Cudgel War - War

War

The peasants took up residence in Nokia Manor and won several skirmishes against small cavalry forces, but were decisively defeated by Clas Fleming on January 1–2, 1597. A field battle had ensued at Nokia, which ended indecisively; the men-at-arms could not break the fortified positions of the yeomen nor could the yeomen defeat the men-at-arms at open. Clas Fleming then attempted a stratagem, promising the yeomen to leave their positions should they give their leaders up to Fleming. The yeomen obliged. Once they had surrendered their leaders, Clas Fleming ordered an all-out assault against the yeomen, who had left their positions. The yeomen were massacred in heaps. Their commander-in-chief, Jaakko Ilkka managed to flee, but was captured a few weeks later and beheaded with four other yeoman leaders at the church of Ilmajoki. A second wave of insurgents suffered a decisive loss at Ilmajoki in the Battle of Santavuori on February 24. In total almost 3000 people died in the rebellion.

The insurgents were mostly Finnish peasants from Ostrobothnia, Northern Tavastia and Savo. Tired of the hardships of the Russo-Swedish War of 1590–1595, they were disappointed to find out that they were still required to provide food, transport, and lodging for a sizable army even after the Treaty of Teusina. The insurgents also complained that soldiers abused the system of taxation by taking by force more than to which they were legally entitled. The events can also be seen as a part of a larger power struggle between King Sigismund, whom Fleming powerfully supported, and Duke Charles, who expressed sympathy for the peasants' cause but was unable to intervene militarily.