page_title: Finland under Swedish rule
section_title: The final battles of the union
hierarchical_section_title: Finland under Swedish rule / The age of Vasa (1523–1617) / The reign of Gustav Vasa / The final battles of the union
caption_attribution_description: English: Mikael Agricola, by Albert Edelfelt (1854–1905) Suomi: Albert Edelfeltin piirros Mikael Agricolasta. Français&#160;: Mikael Agricola, gravure de Albert Edelfelt
context_page_description: Finland under Swedish rule refers to the historical period when the bulk of the area that later came to constitute Finland was an integral part of Sweden. The starting point of Swedish rule is under a large amount of uncertainty and controversy. Historical evidence of the establishing of Swedish rule in Finland exists from the late 13th century onwards.
  The period of Swedish rule ended in the so called Old Finland in 1721 as a result of the Great Northern War and in the rest of the country on 17 September 1809, as a result of the Finnish War.
  Swedish rule in the area of modern-day Finland started as a result of the Northern Crusades. Due to the Swedish conquest, Finnish upper class lost its position and lands to new Swedish and German nobility and to the Catholic Church. The Swedish colonisation of some coastal areas of Finland with Christian population followed the crusades. This was a way to retain power in former pagan areas that had been conquered. It has been estimated that there were thousands of colonists. Colonisation led to several conflicts between the colonists and local population which have been recorded in the 14th century.
context_section_description: The final times of the union were a time of unrest in most of Finland, not only in Vyborg. In the late 16th century, the Danish went on pillages on the Finnish coast, and the pirate captain Otto Rudi robbed Turku and its cathedral's treasures. As the Danish union king Christian II of Denmark came to power, in his coronation he had tens of Swedish noblemen beheaded. This was called the Stockholm Bloodbath. The Swedish nobleman Gustav Vasa rose up to oppose the union king and won the peasants on his side. The German Hanseatic merchants also supported Gustav Vasa and provided him with weapons and money. The Finnish-born brothers Erik and Ivar Fleming conquered the Finnish castles for Gustav Vasa and drove the Danish away from Finland in 1523. The age of the Nordic union came to an end, and Gustav Vasa became king of Sweden and Finland.
caption: A drawing of Mikael Agricola by Albert Edelfelt. No contemporary images of Agricola remain.
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