History

Overview

Denmark formed part of Viking kingdoms in the 8th to 10th century and was the centre of the Danish Empire under Canute in the 11th century. It joined with Norway and Sweden in 1389; Sweden separated from the union in the 16th century, as did Norway in 1814. Schleswig-Holstein was lost to Germany in 1864, but northern Schleswig was returned after a plebiscite in 1920. During World War II, Denmark was occupied by Germany. Iceland became independent of Danish rule in 1944. Denmark's monarch, Queen Margrethe II, acceded to the throne in 1972, and the country became part of the European Community. A referendum rejected a proposal to replace the krone with the Euro in 2000.

Prehistoric Denmark

The earliest Danish archaeological findings date back to 130,000-110,000 BC in the Eem interglacial period. People have inhabited Denmark since about 12,500 BC, and agriculture has been in evidence since around 3,900 BC. The Nordic Bronze Age (1,800-600 BC) in Denmark was marked by burial mounds, which left an abundance of findings, including lurs and the Sun Chariot.

During the Pre-Roman Iron Age (500 BC - AD 1), native groups began migrating south. The Roman provinces maintained trade routes and relations with native tribes in Denmark, and Roman coins have been found in Denmark. Evidence of strong Celtic cultural influence dates from this period in Denmark and much of northwest Europe, and is among other things reflected in the finding of the Gundestrup cauldron. The first Danish people came to Denmark between the Pre-Roman and Germanic Iron Age, in the Roman Iron Age (AD 1-400).

Before the arrival of precursors to the Danes, who came from Scandinavia and spoke an early form of north Germanic, most of Jutland and part of the islands had been vacated or partly vacated by the earlier Jutes, who settled in Britain together with the Angles and the Saxons to form the Anglo-Saxons.

The exact origin of Denmark has been lost in history, but a short note about the Dani in "The Origin and Deeds of the Goths" from 551 AD by historian Jordanes is believed by some to be an early mention of the Daner, one of the ethnos from which are descended the modern Danish people. The Danevirke defence structures were built in several phases from the 3rd century forth, and the sheer size of the construction efforts in 737 are attributed to the emergence of a Danish king. The new runic alphabet was first used at the same time, and Ribe, the oldest town of Denmark, was founded about 700.

Viking Age

From the 8th to the 10th century, the Danes were known as Vikings. Together with Norwegians and Swedes, they colonised, raided and traded in all parts of Europe. Viking explorers first discovered Iceland by accident in the 9th century, on the way towards the Faroe Islands and eventually came across "Vinland" (Land of wine) also known today as Newfoundland, in Canada. The Danish Vikings were most active in England and France where they temporarily conquered parts of England (known as the Danelaw), Ireland and France.

Various petty kingdoms existed throughout the area now known as Denmark for many years. It is thought that around 980, Harold Bluetooth established a unified kingdom of Denmark. Around the same time, he was visited by a German missionary who, according to legend, survived an ordeal by fire, which convinced Harold to convert to Christianity. The new religion, which replaced the old Norse mythology, had many advantages for the king. Christianity brought with it some support from the Holy Roman Empire. It also allowed the king to dismiss many of his opponents who were adherents to the old mythology. The church would bring a stable administration to his lands that he could hopefully use to exercise some control over them.

After the death of Canute the Great in 1035, England broke away from Danish control and Denmark fell into disarray for some time. Vikings from Norway raided Denmark sporadically. Canute's nephew Sweyn Estridson (1020-1074) re-established strong royal authority and built a good relationship with the Archbishop of Bremen, who was at that time the Archbishop of all of Scandinavia.

In the early 12th century, Denmark became the seat of an independent church province of Scandinavia. Not long after that, Sweden and Norway formed their own archbishoprics free of Danish control. The mid 12th century was a difficult time for the kingdom of Denmark. Civil wars rocked the land and created much strife. Eventually, Valdemar the Great (1131-82), gained control of the kingdom, stabilizing it and reorganizing the administration. He and Bishop Absalon rebuilt the country. During Valdemar's reign, a castle was built in the village of Havn, leading eventually to the foundation of Copenhagen, the modern capital of Denmark. They built Denmark into a major power in the Baltic Sea, which competed with the Hanseatic League, the Counts of Holstein, and the Teutonic Knights for trade, territory, and influence throughout the Baltic. Valdemar and his successors launched various 'crusades' to claim territories, notably modern Estonia. Legend has it that the Danish flag, the Dannebrog fell from the sky during a battle in Estonia in 1219.

