The Dacke War

Nils Dacke was a well-off farmer from Småland who got so fed up with the centralism, high taxes and confiscation of church property that he led the old border county in open revolt. Thousands of peasants with improvised weaponry marched across the border into Östergötland. Initially the peasants were successful, but when the king brought in German mercenaries their fortunes quickly reversed. In the forests of Småland, Nils Dacke is still regarded as a hero of the common folk.