Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In 1658 Denmark signed the humiliating Treaty of Roskilde, ceding a third of its territ-
ory, including the island of Bornholm and all territories on the Swedish mainland. Only
Bornholm, which eventually staged a bloody revolt against the Swedes, would again fly
the Danish flag.
Absolute monarchy returned in 1660, when King Frederik III cunningly convened a
gathering of nobles, placed them under siege, and forced them to nullify their powers of
council. Frederik declared his right of absolute rule, declaring the king the highest head on
earth, above all human laws and inferior to God alone.
In the following decades the now all-powerful monarchy rebuilt the military and contin-
ued to pick fruitless fights with Sweden. Peace of a sort eventually descended and for
much of the 18th century the Danes and Swedes managed to coexist without serious hostil-
ities.
A polar bear was included in the Danish coat of arms in the 1660s to symbolise the coun-
try's claim of sovereignty over Greenland.
Revolution
By the turn of the 19th century, Denmark's trading prowess was worrying Britain, by now
the world's pre-eminent sea power. When Denmark signed a pact of armed neutrality with
Sweden, Prussia and Russia, Britain's navy attacked Copenhagen in 1801, heavily dam-
aging the Danish fleet and forcing Denmark to withdraw from the pact.
Denmark managed to avoid further conflicts and actually profited from the war trade
until 1807, when a new treaty between France and Russia once again drew the Danes
closer to the conflict.
Wary of Napoleon's growing influence in the Baltic, Britain feared that Denmark might
support France. Despite Denmark's neutrality, the British fleet unleashed a devastating sur-
prise bombardment on Copenhagen, setting much of the city ablaze, destroying its naval
yards and confiscating the entire Danish fleet.
Although the unprovoked attack was unpopular enough back home to have been
roundly criticised by the British parliament, Britain nonetheless kept the Danish fleet. The
British then offered the Danes an alliance - they unsurprisingly refused the offer and in-
stead joined the continental alliance against Britain, who retaliated by blockading both
Danish and Norwegian waters, causing poverty in Denmark and famine in Norway.