The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages saw a period of close cooperation between the crown and the church. Thousands of churches were built throughout the country during that time. The economy expanded during the 12th century, based mostly on the lucrative herring trade, but the 13th century was a period of difficulty and the temporary collapse of royal authority.

The kings of Denmark had difficulty maintaining their control of the kingdom in the face of opposition from the nobility and the church. There was an extended period of strained relations between the crown and the Popes of Rome known as the "archiepiscopal conflicts". By the late 13th century, royal power had waned, and the nobility forced the king to grant a charter, considered Denmark's first constitution. Following the Battle of Bornhöved, a weakened Denmark proved a great benefit to both the Hanseatic League and the Counts of Holstein. The Holstein Counts gained control of large portions of Denmark because the king would grant them fiefs in exchange for money to finance their operations. Consequently, by the 1320s the king was largely bound by the wishes of these counts, who by then owned most of Denmark. The country had effectively been dissolved by the 1330s and 1340s.

The territory of Skåne passed for a while to the King of Sweden. In 1340, the throne fell to Valdemar Atterdag, or "New Day". He was a skilled politician and was able to reunite the old kingdom of Denmark by turning the counts against each other. The Black Death, which came to Denmark during these years, also aided his campaign. His continued efforts to expand the kingdom after 1360 brought him into open conflict with the Hanseatic League. He conquered Gotland, much to the displeasure of the League, since Visby, an important trading town, was located there. Their alliance with Sweden to attack Denmark was initially a fiasco since Danish forces captured a large Hanseatic fleet, and ransomed them back for an enormous sum. Luckily for the League the Jutland Nobles revolted against the heavy taxes levied to fight the expansionist war in the Baltic; the two forces worked against the king, forcing him into exile in 1370. For several years, the Hanseatic League controlled the fortresses on "the sound" between Skåne and Zealand.

1397-1521: The Kalmar Union

Margaret I was the daughter of Valdemar Atterdag. She was married to Håkon VI of Norway in an attempt to join the two kingdoms, along with Sweden, since Håkon was related to the Swedish royal family. Originally her son, Olaf III was intended to rule the three kingdoms, but due to his early death she took on the role. During her life, the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (including the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and present-day Finland) were unified under her capable rule, in what was called the Kalmar Union, made official in 1397.

Her successor, Eric of Pomerania, lacked his predecessor's skill and was directly responsible for the breakup of the Kalmar Union. However, there was still some enthusiasm for the idea, so when Christopher of Bavaria, a distant relative came to the throne, he managed to be elected in all three kingdoms, briefly reuniting Scandinavia. The Swedish nobility grew increasingly unhappy with Danish rule and the union soon became merely a legal concept with little practical application.

In the early 16th century, Christian II came to power. He is quoted as saying, "If the hat on my head knew what I was thinking, I would pull it off and throw it away". This is apparently in reference to his devious and Machiavellian political dealings. He had conquered Sweden in an attempt to reinforce the union, and had about 100 leaders of the Swedish anti-unionist forces, killed in what came to be known as the Stockholm Bloodbath. The bloodbath destroyed any lingering hope of Scandinavian union.

1521-1814: Denmark-Norway

In the aftermath of Sweden's definite secession from the Kalmar Union in 1521, civil war and Protestant Reformation followed in Denmark and Norway. When things had settled down, the Privy Council of Denmark was weakened, and that of Norway was abolished. The two kingdoms were joined in personal union, known as Denmark-Norway. Norway kept its separate laws and some institutions, such as a royal chancellor, and separate coinage and army. Being a hereditary kingdom, Norway's status as separate from Denmark was important to the royal dynasty in its struggle to win elections as kings of Denmark. The two kingdoms remained tied until 1814.

