NORWAY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
As early as 1790 negotiations took place between Count Armfeldt on
behalf of Gustavus III of Sweden and various patriotic and influential
Norwegians with a view to effecting a union between Norway and Sweden
on equal terms, but the Norwegian negotiators expressed themselves
unwilling to accept for Norway the government prevailing in Sweden. A
minority of the patriots thought that the Danish yoke could only be
broken by means of a union with Sweden, while a majority aimed at
nothing less than absolute independence at any cost.
Such was the condition of Norway when by the treaty of Kiel (Jan.
14, 1814) the allies compelled the king of Denmark to cede Norway to
Sweden and made Charles John Bernadotte crown prince of Sweden and
Norway. The Norwegians denied the right of Denmark to Norway, refused
to recognize the treaty of Kiel as having any binding force on them,
as they were not parties to it, and invited Prince Christian Frederick
of Denmark to accept the Norwegian throne from its people and to
govern pursuant to a constitution adopted at Eidsvold, May 17, 1814.
Among the provisions of this instrument are the following: That Norway
should be a limited hereditary monarchy, independent and indivisible,
whose ruler should be called a king; that all legislative power
should reside in and be exercised by the people through their
representatives; that all taxes should be levied by the legislative
authority; that the legislative and judicial authority should
be distinct departments; that the right of free press should be
maintained; that no personal or hereditary distinction shall hereafter
be granted to any one.
The election of a king and adoption of an independent constitution in
disregard of the treaty of Kiel was tatamount to a declaration of war
against Sweden, and as such it was taken. After the treaty of Paris
and the abdication of Napoleon, the powers agreed to force Norway to
accept the treaty of Kiel, and representatives of the allied powers
came to Norway and demanded its compliance on penalty of war with
the allies. The Norwegians remained obdurate. The Swedes, under
Bernadotte, marched across the frontier and took the fortress
Fredricksteen. Another division of the Swedish army was beaten by
the Norwegians and driven back over the frontier. Several other
engagements were fought, and it became evident that Norway could not
be subdued without serious war. Sweden was exhausted by the wars of
the allies against Napoleon and could ill endure more warfare. On
Aug. 14, 1814, an armstice was declared, and it was provided that
an extraordinary storthing should be called to settle the terms of
permanent peace. By the terms finally agreed upon, Bernadotte was
elected king of Norway under the title of Charles XIII, and he
accepted the Norwegian constitution adopted at Eidsvold, May 17, 1814,
and agreed to govern under and subject to its provisions. At the same
time the Supreme Court of Norway was established in Christiania. The
Bank of Norway was established at Thronedjem in 1816. At the death
of Charles XIII, in 1818, Charles John ascended the throne of both
countries as Charles XIV John.
On several occasions there was friction between the king and the
Norwegian Storthing. At the treaty of Kiel the king had promised that
Norway would assume a part of the Norwegian-Danish public debt; but as
the Norwegians had never acknowledged this treaty, they held that it
was not their duty to pay any part of the debt, and declared besides
that Norway was not able to do so. But as the powers had agreed to
help Denmark to enforce her claims, a compromise was effected in 1821,
by which the Storthing agreed to pay three million dollars, the king
relinquishing his civil list for a certain number of years. The same
Storthing adopted the law abolishing the nobility in Norway. This step
also was strongly opposed by Charles John, but as it had been adopted
by three successive Storthings, the act under the constitution became
a law in spite of any veto.
For a number of years there existed a want of confidence between the
king and the Norwegian people. The king did not like the democratic
spirit of the Norwegians, and the reactionary tendencies of his
European allies had quite an influence upon his actions. In 1821 he
proposed ten amendments to the constitution, looking to an increase
of the royal power, among which was one giving the king an absolute
instead of a suspensive veto; another giving him the right to appoint
the presidents of the Storthing, and a third authorizing him to
dissolve the Storthing at any time. But these amendments met the most
ardent opposition in the Storthing, and were unanimously rejected.
When the Norwegians commenced to celebrate the anniversary of the
adoption of the constitution (May 17), the king thought he saw in this
a sign of a disloyal spirit, because they did not rather celebrate the
day of their union with Sweden, and he forbade the public celebration
of the day. The result of this was that "Independence Day" was
celebrated with so much greater eagerness. The students at the
university especially took an active part under the leadership of that
champion of liberty, the poet Henrik Wergeland, who died in 1845.
