schools have not been accepted in the decision-making plenary meetings at the Swedish Riksdag in Stockholm.
See also
- History of DenmarkHistory of DenmarkThe history of Denmark dates back about 12,000 years, to the end of the last ice age, with the earliest evidence of human inhabitation. The Danes were first documented in written sources around 500 AD, including in the writings of Jordanes and Procopius. With the Christianization of the Danes c...
- History of SwedenHistory of SwedenModern Sweden started out of the Kalmar Union formed in 1397 and by the unification of the country by King Gustav Vasa in the 16th century. In the 17th century Sweden expanded its territories to form the Swedish empire. Most of these conquered territories had to be given up during the 18th century...
- Lands of DenmarkLands of DenmarkThe three lands of Denmark historically formed the Danish kingdom from its unification and consolidation in the 9th century:*Zealand and the islands south of it, with Roskilde as a centre...
- Lands of SwedenLands of SwedenThe lands of Sweden are three traditional parts, essentially three collectives of provinces, in Sweden. These "lands" have no administrative function, and there is no official designation for this subdivision level...
- Dominions of SwedenDominions of SwedenThe Dominions of Sweden or Svenska besittningar were territories that historically came under control of the Swedish Crown, but never became fully integrated with Sweden. This generally meant that they were ruled by Governors-General under the Swedish monarch, but within certain limits retained...
- Sweden properSweden properSweden proper, , is a term used to distinguish those territories that were fully integrated into the Kingdom of Sweden, as opposed to the dominions and possessions of, or states in union with, Sweden....
Further reading
Outlined scanian orthography including morphology and word index. First revision. Outlined scanian orthography including morphology and word index.External links
- Scania at UNPO - Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation - an international organization for unrecognized regions
- Scania - Scania Future Foundation, a regionalist organization in Scania
- Föreningen Skånelands Framtid - a cultural, regionalist organization in Scania
- Skaansk Fremtid - a cultural, regionalist organization in Denmark