1530- 1799: Early Modern History

The Reformation, which originated in Germany from the ideas of Martin Luther, had a strong impact on Denmark; today the national Church of Denmark is Lutheran. The Reformation was introduced in Denmark in 1536. As elsewhere in Europe, the spread of Protestantism was made possible by the powerful combination of popular enthusiasm for the reform of the church and the enthusiasm of the government for the opportunity for increased independence from Rome. No small incentive for independence from Rome involved seizure of Church lands by the King. In Denmark this increased royal revenues by 300%.

There was widespread dissatisfaction with the established Roman church and in the early 1530s the people were incited to attack monasteries and churches. When Frederick I died in 1533, a council of Bishops took control of the country and refused to allow the election of Christian III whom they feared would welcome Lutheranism. Armed opposition from nobles and the mayor of Lübeck forced them to accept Christian as king, and sure enough, church lands were soon confiscated (to pay for the armies that had enforced his election) and priests were forced to convert their allegiance to Lutheranism. Denmark quickly became part of the heartland of Lutheranism. The seventeenth century became a period of strict Lutheran orthodoxy in Denmark; teachings suspected of representing either Calvinism or the teachings of Huldrych Zwingli were harshly punished.

Politics

Denmark grew wealthy during the sixteenth century, largely because of the increased traffic through the Øresund which they were able to tax because Denmark controlled both sides of the Sound. The grain trade from Poland to the Netherlands and the rest of Europe grew enormously at this time, and the Danish Kings were not hesitant to cash in on it.

The Danish economy benefited from the Eighty Years' War in the Netherlands because a large number of skilled refugees from that area, the most economically advanced in Europe, came to Denmark. This helped to modernise many aspects of society and established trade links with the Netherlands.

Denmark was a relatively powerful kingdom at this time. European politics of the sixteenth century revolved largely around the struggle between Catholic and Protestant forces, so it was almost inevitable that Denmark, a strong, unified Lutheran kingdom, would get drawn into the larger war when it came. The Thirty Years' War went badly for the Protestant states in the early 1620s, and Denmark was called on to "save the Protestant cause". Embarrassingly for Christian IV, the Danish military intervention in Germany was a fiasco; worse still, Sweden later intervened with greater success.

Christian IV is nevertheless widely remembered as one of the great kings of Denmark. He had a very long reign, from 1588 to 1648, and is known as the architect on the Danish throne because of the large number of building projects he undertook. Many of the great buildings of Denmark were constructed during his reign.

After his death, Denmark waged a disastrous war against Sweden. An abnormally cold winter allowed Swedish troops of Charles X Gustav of Sweden to cross the frozen Great Belt and march towards Copenhagen, forcing Denmark to conclude a hasty peace settlement to avoid a storm of Copenhagen. The peace in 1658 ceded three of Denmark's richest provinces, Skåne, Halland, and Blekinge, to Sweden under the terms of the Treaty of Roskilde.

Absolutism

As a result of the disaster in the war against Sweden, King Frederick III was able to convince the nobles to give up some of their powers and their exemption from taxes, leading to the era of absolutism in Denmark.

The Danish diet was suspended, disappearing for a couple of centuries. During this time power was increasingly centralised in Copenhagen. The government was reorganised in a much more hierarchical manner, built around the king as a focal point of administration. Crown officials dominated the administration, as well as a new group of bureaucrats, much to the dismay of the traditional aristocracy which saw their influence curtailed even further.

The administration and laws were modernized during this period. In 1683, all the old provincial laws were standardised and collected in the Danske lov 1683.

Other initiatives included the standardisation of all weights and measures throughout the kingdom, and an agricultural survey and registry. This survey allowed the government to begin taxing land owners directly, allowing it to move beyond dependence on revenue from crown lands.

The population of Denmark rose steadily through this period, from 600,000 in 1660, after the loss of territory to Sweden, to 700,000 in 1720. By 1807 it rose to 978,000.

Attempts to diversify the economy away from agriculture failed. During this period very little industry existed, except for a very small amount in Copenhagen (pop. 30,000). In the late 17th century a small amount of industry did develop catering to the army. The primary export market was the Netherlands. The nobility of the country counted only about 2000, but owned about half the land in the country.

