Olaf IV (5 May 1488 - 4 April 1549) was King of Denmark, from 1515 until his death, succeeding his father, Henry I as the second King of Denmark from the House of La Marck. He was known as Begynderen, or the Beginner, possibly in reference to the various projects he started that propelled Denmark's status. He converted Denmark to Jungism, and started colonial endeavors in the New World. He promoted the idea of a "New Scandinavian Empire", leading to tension with Denmark's fellow Jungist neighbor, the Kingdom of Sweden. Sweden had only recently broken free from Danish rule in the War of Sweden Independence two decades earlier, and Olaf's attempts to regain, and later surpass, the growing Swedish empire led to numerous conflicts.