NORWAY AS A PROVINCE OF DENMARK (1537-1814).
During the reign of Christian III. the Lutheran faith was introduced
into Denmark, and its introduction into Norway followed as a matter of
course. The new Danish ecclesiastical law, called the Ordinance, was
also made to apply to the provinces. The landed estates which had
belonged to the Church were confiscated by the crown or distributed
among royal favorites. In fact, the plunder of churches and monasteries
was the only evidence of religious zeal which the Danes exhibited in
Norway. The Catholic bishops were removed; but many of the priests were
allowed to remain, as Lutheran pastors were hard to obtain and were
needed at home. Gradually, however, the change took place; and
everywhere aroused discontent among the peasantry. Many parishes were
left, for long periods, without any kind of religious teaching, and when
Lutheran pastors were sent up from Denmark, they were usually ignorant
or vicious men who could not be used at home. Ex-soldiers, ex-sailors,
bankrupt traders, and all sorts of vagabonds, who were in some way
disqualified for making a living, were thought to be good enough to
preach the word of God in Norway. The majority of them were utterly
destitute of theological training, and it is said that there were some
who could not even read. No one, then, ought to wonder at the reception
they received from their parishioners. Some of them were killed, others
driven away and horribly beaten. At last physical strength became the
prime requisite for holding a pastorate in the Norse mountain valleys,
and the surest road to popularity for a parson was to thrash the
refractory members of his congregation. That inspired respect and
inclined the rest more favorably toward his preaching. Great credit
deserves the first Lutheran bishop in Bergen, Gjeble Pedersson, for his
efforts to educate a native Protestant clergy. The Danish language,
however, remained the language of the Norwegian church; all religious
instruction was imparted in it, and at the present day, all who lay
claim to culture in Norway speak Danish.
The depredations committed by the Danish nobles, during the reign of
Christian III., defy description. It was the darkest period in the
history of Norway, and, as far as the people were concerned, very nearly
the darkest, too, in the history of Denmark. The power of the nobles
reached such a height that the king himself was merely the tool of their
will and was used by them, as an instrument for the most cruel and
heartless oppression.
The discomfiture of the Luebeckers in the Count's Feud was the first
serious check which the Hansa received in the North, and it never
regained its former power. The Danish nobleman, Christopher Valkendorf,
who was governor (_Lensherre_) in Bergen, succeeded in destroying the
monopoly of the Germans in the fish trade, which now fell into the hands
of native merchants.
[Illustration: BELT WRESTLING, A MODE OF SETTLING DIFFERENCES FORMERLY
IN VOGUE IN NORWAY, DESCRIBED IN BAYARD TAYLOR'S "LARS."]
Christian III. was succeeded by his son Frederick II. (1559-1588), a
vain and worthless man, whose fondness for drink shortened his life. He
waged a long and costly war with Sweden about the right to carry the
Swedish "three crowns" in the Danish coat-of-arms. The Norwegians,
although their sympathies were at the outset with the Swedes, suffered
greatly from the inroads of hostile armies, which burned cities and
ravaged the land. Sweden, regarding Norway merely as a Danish province,
thought to injure its foe, by destroying whatever belonged to him or
acknowledged his sway. Thus the cathedral of Hamar was burned; the
fertile districts of Aker were harried, and the city of Drontheim was
taken. The Danes burned Oslo in order to prevent it from falling into
the hands of the Swedes.
Two Danish governors, Ludwig and Erik Munk, became notorious for their
unheard of cruelties and extortions. The peasants sent repeated
complaints to the king and threatened rebellion. At last Erik Munk was
sentenced to return all taxes which he had illegally collected, and to
restore to a peasant his property, of which he had unlawfully taken
possession. Later he was deprived of his office, and committed suicide
while in prison.
The city of Frederickstad, which was forced into existence, after the
burning of the ancient Sarpsborg, bears the name of Frederick II.
[Illustration: THE NORTH CAPE.]