Rural administration was, however, still carried out primarily by the large landholders and a few law enforcement officials. In 1733, adscription was introduced, tying rural labourers to the place that they were born. They could not leave the estate they were born on without the permission of the landowner. Theoretically this was to organise the militia but it also provided cheap labour. Adscription was abolished in 1788 at the initiative of the new more liberal bourgeois class centred in Copenhagen.

In the late 18th century, extensive agricultural reforms were executed. The old open-field system was abolished, and many smaller farms were amalgamated into larger ones.

Throughout the 18th century, the Danish economy did very well, largely on the back of expanded agricultural output due to expanded demand across Europe. Danish trading ships also traded around Europe and the north Atlantic, venturing to new Danish colonies in the Caribbean and north Atlantic.

New propriety and enlightenment ideas became popular among the middle classes of Denmark. A result was an increased interest in personal liberty. Censorship, which had existed through the 17th and 18th centuries, was relaxed for the last 15 years of the 18th century. At the same time, a sense of Danish nationalism began to develop. Hostility increased against Germans and Norwegians present at the royal court. A pride in the Danish language and culture increased, and eventually a law was passed banning "foreigners" from holding posts in the government. Antagonism between Germans and Danes increased from the mid eighteenth century on.

Denmark became the model enlightened despotism. Between 1784 and 1815, serfdom was abolished, and the majority of the peasants were made landowners. Free trade and universal education was also introduced.

Danish Colonialism

Denmark maintained a number of colonies outside Scandinavia starting in the 17th century lasting until the 20th century. Denmark had colonies in Greenland and Iceland in the north Atlantic held through the union with Norway. Christian IV first initiated the policy of expanding Denmark's overseas trade, as part of the mercantilist wave that was sweeping Europe.

Denmark's first colony was established at Tranquebar (Trankebar) on India's southcoast in 1620. In the Caribbean Denmark started a colony on St Thomas in 1671, St John in 1718, and purchased Saint Croix from France in 1733.

The Danish East India Company operated out of Tranquebar. During its heyday, the Danish and Swedish East India Company imported more tea than the British East India Company - and smuggled 90% of it into Britain, where it could be sold at a huge profit. Both East India Companies folded over the course of the Napoleonic Wars. Other colonies, forts and bases were maintained in west Africa, primarily for the purpose of slave trading.

Denmark in the 19th Century

1804-1815: Napoleonic Wars

Denmark's robust economy was shattered by the expenses and losses of the Napoleonic wars. The British fleet attacked Copenhagen in 1801 (Battle of Copenhagen) which led to Denmark allying with the French. In 1807, the British fleet bombarded Copenhagen again, which caused considerable civilian hardship. They captured the Danish fleet and brought it back to Britain, leading to the Gunboat War.

Norway was transferred from the Danish to the Swedish crown by the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, as a reward to Sweden which had chosen the victorious side. But the Norwegians revolted, declared their independence, and elected crown prince Christian Frederick (the future Christian VIII) as king. After a brief war with Sweden, he was forced to abdicate in order to preserve Norwegian autonomy, in a personal union with Sweden.

During this period Denmark was literally bankrupt. Merchants fled, and the general population suffered a period of general deprivation. Interestingly, this period is also known as "the Golden Age" of Danish intellectual history. Literature, painting, sculpture and philosophy all underwent an unusually vibrant period. Hans Christian Andersen, Kierkegaard, Thorvaldsen, and Grundtvig were all active during this period.

Nationalism and Liberalism

The Danish liberal and national movements gained momentum in the 1830s, and after the European revolutions of 1848 Denmark became a constitutional monarchy on June 5, 1849. The growing bourgeoisie demanded a share in government, and in an attempt to avert the bloody revolutions that were occurring elsewhere in Europe, Frederick VII gave in to the demands of the citizens. A new constitution was drawn up dividing powers and granting franchise to all adult males. The king was made head of the executive branch, which was complemented by a legislative branch consisting of two parliamentary chambers; the Folketing, consisting of members elected by the general population, and the Landsting, whose members were elected by landowners. An independent judiciary was also set up. In 1845, the Danish colony of Tranquebar in India was sold to Britain.

