Carol's Rebel Heritage

  Carol's ancestors are from Småland, and Nils Dacke was the heroic and revered peasant leader who exemplified the independent spirit that Småland was known for. Between 1542-43 he led an uprising against King Gustav Vasa by Smålanders.

   Excessively high taxes imposed by the king primarily to fund his Baltic expansionist ambitions burdened the people, and they also suffered from his centralization of power, restrictions on their freedom and attempt to establish a Protestant state church (Swedish reformation).

   With widespread popular support, Dacke’s peasant army succeeded in bringing all of Småland as well as neighboring areas out from under the monarch's grip. They defeated the royal forces in several battles, forcing Gustav Vasa to negotiate. So Dacke won a peace agreement with the king on November 8, 1542, and agreed not to move on to Stockholm with his army. Småland gained a degree of independence.

The Nils Dacke memorial stone at the Vissefjarda church in Småland. It features a crossbow on its tip, symbolically pointing north towards Stockholm.  The stone came from the peasant leader's nearby farm. 


   But the King reneged, and in the spring of 1543, reinforced by a large force of German mercenaries, they attacked. Over the next months they defeated the peasant army and killed Nils Dacke in the final battle, ending the rebellion.

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