Christian IV. (1588-1648) had not inherited his father's infirmities. He
was a man of many excellent qualities; desirous of furthering the
welfare of his subjects, but crippled in his efforts by the opposition
of the arrogant nobility. What particularly deserves notice was his good
disposition toward the Norsemen. Unlike his predecessors, he paid
frequent visits to their country, once even penetrating within the
Arctic Circle. He listened to the complaints of the people, and punished
with fines and imprisonment the Danish officials who ventured to exceed
their rights. The old law of Magnus Law-Mender which, on account of the
change of the language, was now hard to comprehend, he abolished, and
elaborated, in its stead, a Norse law, some regulations of which are yet
in force. Also the ecclesiastical law or Ordinance was altered and
adapted to the needs of the country. The present capital of Norway,
Christiania, was founded by him, as also the city of Christiansand. The
discovery of silver at Kongsberg, and of copper at Roeraas, gave an
impetus to the mining industries of the country, and thereby started the
growth of two small towns.
By his kindness, his love of justice, and his interest in their affairs,
Christian IV. won the hearts of the Norsemen, as no king of the house of
Oldenborg, before or since. Sometimes he dropped in at a peasant's
wedding, and drank the health of the bride; watched the games upon the
German wharf in Bergen, and attended a party at the apothecary's where
the jolly guests smashed all the windows. He had a pair of eyes which
nothing escaped; and an active and alert mind which turned his
observations to good account. All economical questions interested him;
whatever he undertook, he supervised with the most minute care every
detail of its execution. With level and square in his pocket he walked
about testing the soundness of the work of his carpenters, masons, and
architects.
Three great wars, two of which concerned Norway, disturbed the reign of
Christian IV. The first, the so-called Kalmar War (1511-1513),
occasioned an invasion of Scotch mercenaries hired by the king of
Sweden. These came, however, to grief at Kringen in Guldbrandsdale,
where the peasants attacked them, and at the first shot killed their
commander, Colonel Sinclair. Of the entire force, numbering nine
hundred, not one man, it is said, escaped. More fortunate was Colonel
Moennikhofen, who landed with eight hundred Dutch mercenaries in
Soendmoere, and made his way, ravaging and plundering, across the
frontier. The cause of this war was the assumption, on the part of the
Swedish king, Charles IX., of the title of King of the Lapps, and his
claim to the Norwegian province of Finmark. Charles died during the
hostilities, and his son Gustavus Adolphus made peace at Knaeroed,
abandoning both the claim and the title.
The participation of Christian IV. in the Thirty Years' War, as the ally
of the oppressed German Protestants, brought him no glory. After his
defeat by Tilly at Lutter and Barenberge, the imperial armies overran
Sleswick and Jutland, and at the Peace of Luebeck (1629), Christian had
to promise nevermore to meddle in German politics. After this
humiliation, he could not see, without alarm, the progress of the Swedes
in Germany; and could not refrain from placing obstacles in their way.
The war was being continued, after the death of Gustavus Adolphus, by
able generals and diplomats, who resolved to anticipate the Danish king
in his efforts to thwart them. Before Christian suspected that his
intentions were revealed, General Torstenson crossed the southern
frontier, invaded Holstein, and advanced into Jutland (1643). The Danes
were utterly unable to resist the conquering host, and though they hotly
contested two naval battles, their inability to cope with the Swedes
soon became apparent. Peace was, therefore, concluded at Broemsebro; and
Norway was made to pay the costs of Danish incapacity and
miscalculation. The two great Norse provinces Jemteland and Herjedale
were ceded to Sweden; as also the island of Gottland, which had latterly
belonged to Denmark (1647).
In Norway this war was named Hannibal's Feud, after the viceroy Hannibal
Sehested, a son-in-law of the king, who, with the aid of the brave
parson, Kjeld Stub, guarded the frontier.