The Danish king's realm still consisted of four parts: the islands and Jutland, which together constituted the kingdom, and then the duchies Schleswig and Holstein, which were in personal union with the kingdom. Since the early 18th century, and even more so from the early 19th century, the Danes had got used to viewing the duchies and the kingdom as increasingly unified in one state. This was, however, not the view of the German majority in the duchies, who had also been enthused by the liberal and national movements leading to a movement known as Schleswig-Holsteinism. They aimed for independence from Denmark. The First War of Schleswig was ignited by the constitutional change of 1849 and ended with status quo only thanks to the intervention of Britain and other Great Powers. There was much debate in Denmark as to how to deal with the question of Schleswig-Holstein. National-Liberals demanded that Schleswig be permanently tied to Denmark, but Holstein could do as it pleased. However, international events overtook domestic Danish politics, and Denmark was confronted with war against Prussia and Austria in 1864, in what came to be known as the Second War of Schleswig. The territories had become pawns in Otto von Bismarck's larger political ambitions. Denmark was forced to cede all of Schleswig-Holstein to Prussia and adopt a policy of neutrality.

The war was deeply traumatic for Denmark as a nation, forcing it to reconsider its place in the world. The loss of Schleswig-Holstein was the last in a long series of territorial defeats for the once large kingdom of Denmark. Many of the richest areas of the kingdom, in Sweden and Germany had been lost, so the nation focused on developing the poorer areas of the country. Extensive agricultural improvements were undertaken in Jutland, and a new form of nationalism, which emphasised the "small" people, the decency of rural Denmark, and the shunning of wider aspirations, was fostered.

The two concepts internationalism and nationalism have been very much part of the history of the Danish labour movement.

The labour movement gathered momentum when the social issue came to be associated with internationalism. Socialist theory and the organisational contact to 1st Internationale, which was a union of labour movements in various countries, paved the way. The driving force was Louis Pio. In 1871, following the bloody defeat of the Paris Commune he started publishing Socialist Papers. Here he campaigned strongly for an independent organisation of the workers under their own management, and organised a Danish branch of the Internationale. This proved to be the foundation stone for the Social Democratic Party under the name of Den Internationale Arbejderforening for Danmark (The International Labour Association for Denmark). It was a combination of union and political party, and adroitly brought together national and international elements.

Pio stated that the workers' fight had to be international, if they were to succeed at all - without internationalism, no progress. He went on to point out that the middle-classes cooperated across the frontiers and used nationalistic rhetoric as a weapon against the workers and their liberation.

The Danish section started organising strikes and demonstrations for higher wages and social reforms. Moderate demands, but enough to provoke the employers and the forces of law and order. Things came to a head in the Battle of Fælleden on the 5 May 1872, where the three leaders Louis Pio, Poul Geleff and Harald Brix were arrested, charged and sentenced for high treason.

The emerging political situation made possible by the new constitution was quite alarming for many of the existing elites since it inevitably empowered the peasantry. Simple men with little education replaced professors and professionals in positions of power. The peasants, in coalition with liberal and radical elements from the cities, eventually won a majority of seats in the Folketing. Even though there had been constitutional changes to empower the Landsting, the Left Venstre Party demanded to form the government, but the king, still the head of the executive branch, refused. However in 1901, King Christian IX gave in and asked Johan Henrik Deuntzer, a member of Venstre, to form a government, the Cabinet of Deuntzer. This was the introduction of a tradition of parliamentary government, and with the exception of the Easter Crisis of 1920, no government since 1901 has ruled against a parliamentary majority in the Folketing.

1873-1914: Scandinavian Monetary Union

The Scandinavian Monetary Union was a monetary union formed by Sweden and Denmark on May 5, 1873 by fixing their currencies against gold at par to each other. Norway, which was in union with Sweden entered the union two years later, in 1875 by pegging its currency to gold at the same level as Denmark and Sweden. The monetary union was one of the few tangible results of the Scandinavist political movement of the 19th century.

