Dear Jeff
Waldemar IV (king. 1340-75) restored royal authority in Denmark his
daughter Margaret I (Queen 1387-1412) created the Kalmar Union, which
included Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Faeroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland,
and part of Finland. In 1520 Sweden and Finland revolted, seceding in 1523,
but the Kalmar Union continued until 1814.
>From 1450 the union with Denmark was established by treaty -- a treaty
supposedly meant to ensure the power of the Norwegian Council of the Realm
when a monarch was being selected . The treaty was also to serve as a
guarantee of the equality of the two realms. This was the theory; practice
proved otherwise.
In 1536 Norway ceased to be an independent kingdom. The King of Norway was a
puppet. At a national assembly in Copenhagen King Christian III pledged to
the Danish noblemen that Norway was henceforth to be subservient to the
Danish Crown, like any other Danish possession. Norway's Council of the
Realm was disbanded, and the Norwegian church lost its autonomy. The Danish
noblemen could from then on freely take over positions as officers of the
law in Norway, and could earn their incomes from Norway. The Norwegian King
continued in office. His authority was limited to internal matters.
Nobility has a lot to do with money.
An assembly of the States General at Copenhagen in 1660 acclaimed Fredrik
III as heir to the throne and assigned to him the task of giving the
kingdoms a new constitution. In this way the two kingdoms were subject to an
absolute monarchy, a factor which affected Norway's position throughout the
remaining period of the union of the two lands. Norway was governed from
Copenhagen, the monarch was often in no position to rule. The real power lay
in the hands of the state officials. By and large Norway profited from this,
as among the state officials dawned some comprehension of the Norwegian
standpoint. On issues relating to Norway in particular, the views of the
high-ranking Norwegian officials were often respected.
In 1814, Denmark, which had sided with Napoleonic France after British
attacks on Copenhagen in 1801 and 1807, was forced to cede Norway to Sweden
and Helgoland to England. In 1848, a Prussian-inspired revolt in
Schleswig-Holstein ended without a victor, but in 1864, Schleswig-Holstein
and Lauenburg were lost in a new war with Prussia.
Bothwell was captured in Bergen (modern Norway) and imprisoned in Zeeland
(Modern Denmark)
During the 9th century the name Denmark (Danmark: "border district of the
Danes") was used for the first time. Subsequently, Denmark ruled over much
of Scandinavia, which developed a common Nordic culture. At the same time,
because of Denmark's proximity to Germany, Denmark has also been influenced
by German culture. Norwegians are often referred to as singing Danes.
Hope this helps.
Sinclair
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