Denmark 1790-1815 Denmark 1864-1914






German-Danish War 1864




Denmark, 1815 - 1864



In 1814, when the Napoleonic Era ended, Denmark ended up on the losing side, for it had stayed loyal to France for too long. It had to cede NORWAY to Sweden, but kept the old Norwegian sidelands of the FAROES, ICELAND and GREENLAND. On the other hand, it gained the DUCHY OF LAUENBURG.
The Kings continued to rule absolute. However,as elsewhere in Europe, the demand for a constitution and a representative assembly rose in various parts of the realm. Most delicate was the problem of SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN. Historically, the Duchy of Schleswig was part of the Kingdom of Denmark, while the Duchy of Holstein was part of Germany (the Holy Roman Empire until 1806, the German Confederation since 1815). However, the two duchies had been in a dynastic union for centuries, and the duchies' estates centuries ago had merged under the motto up ewig ungedeelt (for ever undivided). A large part of Schleswig's population, especially in the southern and central part of the duchy, felt German rather than Danish. In 1831, King Frederik VI. introduced CONSULTATIVE ASSEMBLIES in Holstein, Schleswig, Jutland and for the Islands, the voting right being tied to property. Local autonomy (self-administration) was introduced in 1837/40. In 1848, a NATIONAL CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY was formed, which in 1849 passed the JUNE CONSTITUTION. A bicameral parliament, consisting of LANDSTING and FOLKETING was established, with UNIVERSAL MANHOOD SUFFRAGE for the Folketing. The absolute monarchy was transformed into a CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY, policy-making lying with the CABINET now, headed by the PRIME MINISTER.
The German population of Schleswig and Holstein was unhappy with separate consultative assemblies being established for Schleswig respectively Holstein in 1831. However, Danish nationalism also was on the rise; Orla Lehmann in 1842 demanded the right to speak Danish in the Schleswig assembly, as well as the full incorporation of Schleswig into the kingdom (it still had a separate administration, as well as separate laws). When the National Constitutional Assembly was elected in 1848, the German Schleswigers sent their representatives to Germany's parliament in Frankfurt instead, where FRIEDRICH DAHLMANN, professor of history from Göttingen (delegate for Holstein) was elected president of the parliament. A revolt broke out in the duchies (1848-1851), military assistance from Germany did not materialize, and the conflict was ended with the LONDON PROTOCOLL guaranteeing the status quo, i.e. Schleswig not being incorporated in Denmark. However, the DANIFICATION POLICY continued as the LANGUAGE EDICT introduced Danish as the language of church and education in central Schleswig in 1851. However, in 1863 the NOVEMBER CONSTITUTION was passed, unifying Denmark and Schleswig. It was a clear violation of the London Protocoll; the Schleswig-Holsteiners again rose in rebellion, this time assisted by the Austrian and Prussian armies. The Danish forces were defeated at Dybbøl (Düppel); Denmark ceded Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. The peace treaty foresaw a referendum for Northern Schleswig, with a Danish population majority.

Denmark still was a predominantly agricultural country. In 1813 the country had declared a STATE BANKRUPCY, as a consequence of which the prices had risen considerably. Agriculture was in a crisis which lasted until late into the 1820es, after which prospeity returned. Denmark sold it's colonies in India (FREDERIKSNAGAR and TRANQUEBAR) in 1845, those in Africa on the Gold Coast in 1850, only keeping the DANISH WEST INDIES. The SOUND TOLL was abolished in 1857. Railway construction began in the 1850es; gasworks provided street lighting in larger cities.





EXTERNAL
FILES 		Consultative Assemblies and Constitution, 1814-1849, in : History of Denmark, from Dan. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The June Constitution, 1849-1864, in : History of Denmark, from Dan. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Schleswig Issue, in : History of Denmark, from Dan. Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Der Deutsch-Dänische Krieg von 1864, Reichseinigungskriege click : Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg 1864, 3 parts : Anlass (cause), Verlauf (course of events), Ergebnis (result), in German, a site which romanticises war
The German-Danish War of 1864, from ICRC
Denmark : the German-Danish War of 1864, from DHM
Krigen i 1864 - War of 1864, from Dansk Militaer Historie, bilingual, most of the text translated into English
Koleraepidemien 1853 (Cholera Epidemy 1853), from Københavns Historie, posted by KKB, in Danish, illustrated, bibliography
Arbejderbevægelsens Historie Pt.1, 1780-1880, (History of the Danish Labour Movement), from Socialistisk Standpunkt, in Danish
Danmark Nationalbank (1818), from Dizionario delle Banche e delle Organizzazioni Economiche Internazionali (Dictionary of Banks and International Economic Organizations), in Italian
Om koleraen pa Amager (On the Cholera on Amager, 1853), from Dragør Lokalarkiv, in Danish
DOCUMENTS Historical Population Statistics : Denmark, from Population Statistics at Univ. Utrecht
World Statesmen : Denmark, by Ben Cahoon
Downloadable documents from Edward Hertslet: The map of Europe by treaty (Vol.1, London 1875), posted by gallica.bnf :
June 4th 1815 : Territorial Treaty between Denmark and Prussia, Wien, (pp.195ff)
Coin : 1848 Death of Christian VIII Speciesdaler, from The Edward Beech Collection
Images from Chronik 2000 Bilddatenbank : German naval victory over Danes at Eckernförde, April 5th 1849
Claims of the United States on Denmark, in : The North American review. / Volume 22, Issue 51, April 1826, pp.456-459, from Cornell Digital Library
Neue Rheinische Zeitung July 22nd : The Armistice with Denmark, September 10th : The Danish-Prussian Armistice
9 Sources on Denmark in 1848, in Swedish, from Universitet Stockholm
Denmark, Austria and Prussia, in : The Living Age, 1850, pp.616-618, posted by Cornell Digital Library
Wars between the Danes and Germans, for the Possession of Schleswig, by Adolphus L. Köppen, from the American Whig Review, 1848, pp.453-470, posted by Cornell Digital Library
Treaty between Hawaii and Denmark, 1846, from Hawaiian Independence Home Page
Sources on Danish History 1807-1848, 1849-1863, from Skræp, in Danish
REFERENCE Knud J.V. Jespersen, A History of Denmark, Basingstoke : Palgrave MacMillan 2004, KMLA Lib.Sign. 948.9 J58h
Article : Denmark, in : The American Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events 1863 pp.337-339, 1864 pp.359-360 [G]
Article : LOndon Conference, in : The American Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events 1864 pp.474-475 [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on September 1st 2007

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