Freedom League of the Seven East Friesland

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Freedom League of the Seven East Friesland was an alliance directed against Focko Ukena in East Friesland in 1430 under the leadership of the chief family Cirksena from Greetsiel , namely chief Edzard Cirksena . In it the East Frisians defended themselves against the increasing oppression and the constantly increasing burdens that resulted from the rule of the Ukenas.

causes

After defeating Ocko II. Tom Brok in the Battle of the Wild Fields , Focko Ukena was initially the undisputed ruler in East Frisia. He tried to consolidate this through his policy, but appeared very clumsy and imposed ever higher taxes and greater repression on the East Frisians. After they had just escaped the yoke of tom Brok , many residents of East Friesland were disappointed in Ukena. and the other chiefs had turned away from Ocko II tom Brok, as he seemed to betray the Frisian freedom which Ukena pretended to be defending.

So around 1430 an uprising arose in the homeland of tom Brok, the Brookmerland (today's spelling) with the support of the family, which after a failed attack by Focko on the Bremen city land on the Lower Weser, expanded into a general East Frisian popular uprising. After the conquest of Oldersum and Aurich , the East Frisian regional associations and the smaller chiefs joined on November 14, 1430 under the leadership of Chief Edzard Cirksena from Greetsiel, the "Freedom League of the Seven East Frisia", which was directed against Focko, his sons and his son-in-law Sibet von Rüstringen .

Effects

Excavations at the site of the destroyed Fockenburg, 2017

The members of the Freedom League put up a state contingent , which besieged the Fockenburg in Leer for half a year and destroyed it. After this could no longer be held, Focko Ukena fled powerless to Emden. The up-and-coming Cirksena sensed their chance and in 1433 they linked themselves independently with the city of Hamburg. This wanted to put an end to the East Frisian toleration of pirates once and for all and therefore relied on a strong sovereign in East Frisia. The last partisans of Focko were defeated by this alliance in 1433 at Bargebur . This laid the foundation for the rule of the Cirksena in East Frisia that soon followed .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ College of the East Frisian Landscape (ed.): Res Frisicae. Contributions to the East Frisian constitutional, social and cultural history. Harm Wiemann on his 75th birthday on May 24, 1978 . Aurich 1978 (treatises and lectures on the history of East Frisia, 59). P. 44.
  2. ^ City of Leer (East Friesland): From "Hleri" to Leer / City of Leer (East Friesland). Retrieved November 16, 2017 .