The Finnish Club War
The Finnish Club War The Cudgel War broke out on 25 November 1596, in Kyrö, South Ostrobothnia. Sweden was on a war footing in the late 16th century. Taxes fell disproportionally on the peasantry, who in Finland – then under Swedish dominion – had to accept the billeting of troops in their villages. Soldiers were allowed to plunder stocks of food and fodder. Tensions were further inflamed by a dispute for the crown between Sigismund III and his uncle Duke Charles, later Charles IX. In the autumn of 1596 a delegation of peasants petitioned Charles, who saw an opportunity to undermine the king’s marshal in Finland, Klaus Fleming. ‘There are … so many of you that you ought to be able to shake [the soldiers] off’, Charles said, ‘even if armed only with fence posts and clubs.’ The Club War – also known as the Cudgel War – broke out soon after, on 25 November in Kyrö, South Ostrobothnia. The houses of the local gentry were looted. Some were burnt to the ground. In others, the