effect. This news being brought to Sture in Finland, he set forth post-haste for Sweden, and called a meeting of the Cabinet. The members failed to appear on the day appointed, and when at last they came, they were accompanied by a large body of armed retainers. At a session held in Stockholm on the 7th of March, the Cabinet declared Sture deposed, assigning as reasons, first, that he had mismanaged the war with Russia, and, secondly, that he had maltreated certain of the Swedish magnates. The regent waited two days before making a reply, and then informed the Cabinet that, as he had been appointed to the regency by joint action of the Cabinet and people, he felt bound to hold it till requested by the same powers to lay it down. The Cabinet had nothing for it but to acquiesce, and letters were issued summoning a general diet. That diet, however, was never held. On the very day when the Cabinet made its armistice with Sture, Hans put forth a declaration of war, and at once proceeded with his fleet to Kalmar. The enemies of Sture now openly embraced the Danish cause; and the regent was forced to go to Dalarne, to get together a force with which to defend the kingdom. Here he was received with enthusiasm by the people, who saw in him the defender of their rights. At the head of a detachment of Dalesmen, reinforced by his army now recalled from Finland, he marched to Upsala, and laid siege to the archbishop's palace. By the middle of July it fell; and Sture advanced to Stäket, a strongly fortified castle of the archbishop, about thirty miles south of Upsala. While beleaguering this place, he learned that a portion of the Danish forces were advancing on the capital. He therefore relinquished the siege of Stäket, and proceeded to Stockholm, where he held himself in readiness to repel the enemy. On the 29th of September, being led by a ruse outside the city, he was surrounded by the Danes, and was able to recover the castle only after heavy loss. This battle sealed his fate. Finding himself far outnumbered, he deemed it wise to yield; and on the 6th of October, 1497, Hans was recognized by him as king.

The reign of Hans lasted about four years. At first he appeared desirous to promote the welfare of Sweden and to conform to the terms of the Kalmar Recess. But before long even the Cabinet began to grow weary of their king. The benefits conferred upon them were not so great as they had hoped. As for Sture, at his renunciation of the regency he had been granted extensive fiefs both in Sweden and in Finland; but in 1499 the king forced him to resign a large portion of these fiefs. The other members of the Cabinet, now having less cause of jealousy, became more friendly to Sten Sture. His old enemy, Svante Sture, was at length reconciled to him through the mediation of their common admirer, Dr. Hemming Gad. Even with the clergy Sten Sture was now on better terms; and at his solicitation, in January, 1501, the Chapter of Linköping elected Gad to fill their vacant see. The main ground of complaint against Hans was that he disregarded the clause of the Recess which forbade the granting of Swedish fiefs to Danes. Matters reached a crisis in 1501, when Sten and Svante Sture, Gad, and three others met in council and took oath to resist the oppression of their foreign ruler. This step was the signal for a general explosion. On every side the people rose in arms. Hans was in despair. He first took counsel with his warm supporter, the archbishop, and then, on the 11th of August, 1501, set off with his whole fleet for Denmark.

In the royal castle at Stockholm he left his wife Christina, who, with Erik Trolle and a force of one thousand men, was determined to resist. Gad, whose election to the bishopric of Linköping the pope refused to ratify, undertook to besiege the castle. Meantime Svante Sture laid siege to Örebro, and Sten proceeded to Dalarne and other parts to gather forces. On the 12th of November the Cabinet again called Sten Sture to the regency. In February the Castle of Örebro fell. And still Christina with her brave followers held out. Not till the 9th of May, after a bloody assault, could the patriots force a passage. Then they found that, of the one thousand who had formed the original garrison, but seventy were alive. Christina was conveyed to Vadstena, where she remained several months pending negotiations. At the close of the year 1503 she was accompanied to the frontier by the regent, who however was taken ill on his return journey, and died at Jönköping on the 13th of December, 1503. Sten Sture had done much for Sweden. Though himself a magnate, and ambitious to increase his power, he was zealous for the welfare of his country, and did more than any other of his time to awake Sweden to a sense of her existence as a nation. It was on the foundation laid by him that a still greater leader was soon to build a mighty edifice.

On the 21st of January, 1504, at a general diet of the magnates, with delegates from the burghers and peasantry of Sweden, Svante Sture was elected regent. His reign was even more warlike than that of his predecessor. The Cabinet, it is true, had come to see the benefits resulting from Sten Sture's rule, and the majority of them were lukewarm adherents of the Swedish party. But Hans was more determined than ever to seize the crown, and not only harassed Svante throughout his reign by a long series of invasions, but did all he could to compromise him with other foreign powers. Svante, however, succeeded in winning many friends. In 1504 he concluded a truce of twenty years with Russia, which was extended, by treaty of 1510, to 1564. In 1510 an alliance was also formed between Sweden and the Vend cities. In 1506 the Dalesmen, at one of their assemblies, issued a letter to the people of their provinces, urging them to support Svante with life and limb. But this burst of enthusiasm was short-lived. The war with Hans hung on. New taxes had to be imposed, and several fiefs to which different magnates laid claim were appropriated to the crown. Discontent spread once more, and at a Cabinet meeting held in September, 1511, Svante was declared deposed. He refused to yield till heard by a general diet of the kingdom, and while negotiations were pending, on the 2d of January, 1512, he died.

Nothing could have given certain members of the Cabinet greater pleasure. The clerical members especially, being warmly attached to the Danish cause, thought they now saw an opportunity to set Hans on the throne. About the middle of January the Cabinet came together and, at the solicitation of Archbishop Ulfsson, resolved to intrust the government for the time being to Erik Trolle. This gentleman, of whom we have already seen something, was of high birth as well as talent, thoroughly versed in affairs, and allied to the Danish party not only by family connection, but also by reason of large estates in Denmark. He was, moreover, a warm friend of the archbishop.

However, the hopes of Trolle were not destined to be realized. At the death of Svante, the Castle of Örebro was in command of a daring and ambitious youth of nineteen, known to history as Sten Sture the Younger. He was Svante's son, and in the preceding year had married Christina Gyllenstjerna, a great-granddaughter of King Karl Knutsson. Immediately on hearing of his father's death, he hastened to Vesterås, took possession of the castle, and despatched a messenger to convey the news to Stockholm. On the 8th of January the steward of Stockholm Castle declared his readiness to yield the command to Sture, and within a day or two the castles of Stegeborg and Kalmar were also given up. The energy with which this chivalrous youth seized the helm is all the more astounding when we reflect that he stood almost alone against the Cabinet. He could not even