For hundreds of years up until the 18th century, the history of the province of Scania was marked by the struggle between the two Scandinavian kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden over the hegemony in the Baltic area.
Viking age
It was previously thought that society in Scania, like in the rest of Scandinavia, was made up of mostly Fen farmers and cattle farmers, thralls, the farmer being free and equal, and having their say at the Things in the affairs of society. Archeological findings on Jutland, the Danish islands, and on the Scanian plains have modified this picture. It has now become clear that the distribution of wealth, at least from the early Migration Period, was very uneven. The plains were to a large extent divided up between large farms which were far bigger than smallholdings, and were often grouped in villages. Subsequently, only a small faction of the population can be presumed to have enjoyed full civic rights. It seems now more likely that this society ought to be perceived as a system of tribes, each led by chieftains, in Danish often called godes, whose authority depended on the size and wealth of the tribe. Scania had 5 main tribes each having had their own Thanes (leaders), and their own group of warriors, all under the command of the King of Scania.
After Christianization
While it was long thought that a period of domestic colonization with Scania started before the Viking Age, it seems like it largely took place after the Viking Age, when donations of land to monasteries led to influences from Continental Europe. This led to a transition from a predominantly animal husbandry-based society to one of farming, which entailed extensive land clearing, possibly also connected with the liberation of the thralls, that led to the creation of many new settlements with names ending in -torp, -rup, and -rød.
Scania was first mentioned in written texts in the 8th century, stating that it was a part of Denmark. According to the Large Jelling Stone, Scanians, like all Danes were Christianized by the King of all Danes, Harald Bluetooth before this stone was raised, presumably around 985 AD.
The Scanian law, the oldest of the Medieval Scandinavian laws, came into force in the beginning of the 13th century. It is remarkable in the sense that it exists written in both Latin letters (not in Latin though) as well as Runes, Codex runicus.Helmer Lång "Skånska Språket", illustrated at page 15 Litteraturtjänst, Already in 1060 was Dalby Church build by Svend Estridsen, as one of the first Danish churches made of stone. Between 1104 and 1536, Lund was the Archbishopric of Denmark, and the Danish National Banner, Dannebrog, was preserved in the Cathedral for several centuries.:da:Skåne#Historie
In 1332 the lands of the eastern Danish provinces, which included Scania, Blekinge and Ven were sold to King Magnus IV of Sweden by Duke Johan of Holstein (who had received the provinces from the Danish king), after the local population expressed dissatisfaction with Duke Johan and stated they would rather be ruled by the Swedes. The Duke started negotiations with the Swedes and it was agreed that the Swedish king would redeem the pledge for 34,000 marks of silver (6 432 kilo). The province was later reconquered by the Danish king Valdemar IV of Denmark in 1360, as part of his conquest campaign to regain previously lost Danish territory. During parts of the Middle Ages, Scania was known throughout Northern Europe for its herring and the market where it was sold.
14th and 15th centuries In the middle of the 14th century, the Black Death affected the area as much as in most of Europe. Generally the population declined by a third or more. By the end of this century, the Kalmar Union rose as an attempt to counter the Hanseatic League. The Union was largely a creation of Queen Margaret who had become Queen in Denmark and Norway in 1387, as her only son, King Olaf II of Denmark and IV of Norway died. And two years later she helped the Swedes to get rid of the disliked Albert of Mecklenburg. Her adopted son Boguslaw, actual son of a Polish-Pomeranian Duke,Etting, Vivian (2009), Margrete den første, Nordisk Forlag A/S, was given the name Eric of Pomerania, as he was crowned King of all three Scandinavian countries on 17 June 1397 in Kalmar, hence the name of the Union. Queen Margaret, remained as the de facto ruler of the three kingdoms more or less until her death in 1412. King Eric founded the Scanian Town, which today is known as LandskronaErik the seventh of Denmark http://danmarkshistorien.dk/leksikon-og-kilder/vis/materiale/erik-af-pommern-ca-1382-1459/ Source states the traditional 1413 as founding, but findings in Danish National archive indicates the town to be even older. However "early in 15th century" is supported by the source at http://www.citadellet.com/landskrona-citadell-en-minihistoria/ at the central part of the all Danish Öresund, and introduced the Sound Dues in 1429, which was to last until 1857 (with exception of Swedish ships between 1658 and 1720). By this he secured a large stable income for his kingdom that made it relatively rich and which made the town of Elsinore (Helsingør) flowering.this part is taken from Eric of Pomerania article In the Franciscan monastery at Lund, "the Academy" was established in 1425. It was a kind of medieval university, but was closed when the Reformation reached Denmark in 1536.:da:Akademiet i Lund
Renaissance and final Danish rule
Golden age of the aristocracy
