Rappen War (Front Austria)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Rappenkrieg , which lasted from July 1612 to September 1614, was a conflict in the south of the Upper Austrian Upper Office Breisgau . The Austrian government and rebellious farmers from areas that are today in the Swiss canton of Aargau and in the south of the German state of Baden-Württemberg , on both sides of the High Rhine, were involved . The conflict should not be confused with the Basler Rappenkrieg from 1591 to 1594, although it had similar causes.

history

The disputes were triggered by the increase in sales tax on wine by one centime penny per measure. Farmers' representatives from Fricktal , Hotzenwald , Wehratal and Dinkelberg held a meeting in March 1612 in the Fricktal community of Mumpf . The result of the meeting was a letter of complaint to the Austrian authorities in Ensisheim (today Alsace ). The farmers not only complained about the tax increase that was unjustified in their eyes, but also about increasing forced labor , economic problems due to poor harvests and the inaction of the authorities towards “witches and fiends”.

But the government did not respond to the complaints and demanded that the farmers submit. In July 1612 negotiations between government representatives and around 800 armed peasants took place at Mumpf, but they remained fruitless. As a result, an open riot broke out.

The forest towns refused to ally with the farmers of the surrounding villages. The farmers hindered trade in Waldshut and Säckingen and dug Laufenburg 's drinking water. However, the necessary material was not available for the siege of Rheinfelden , which is why it was limited to the devastation of the area surrounding the area. The rebels took violent action against the Olsberg monastery and shot at the Kommende Beuggen .

When the Austrian government sent troops to quell the uprising, the rebellious peasants turned to the Confederation and asked for mediation. In September 1614 envoys from all federal locations went to Rheinfelden to mediate between the parties about a peaceful settlement of the conflict. After eight days, the government was able to enforce the tax increase, but had to forego tough crackdown on the farmers. Their leaders got away with mild sentences.

literature