Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 48. (2000)
LAVERY, Jason: Emperor Maximilian II. and the Danish-Swedish Struggle for Baltic Hegemony 1563–1576
Jason Lavery Denmark’s possession of the island Ősei. The Stettin treaties were not even mentioned.120 Collusion with his Danish counterpart allowed Johan to avoid ceding his Livonian conquests to the emperor. According to the Stettin agreements, representatives of Sweden, Denmark, and the emperor were scheduled to meet in Rostock on 24 May 1571 to exchange the instruments of ratification. The Danish delegation arrived already on 20 May and, with the other two delegations still absent, left on 16 June. Shortly after the Danes’ departure Maximilian’s representative, Christoph Zott von Pemegg, finally reached the city on 23 June. Zott’s tardiness was not his fault. His letter of safe passage from the emperor is dated 10 June. According to his own account he left the next day. The emperor’s inability to send an ambassador in a timely fashion is surprising, especially since the date had been agreed upon in December 1570. On 28 June 1571, a messenger from King Johan arrived in Rostock and informed Zott that, although the Swedish king had prepared his delegation on 22 May, unspecified hindrances kept it from participating in the meeting.121 Maximilian learned in June 1572 the specific reasons for the Swedes’ absence from Rostock. In a letter dated 13 December 1571, the Swedish king explained that he would not give up Livonia while the Russians and Duke Magnus were attacking his troops. Johan reminded the emperor that the Stettin treaties guaranteed Sweden compensation for the costs of defending Livonia from the Russians. As long as the war against Russia continued, he would continue to blockade Narva.122 123 Unable to exert pressure on Johan, the emperor could only respond by making repeated calls for a meeting over the next four years. The Swedish king ignored these requests.121 In May of 1576, he felt strong enough to give Maximilian the following ultimatum in which he asked the emperor: between now and the next St. Paul’s day [25 Jan. 1577] announce to us, whether [the emperor] according to the Stettin agreements would take onto himself the oppressed lands and people of Livonia in their highest need, especially the city of Reval which we again want to declare for Your Imperial Majesty and the Holy Empire, or rather due to remoteness and inconvenience would relinquish it immediately, and would be inclined to give its jurisdiction [to us], so that we could have the opportunity to act and protect our kingdom from future damage.124 120 Roberts: Early Vasas,pp. 497-509. 121 HHStA, Kriegsakten 28a, Konv. 1571 unfol., „June 1571", Zott’s report (or) (ndr); HHStA Passbriefe 18 Konv. 3 unfol., Prague 10 June 1571 pass for Zott (draft). 122 HHStA, Kriegsakten 28a, Konv. 1571, unfol., Kalmar 13 Dec. 1571 Johan to Maximilian (rec. Ina 5 June 1572) (or). 123 Lavery : Holy Roman Empire, pp. 336-350. 124 Hoffmann, Johann Wilhelm: Sammlung ungedruckter und zu den Geschichten, auch Staats- Lehn und andern Rechten des Heil. Römischen Reichs gehöriger Nachrichten, Dokumenten und Urkunden. Halle 1736, vol. 1, pp. 535-538. 226