The union provided fixed exchange rates and stability in monetary terms, but the member countries continued to issue their own separate currencies. Even if it was not initially foreseen, the perceived security led to a situation where the formally separate currencies were accepted on a basis of "as good as" the legal tender virtually throughout the entire area.

The outbreak of World War I, in 1914 brought an end to the monetary union. Sweden abandoned the tie to gold on August 2, 1914 and without a fixed exchange rate the free circulation came to an end.

Denmark in the 20th Century

In the early decades of the 20th century, the new Radical Party and the older Venstre Party shared government. During this time women were granted the vote (1915), and some of Denmark's colonial holdings, three islands (St. John, St. Croix and St. Thomas) in the West Indies were sold to the United States. During this period Denmark inaugurated important social and labour market reforms, laying the basis for the present welfare state.

Denmark remained neutral during World War I, although the conflict affected the country to a considerable extent. There was widespread profiteering, but commerce was also greatly disrupted by the conflict and the ensuing financial instability in Europe. Following the defeat of Germany in the war, the Treaty of Versailles mandated the Schleswig Plebiscites, in which it was decided to return Northern Schleswig (now South Jutland) to Denmark. The king and parts of the opposition were dissatisfied that Prime Minister Carl Theodor Zahle did not use Germany's defeat take back a bigger portion of the province, lost in the Second War of Schleswig. The king and opposition wanted to claim the city of Flensburg, while the cabinet insisted on only claiming areas where Danes were in a majority. Believing that he had the support of the people, King Christian X used his reserve power to dismiss Zahle's cabinet, sparking the Easter Crisis of 1920. As a result of the Easter Crisis, the king promised never to interfere in politics again.

In the 1924 Folketing election, the Social Democrats, under the charismatic Thorvald Stauning, became Denmark's largest party, a position they maintained until 2001. Since the opposition still held a majority of the seats in the Landsting, Stauning was forced to cooperate with some of the right wing parties, making the Social Democrats a more mainstream party. He was able to broker an important deal in the 1930s, which brought an end to the Great Depression in Denmark, and also laid the foundation for a welfare state.

1940-1945: Occupation of Denmark

Despite its declaration of neutrality at the beginning of World War II, and the conclusion of a non-aggression agreement with Nazi Germany, Denmark was invaded by Nazi Germany (Operation Weserübung) on April 9, 1940 and occupied until May 5, 1945. The Faroe Islands and Iceland were, however, occupied by British forces in April 1940 in a pre-emptive move to prevent a German occupation. Iceland became a fully independent republic in 1944; previously the Danish monarch had also been King of Iceland.

The occupation of Denmark was unique in that the terms of occupation were initially very lenient (although the Communist party was banned when Germany invaded the Soviet Union). The new coalition government tried to protect the population from Nazi rule through compromise. The Folketing was allowed to remain in session, the police remained under Danish control, and the Nazi German authorities were one step removed from the population.

However, the Nazi German demands eventually became intolerable for the Danish government, so in 1943 it resigned and Nazi Germany assumed full control of Denmark. After that point, an armed resistance movement grew up against the occupying forces. Toward the end of the war, Denmark grew increasingly difficult for Nazi Germany to control, but the country was not liberated until Allied forces arrived in the country at the end of the war.

Also notable was the relocation of most Danish Jews to Sweden in 1943 when Nazi forces threatened deportation.

Post-War Denmark

After the war, with the perceived threat posed by the USSR and the lessons of World War II still fresh in Danish minds, the country abandoned its policy of neutrality. In 1948 the Faroe Islands were granted home rule. 1953 saw further political reform in Denmark, abolishing the Landsting (the elected upper house), colonial status for Greenland and allowing the female right of succession to the throne with the signing of a new constitution.

Recent History

Denmark became a charter member of the United Nations and was one of the original members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, though Denmark had originally tried to form an alliance only with Norway and Sweden. A Nordic Council was later set up to coordinate Nordic policy. Later, in 1973, Danes voted yes to joining the European Community, the predecessor of the European Union. Since then, Denmark has been a hesitant member of the European community, opting out of many proposals, including the Euro which was rejected in a referendum in 2000.