page_title: Haakon VI of Norway
section_title: Foreign policies in the east
hierarchical_section_title: Haakon VI of Norway / Foreign policies in the east
caption_attribution_description: English: A page from a letter from queen Margaret to king Håkon VI of Norway. DN. I.409 [1] Norsk bokmål: Side fra et brev fra dronning Margrete til kong Håkon VI. DN. I.409 [2]
context_page_description: Haakon VI of Norway, also known as Håkan Magnusson, was King of Norway from 1343 until his death and King of Sweden between 1362 and 1364. He is sometimes known as Haakon Magnusson the Younger to distinguish him from his great-grandfather, Haakon V.
  Haakon was the younger son of Magnus Eriksson, king of both Norway and Sweden. His older brother Eric was meant to succeed their father on the throne of Sweden, while Haakon was made king of Norway in his father's lifetime. Magnus greatly favored Haakon over Eric, leading to the latter's rebellion and seizure of Southern Sweden. Eric died in 1359, and Haakon became co-ruler of Sweden with his father three years later. The two reigned over Sweden together until 1364, when they were deposed in favor of Magnus' sororal nephew, Albert of Mecklenburg, by a clique of exiled Swedish noblemen led by Bo Jonsson Grip. Magnus and Haakon tried to retake the Swedish throne, but without success.
  In 1363, Haakon married Margaret, daughter of Valdemar IV of Denmark. The marriage, itself a significant element in the Nordic power struggle, resulted in the birth of one son, Olaf.
context_section_description: In 1361, Valdemar had invaded and conquered the Swedish province of Scania, as well as the two islands of Öland and Gotland, and captured the major Hanseatic town of Visby in the process. In 1361, the Hanseatic League's fleet launched a counter-strike at the Danish fleet, culminating in the Battle of Helsingborg in which the Danish fleet inflicted a devastating defeat upon the League's fleet. Furthermore, the League was forced to accept a humiliating truce, which eventually led to the unfavourable Treaty of Vordingborg, severely curtailing the League's power and influence. In Norway, Haakon had shifted his political and foreign affairs towards the east, and the reconquest of his Swedish kingdom was in particular his strongest motivation for the alliance with the recuperating Danish kingdom. The alliance between the Norwegians and the Danes threatened to shift the political and military power in the Nordic and Baltic areas, and in 1365 a series of German protests in the city of Bergen eventually forced the Hanseatic office on Bryggen in the city to be closed until 1366, which temporarily damaged the trade for the kingdom. Valdemar was unable to enforce the fragile peace with the Hanseatic cities, and in 1367 the League founded the Confederation of Cologne against Denmark and Norway to counter the growing ambitions of the two allied kings. The Confederation renewed their alliance with German-held Sweden and assembled a large fleet of warships and subsequently assaulted the Norwegian coast and continued to raid it all the way to Agder. Also, the Confederation launched a successful campaign against Valdemar in Denmark, which turned out to be disastrous for Valdemar's plans to reassemble the Danish kingdom. The Confederation raided and pillaged the Danish coast, invaded the province of Danish-held Scania, and even captured and looted the city of Copenhagen through a successful siege. This, in combination with the rebellious nobles in Jutland, forced Valdemar to flee his kingdom during Easter in 1368. Realizing the futility in a prolonged and costly war, as well as Haakon's wavering support for the disastrous conflict, Valdemar appointed his friend and advisor, Rigsdrost Henning Podebusk, to negotiate peace with the Confederation in his absence. The Confederation agreed to a truce, but only on the promise of having Valdemar acknowledge their right to tax exemption on trade across the entire Baltic Sea and renewed fishing rights in the Danish Sound. In addition to this, the Confederation forced Valdemar to grant the Hanseatic League a considerable amount of influence over the future Danish king-elections, including the right to veto against any throne candidate. Lastly, the Confederation put several towns on the coast of Scania and Helsingborg Castle under the control of the Hanseatic League for a fixed period of fifteen years.
  On 24 May 1370, representatives from the Hanseatic cities, Denmark and Norway signed the Treaty of Stralsund at Båhus Castle and formally ended the war between them, the treaty included an extension of the already established truce for an additional five years. Through this treaty, the Hanseatic League reached its pinnacle of power in the region with a virtual monopoly on lucrative trade. The defeat at the hands of the Hanseatic cities was another humiliating blow to the foreign policies of Haakon in the east. Not only did the power of the monarch gradually weaken under the mounting pressure and influence of the Hanseatic cities, but the Norwegian trade also suffered as a consequence of the Hanseatic monopoly. Haakon became less interested in Danish affairs following the military failures against the Hanseatic cities, and would again turn his attention to his chief foreign policy of retaking Sweden from the Germans, something which he would have some limited success with in the following years. However, Haakon would gain a renewed interest in Danish affairs when the opportunity to have his son elected king of Denmark arose upon Valdemar's death in 1375.
caption: A page of Margaret's letter to Haakon, ca 1370
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