Eric of Pomerania, aka King Eric of Sweden, King Eric VII of Denmark and King Eric III of Norway. Was one of the most notable Scandinavian monarchs of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. And For the last 10 years of his life, he was a pirate. He would plunder the merchant trade ships in the Baltic Sea. He succeeded his adoptive mother Margaret I of Denmark. And was the first king of the Nordic Kalmar Union, which united Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and portions of Finland under one King. Later, he was declared Eric XIII of Sweden. The number figured by counting backwards from Eric The XIV of Sweden. Whose number in turn was a part of the legendary history of the country. Eric was born in 1382 as Boguslaw, in Rügenwalde called Darlowo today located in Poland. Eric, the future king, was the only living grandson of King Valdemar The IV of Denmark. And he was also a descendant of Haakon The V of Norway and don't forget Magnus The III of Sweden. Olaf, The II Haakonsson, was the king of Denmark. Since his father’s death in 1376. Olaf became king when he was only five years old. That is until 1387 when he died suddenly and unexpectedly at 17, with no descendants to take the throne. Haakon’s mother, the Queen of Norway, appointed Eric as “the true heir of Sweden” and he was then able to succeed to the throne. The councils of the Scandinavian countries. The Rigsråd selected Queen Margaret as “all powerful lady and mistress and the Kingdom of Denmark’s Regent.” Just a short year later she was declared the “reigning queen” by the Norwegians. Boguslaw went Denmark in 1389, and his name was changed to Eric in an attempt to sound more Nordic. In September of that year, the seven-year-old, Eric was recognized as the King of Norway. Meanwhile, over in Sweden, the nobles forced the king, Magnus IV, to renounce his throne. Afterwards, the nobles led by the greatest landowner in Sweden. Bo Jonsson encouraged Duke Albert of Mecklenburg to take the Swedish throne. Unfortunately for them, soon after he took over, Albert tried to reduce the size of the large estates. From the very people who gave him the throne. Obviously, they quickly turned against him. Norway attempted to invade Sweden, but Albert victoriously fought off the invasion. This didn’t gain him any sympathy from the Swedish nobles, though. Probably because he tried to steal their land. 1388 they secretly wrote to Margaret asking for help to get rid of King Albert in return for making her regent. Not wasting any time. Margaret sent an army to Sweden to attack King Albert while the nobles of the kingdom gathered their own army against him. The Armies of King Albert were beaten in 1389. However, it took Margaret an additional 6 years until 1395 to force Albert’s supporters out of Stockholm. In case of her death, Margaret made preparations for the three kingdoms. She wanted the kingdoms to be unified and peaceful to each other and wanted her grandson Eric as the heir. Modern sources describe Eric as an industrious, visionary, and intelligent person with a strong character. He was charming and well-spoken. Although he had a hot temper. And lacked in a diplomatic sense. Most of his reign was affected by the conflicts he had with the Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein. Margaret was successfully prevailing over South Jutland. Though when Eric tried to subdue it. He chose to do it by war. Instead of diplomacy which was a failure from the very beginning. Even though he showed himself as energetic and steady. He also showed the lack of his negotiating ability. The war that Eric started slowed the Danish economy and also prevented the unification of the north. In 1429 King Eric introduced his most notable act during his reign the introduction of Sound Dues. Sound Dues were a toll for the use of the Øresund, a strait between the Danish and Swedish border. This toll gave a large stable income for his kingdom and considerably increased the economy. The Baltic powers, however, were not happy with the toll. And heated the relationships with the Hanseatic cities. Which didn't really matter as they were already at war. .............TRUNCATED BECAUSE OF LIMITED SPACE............... To my current subscribers thank you for being a part of this community please remember to help ME grow by liking and sharing. If this is your first time here I would love to have you subscribe to Mildly Entertaining. The channel that finds entertaining subjects you may not have heard of and shares it with you. Previously On Mildly Entertaining The Japanese Gas Mask Island. And island where carrying a gas mask is required by law. Click here to see the video.

• published: 19 Mar 2018
• views: 1248