The unwise prohibition was the cause of the "market-place battle"
in Christiania, May 17, 1829, when the troops were called out,
and General Wedel dispersed the crowds that had assembled in the
market-place. There was also dissatisfaction in Norway because a
Swedish viceroy (Statholder) was placed at the head of the government,
and because their ships had to sail under the Swedish flag.
The French July Revolution of 1830, which started the liberal
movement throughout Europe, also had its influence in Norway. Liberal
newspapers were established at the capital, and the democratic
character of the Storthing became more pronounced, especially after
1833, when the farmers commenced to take an active part in the
elections. Prominent among them was Ole Gabriel Ueland. The king was
so displeased with the majority in the Storthing of 1836 that he
suddenly dissolved it; but the Storthing answered this action by
impeaching the Minister of State, Lövenskiold, for not having
dissuaded the king from taking such a step. Lövenskiold was sentenced
to pay a fine; the king then yielded and reconvened the Storthing.
He also took a step toward conciliating the Norwegians by appointing
their countryman, Count Wedel-Jarlsberg, as viceroy. This action was
much appreciated in Norway. During the last years of this reign there
existed the best of understanding between the king and the people.
Charles John's great benevolence tended to increase the affection of
the people, and he was sincerely mourned at his death, March 8, 1844,
at the age of eighty years.
Charles John was succeeded by his son, Oscar I, who very soon won the
love of the Norwegians. One of his first acts was to give Norway her
own commercial flag and other outward signs of her equality with
Sweden. His father had always signed himself "King of Sweden and
Norway"; but King Oscar adopted the rule to sign all documents
pertaining to the government of Norway as "King of Norway and Sweden."
During the war between Germany and Denmark, King Oscar gathered a
Swedish-Norwegian army in Scania, and succeeded in arranging the
armstice of Malmoe in 1848. The war broke out anew, however, the
following year, and he then occupied northern Schleswig with Norwegian
and Swedish troops, pending the negotiations for peace between Germany
and Denmark. During the Crimean War, King Oscar made a treaty with
England and France (1855), by which the latter powers promised to
help Sweden and Norway in case of any attack from Russia. General
contentment prevailed during the happy reign of King Oscar, and
the prosperity, commerce, and population of the country increased
steadily. These satisfactory conditions did not, however, result in
weakening the national feeling, and the Storthing, in 1857, declined
to promote a plan, prepared by a joint Swedish and Norwegian
commission, looking to a strengthening of the union. After a sickness
of two years, during which his son, Crown Prince Charles, had charge
of the government as prince-regent, King Oscar I died in July,
1859, at the age of sixty years. He was married to Josephine of
Leuchtenberg, daughter of Napoleon's stepson, Eugene Beauharnais.
Charles XV was thirty-three years old when he ascended the throne. The
progress in the material welfare of the country continued during his
reign, and, like his father, he was very popular with the Norwegians.
Numerous roads and railroads were started, all parts of the country
were connected by telegraph, and the merchant marine grew to be one
of the largest in the world. In 1869 a law was passed providing for
annual sessions of the Storthing instead of triennial as heretofore.
Charles XV died Sept. 18, 1872, and, having no sons, was succeeded by
his younger brother, Oscar II, the late ruler of Sweden. The Storthing
appropriated the necessary funds for the expense of the coronation
at Throndhjem (July 18, 1873), while the king sanctioned the bill
abolishing the office of Statholder. But soon differences between the
Storthing and the ministry brought on sharp conflicts. Long before
Norway deposed King Oscar II (June 7, 1905), disruptions and war would
doubtless have occurred had it not been for the wisdom and tact of the
king. The last straw that broke the camel's back in this instance was
the refusal of separate consular representation for Norway. The basis
of this last demand was not mainly the commercial value to Norway of
having its distinct consuls, though this was an element, but the right
of Norway as a nation entirely independent of Sweden to be represented
as such in its commercial relations with foreign nations. Sweden and
Norway are now not only two distinct nations, but are competitors in
trade and commerce. Norway's shipping and carrying trade far exceeds
that of Sweden. The Norwegians have always been a seafaring people,
and Norwegian sailors and marines are found in large numbers in the
commercial marine and navies of all Europe and America. From the
standpoint of Norway, common justice demanded that Norwegian merchants
and sailors should, like every other nation, have their own consuls to
represent and protect them in foreign countries.