The period between 1536 and 1660 is often considered a golden age of the Scania nobility in terms of their wealth and economic control. Church estates were confiscated by the Crown in 1536 (following the example of the Swedish Crown in 1527 provided by Gustav Vasa). These included prosperous lands belonging to the former archbishopric at Hogestad and Snårestad as well as those of the monasteries at Bosjökloster, Dalbykloster and Övedskloster. However, the land swap policy of Fredrik II whereby he exchanged lands in Scania for lands near his own estate in Själland (Zealand) resulted in large areas within Scania falling into the hands of local nobility. Their wealth is visible in the private castle-building of the period in places such as Rosendal Castle. By the 17th century approximately 54% overall of the 15,000 estates in Scania were owned by the nobility, though the concentration of ownership was not evenly spread. In the area of Ystad, around 80% of the farmland was owned by aristocrats by 1650.At page 152-155 in Skansjö, Sten (1997) Skånes Historia Historiska Media (printed by Books on Demand GmbH)
Regional tensions Scania's geopolitical position, situated on the Scandinavian mainland but politically part of the Danish kingdom, made it for centuries the focal point of the struggle for hegemony in the Baltic region between Denmark and Sweden, the so-called dominium maris baltici. The two Nordic countries were in conflict with each other for about five hundred years. By possessing both sides of the Öresund strait, as well as The Belts, Denmark had effective control over the entrance to the Baltic Sea and was able to monopolize trade through the sounds. From the 15th century, Denmark started to collect the Sound Dues, a transitory due from all foreign ships passing through the strait, whether en route to or from Denmark or not. The Sound Dues constituted the major source of income for the Danish crownJespersen, Knud J. V. (2004) . A History of Denmark. Palgrave Macmillan. , p. 3. and was resented by the Swedish Crown. In the Second Treaty of Brömsebro (1645), Sweden's representatives stipulated toll freedom in Öresund for the country, and after this point, Sweden was exempted from paying the Danish Sound Toll.Verzijl, J. H. W. et al. (1971). International law in historical perspective. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. , p. 133-138. However, this arrangement came to an end in 1720, when the Treaty of Frederiksborg officially ended Sweden's toll-free status. Denmark continued to collect Sound Toll until 1857.
In the winter of 1612, over a period of two weeks, the Swedish King Gustav II Adolf burned down or otherwise destroyed 24 Scanian parishes and most of their population without meeting any enemy troops. The largest destroyed settlement was the town of Væ, which two years later was replaced by Danish King Christian IV as the nearby Christiansted (after the Swedification process, spelled Kristianstad), the last Scanian town to be founded by a Danish king.Wilhelm Moberg, "Hur historien förfalskas" or "How history is falsified" – short story written by famous Swedish author Wilhelm Moberg who asked to see the King's letter written to his cousin Johan at Swedish National Archive, and then wrote about it. Moberg's text is available in Swedish at http://www.janmilld.se/historia/moberg.html
1658 conquest by Sweden
Following the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, Scania together with all Danish lands east of Öresund became a possession of Sweden. This treaty followed the Dano-Swedish War (1657-1658), which was a part of a wider war, which also included Poland and some of the German states of that time.
Soon after the signing of the Instrument of CessionManad Bilder 2008 king Charles X Gustav of Sweden landed in Helsingborg on 5 March 1658 (O.S.) to take possession of the newly acquired provinces. The king was received by a delegation led by the bishop of the Diocese of Lund, Peder Winstrup. The Copenhagen-born bishop quickly shifted his allegiance to the new ruler and later became ennobled. He stayed in office until his death in 1679.
After the Roskilde treaty war with Denmark soon broke out again, this time started by Charles X Gustav of Sweden. The result of this war and the following Treaty of Copenhagen (1660) was the return of Bornholm to Denmark and the present border between the countries was established. At that time king Charles Gustav had died of an infection, during a visit to Gothenburg.
Scania, together with the other so-called Scanian provinces, was placed under a Governor-General taking up residence in the city of Malmö. The first Governor-General was Gustaf Otto Stenbock. This type of government was used in territories which were not fully integrated and were regarded as being more exposed to enemy attacks.Terra Scaniae. Skånes län efter 1658 . (In Swedish). Retrieved 8 March 2010. The Governor-General held the highest military command in his area and had four county governors answering to him. In 1669 the general governorate was dismantled, but after the outbreak of the Scanian War in 1676 it was reinstituted.
In 1666 the University of Lund or Regia Academia Carolina, after a proposal from Bishop Peder Winstrup, was established as part of a programme of measures to further integrate the newly acquired provinces. The university was closed during the Scanian War, but reopened in 1682.
In 1676, during the Scanian War, the province was occupied by Denmark and many Scanians either joined the Danish army or fought with the Danish. The members of this partisan movement were known as "friskydter", but are today most known by the Swedish degrading name Snapphanar.(Swedish) http://historiesajten.se/handelser2.asp?id=44(Danish) http://danmarkshistorien.dk/leksikon-og-kilder/vis/materiale/snaphaner/ The 1676–1679 war between Denmark and Sweden over Scania was devastating for the people of Scania. It effectively ended in a draw, after much destruction of property and suffering for the civilian population. Landskrona Citadel became used as the primary Danish base and recruitment centrehttp://www.citadellet.com/landskrona-citadell-en-minihistoria/ under headline 1678 Turning points came with the Swedish victories in the Battle of Lund in December 1676 and the Battle of Landskrona in July 1677. But the war continued another two years.