There was a song in the Vietnam era that asked what war was good for. The answer was, absolutely nothing. War does occasionally throw up funny names for its conflicts: The War of the Oaken Bucket (Italy 1325), The War of the Golden Stool (Ghana 1896), The War of the Three Sanchos (Spain 1065-71), and strangest of all, The War of Jenkins’ Ear (Caribbean 1739-42).
The Pemmican War took place between two trading companies just across the border in Manitoba during the years 1814-20. And it was on this day in 1597 that the last battle of the Cudgel War took place between Finnish peasants and Finnish nobles. Guess which side used cudgels and which side won.
Like most of the strangely named wars, the Cudgel War was part of a larger conflict. Duke Charles lived in Sweden and wanted to be king there, but Sigismund, who was Charles's nephew, was the legitimate king. Sigismund was also king of Poland which is where he lived. In 1595 Charles stirred up the peasants of Finland against the nobles of Finland who supported Sigismund.
The peasants were ready to be stirred. Sweden, under Sigismund's leadership, had been fighting Russia off and on for 25 years. The Finnish nobles helped Sigismund in the war and in return the Finnish peasants were required to supply the nobles with food and free labor. The peasants kept their mouths shut during the war, but when the nobles kept hanging around years after the war ended demanding this, that and the other thing, the peasants got upset.
This might have gone on for years. The nobles had swords and lances and rode horses after all while the peasants only had flails and cudgels and went on foot. But after a series of failed harvests, the peasants went berserk on Christmas Eve, 1595. The peasants did well at first and the nobles asked for a truce, demanding that the peasants turn over their leader.
The leader went into hiding and the peasant army fell apart. The nobles were able to mop up (kill) a large number of peasants and a year later, the peasant leader and five of his generals were executed. Charles continued to stir up trouble so Sigismund came over to Sweden the next year to discipline (kill) his uncle. Sigismund almost succeeded in capturing Charles, but pressing business called him back to Poland and Charles went on to become King Charles IX of Sweden.
These later events included the Sausage Campaign (1598). You'll have to look that one up for yourself, though I will tell you the peasants came off badly.
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| "Put your bow away grandpa. It's too late." |
Some wars were named after people:
ReplyDeleteHernado de Soto Expedition (a war of resistance) 1539-1543,
King Phillip’s war 1675-76,
Father Rale’s War 1722-24,
Lord Dunmore’s War 1774,
Other wars, were named after things:
Bacon’s Rebellion 1676,
Peach Tree War 1655
Beaver Wars 1641-1701,
Red Stick War 1813, (I suspect similar to cudgels)
Although using sticks as weapons (with the exception of sharpened spears and wooden arrows) definitely had their places on and off the battlefield, some remarks were rather cutting as well: 'Showdown at Fort Ripley 1862', Hole-In-The-Day is quoted to have said to Commissioner William Dole, "Are you the smartest man that our Great Father could send in a trying time like this? Because if you are the smartest man the Great Father has got, I pity our Great Father."
Hoo-yah!
The Great Father may not have had smart men, but he did have a limitless supply of soldiers and settlers.
DeleteAlas.
In err, I forgot to reference the above quote as being found in National Geographic: The Indian Wars, "Ojibwe Intervention in Minnesota," 'Diplomacy at Gunpoint', Anton Treuer Page 109
ReplyDeleteWhat about the often forgotten War T Removal Service?
ReplyDelete"What is it good for?" Absolutely nothin'!" That says it all, except will the human race ever wise up and quit making excuses for killing one another. I'm very pessimistic.
ReplyDelete