Not being able to secure the approval of the king for separate
consular representation, the Storthing, on June 7, 1905, passed
resolutions declaring the dissolution of the union between Norway and
Sweden, and that King Oscar had ceased to be the ruler of Norway. In
the place of the king, the Storthing appointed the members of the
Norway Council of State to act as a temporary government for the
nation. The Storthing further declared that Norway had no ill feeling
against King Oscar or his dynasty of Sweden, and asked the king to
cooperate in selecting one of his own house to be king of Norway.
The Riksdag of Sweden met in extraordinary session, June 21, 1905,
at the call of King Oscar, to consider the action of the Norwegian
Storthing in declaring the dissolution of the union between the
two countries. The opening of the session was marked by the usual
ceremonial pomp, but also by a gravity and solemnity befitting the
unusual occasion. The emotional feeling was intense and repressed with
difficulty by both speakers and audience. The king, in his address
to the Riksdag, maintained with dignity that he had acted within his
constitutional rights and that Norway had not the power to dissolve
the union which legally could be effected only by mutual consent.
Nevertheless, it was with great sadness that he now urged negotiations
for the severance of the ties between the two nations, believing that
"the union was not worth the sacrifice which acts of coercion would
entail." The bill prepared by the government was immediately presented
to the Riksdag. It was of the same tenor as the king's address, and
asked for authorization to negotiate with the Norwegian Storthing for
the establishment of a common basis for the settlement of the question
involved in the separation of the two kingdoms. The bill encountered
strong opposition, both in and out of the Riksdag. In the Senate it
was referred to a committee of nine anti-government members, while in
the lower house the composition of the corresponding committee was
equally divided between the two opposing parties, with the addition
of two independent members. The Riksdag authorized the government to
negotiate a loan of $25,000,000 for works of defense, and declared the
harbors of Stockholm, Karlskrona, Gothenburg, and Farosund to be
war ports from which all foreign naval vessels were to be excluded.
Norway's army was also mobilized and brought near the Swedish
boundary.
Notwithstanding these warlike aspects, a peaceful dissolution of the
union between Sweden and Norway was finally effected. The conference
at Karlstad between the representatives of the two nations, on Sept.
23, 1905, drew up a protocol which became a treaty when subsequently
ratified by the Riksdag and the Storthing, on the ninth of the
following October. Thereupon Sweden canceled the charter of 1815 which
governed the union of the two countries, and King Oscar declared
Norway to be again separate and independent. Thus were severed the
political relations between two countries, which, during a period of
ninety years, had led to ever-increasing discord.
King Oscar II of Sweden steadfastly refused, however, to allow any
prince of his house to be chosen as the new king of Norway, and the
choice finally fell upon Prince Charles of Denmark, who was elected by
an overwhelming majority at the plebiscite held throughout Norway on
Nov. 12, 1905. He accepted the throne offered him and was crowned June
22, 1906.
The idea is prevalent that there is ill will between the Norwegian and
Swedish peoples. This is a popular misconception. The Norwegian and
Swedish peoples are racially very similar in character and habits, and
mutually respect each other. King Oscar was as beloved and honored in
Norway as he was in Sweden, and deservedly so. The Norwegians felt
proud of his character, life, and statesmanship. They appreciated
his wisdom and moderation, and gave him full credit for his earnest
conviction that he was right in his differences with the Norwegian
government. And yet, the dissolution was a blessing to both countries
concerned. So long as Norway and Sweden were united under one king,
there would have been friction. In like manner the long union between
Norway and Denmark was a continuous source of irritation, but after
the dissolution they were the best of friends. It has been suggested
that Russia has long had her eye on the ice-free harbors of the
Norwegian coast and has coveted them; that she has built her railroads
across Finland close up to the Norwegian frontier, and that there
is trouble ahead for Norway, because she has isolated herself from
Sweden, her natural protector. But we see in the division a Greater
Scandinavia. There are now the three great Scandinavian nations,
Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and it can be imagined that, so close of kin,
any one of them would rush to arms in defense of the others. A united
Norway and Sweden under one king brought constant bickerings; a
separate Norway and Sweden can be of mutual help.[b]