November 7th

On this day – 7th November 1520 – The start of Stockholm Bloodbath 

Stockholm Bloodbath lasted from the 7th to the 10th of November in 1520. The bloodbath began after Denmark, under King Christian II, successfully invaded Sweden. Christian II was crowned as the king of Sweden on November 4th. The invasion was a part of a larger dispute over Swedish membership in the “Kalmar Union” between the Scandinavian countries. Around 80 people were executed between the 7th and the 10th of November, most of them where from the clergy and the nobility in Sweden. They were executed although they had been promised a general amnesty from King Christian II, and most of the nobility had been imprisoned during a conference at the royal palace. Most of the executed were hanged, although some were beheaded as a punishment instead of. The Stockholm Bloodbath led to a revolt cumulating in the Swedish War of Liberation where Sweden again gained its independence.