Everything about Denmark Norway totally explained
Denmark–Norway (
Danish: Danmark-Norge,
Norwegian: Danmark-Norge or Danmark-Noreg) is the
historiographical name for a former political entity, union, consisting of the kingdoms of
Denmark and
Norway, including the dependencies of
Iceland,
Greenland and the
Faroe Islands. Following the strife surrounding the break-up of its predecessor, the
Kalmar Union, the two kingdoms entered into another
personal union in
1536 which lasted until
1814. The corresponding
adjective and
demonym is
Dano-Norwegian.
The term
Kingdom of Denmark is sometimes used to include both countries in the period
1536–
1814, since the political and economic power emanated from
Copenhagen, Denmark. The term covers the "royal part" of the
Oldenburgs' as it was in
1460, excluding the "ducal part" of
Schleswig and
Holstein. The administration used two
official languages,
Danish and
German and for several centuries both a Danish and German Chancery existed.
Three sovereign
successor states have subsequently emerged from this unequal union: Denmark, Norway and Iceland.
The term
Denmark–Norway has didactic merits and reflects the historical and legal roots of that union. It is adopted from the Oldenburg dynasty's official title. The kings always used the style "King of Denmark and Norway, the
Wends and the
Goths". The term
Sweden-Finland is sometimes, although with less justification, applied to the contemporary Swedish realm between
1521 and
1809. Finland was never a separate kingdom, and was completely integrated with Sweden, while Denmark was the dominant component in a
political union.
History
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
Rigsraad (
High Council) of Denmark became weakened, and finally abolished in
1660 when Denmark-Norway became an
absolutist state and Denmark a hereditary monarchy, as Norway had been since the middle ages. These changes were confirmed in the
Lex Regia signed
November 14,
1665, stipulating that all power lay in the hands of the king, who was only responsible towards God. The Norwegian
Riksråd was assembled for the last time in
1537. Norway kept its separate laws and some institutions, such as a royal
chancellor, and separate coinage and army.
After the
Napoleonic Wars and the devastating
Gunboat War, Denmark-Norway was defeated and had to cede the territory of mainland Norway to the King of
Sweden at the
Treaty of Kiel. Norway's overseas possessions were kept by Denmark. But the Norwegians objected to the terms of this treaty, and a constitutional assembly declared Norwegian independence on
May 17,
1814 and elected the Crown Prince
Christian Frederik as king of independent Norway. Following a Swedish invasion, Norway was forced to accept a
personal union, but retained her liberal constitution and separate institutions, except for the foreign service. The
Union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved in
1905.
- The Scandinavians were christianized in the 10th–13th centuries, resulting in three consolidated kingdoms.
The three kingdoms then united in the Kalmar Union of 1397–1521, after which the Union was split in two halves:
In the mid-17th century, the Treaty of Brömsebro (1645) and Treaty of Roskilde (1658) permanently transferred some provinces from Norway and Denmark to Sweden.
After the Napoleonic Wars, the Nordic Countries were reorganized into three personal unions:
Further Information
Get more info on 'Denmark Norway'.
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