One might have supposed that the nobles, at the death of Christian IV.
would have rested content with the excessive privileges which they
already possessed, and allowed his son Frederick III. (1648-1670) to
ascend the throne, without stripping himself of the last remnant of his
power. But as long as there was any thing left to grab, it seemed worth
grabbing. Frederick III. was, therefore, compelled to grant a more
humiliating charter than any of his predecessors, and would have been,
if he had long acquiesced in the agreement, a mere shadow king. The
arrogance and greed of the nobles, fostered by long security in
aggression, became, however, the cause of their downfall. The Royal
Council, which was the real governing power in the state, had the
imprudence to declare war against Sweden, on the strength of a rumor,
that the Swedish king, Charles X. Gustavus, had suffered an overwhelming
defeat in Poland. This rumor proved to be false, and Charles conquered
in a short time both Jutland and Funen, and threatened Copenhagen.
Denmark was completely at his mercy, and the Council was compelled to
buy peace at Roskilde (1658) by the cession of Skaane, Halland,
Blekinge, Bornholm, and the Norwegian provinces, Viken and Drontheim.
And yet in Norway the only success of the war had been won, the
Norwegian general Bjelke having conquered Jemteland. It seemed as if
Charles Gustavus, after having obtained these enormous advantages,
regretted that he had not made an end of Denmark altogether. He
hesitated to quit Danish territory, renewed the war, and was, by aid of
the Dutch and Austrians, who feared his overweening power, defeated at
Nyborg and repulsed at Copenhagen. In Norway the Troenders revolted
successfully against the Swedish rule, and the Bornholmers likewise
drove away the invaders. At the Peace of Copenhagen (1660), Charles
Gustavus was forced to relinquish his hold upon these provinces, while
keeping his other conquests.
[Illustration: FREDERICK III., KING OF DENMARK AND NORWAY.]
It was plain that it was chiefly the nobles composing the Royal Council
who were responsible for the degradation which these wars had brought
upon Denmark. And yet, although they were in possession of great wealth,
gained by pillaging the lower estates, they refused to bear any share of
the public burdens. The condition of the country was now so desperate
and the misery so great that but a breath was needed to kindle the
smouldering indignation into flame. The public debt had reached an
enormous amount, and there was no prospect of paying it without
increased taxation. The king then summoned a diet to meet him at
Copenhagen, and invited representatives of the clergy and the
bourgeoisie to participate in its deliberations. These entered into an
alliance with him against the nobles, and the latter, fearing an
outbreak of violence, did not at first dare offer any resistance. When
they picked up their courage again, the citizens of Copenhagen locked
the gates and compelled them to come to terms. It was then resolved that
Denmark should henceforth be an hereditary kingdom, and that the Royal
Council should be abolished. All fiefs were revoked and a new system of
administration was introduced, with royal officials, responsible to the
king. It was agreed that a constitution should be adopted, and its
elaboration was, very unwisely, entrusted to the king. Frederick III.
was thus master of the situation, and as the matter seemed to have been
left to his discretion, he preferred to rule without any constitution.
The so-called Royal Law, which he endeavored to pass off as such, was
rather intended to make his power secure, than to subject it to
limitations. Thus absolutism pure and simple was introduced into Denmark
(1660). The Danes had jumped from the frying-pan into the fire; and yet,
though their condition was not enviable, there was a relief in having
one master instead of many.
In Norway the effects of absolutism were chiefly perceptible in placing
the country more nearly upon an equal footing with Denmark, and in
producing a somewhat improved administration. The nobles continued to
hold many lucrative offices, but the king was able to exercise a more
restraining influence over them now that his authority was absolute. The
fiefs were changed into counties (_amter_) and administered by royal
officials with well-defined functions. A chance was presented to
citizens to rise in the service of the state, and was improved by
several able Norsemen, among whom the naval hero, Kort Adeler, was
preeminent. After an honorable career in Dutch and Venetian service,
against the Turks, he was made admiral in the Danish Navy, and greatly
increased its efficiency.
Frederick III. visited Norway but once. The city of Frederickshald bears
his name.
Although the royal revenues had been quintupled by the revocation of the
fiefs, Frederick's son, Christian V. (1670-1699), was always in want of
money. He spent his time in all sorts of costly amusements, hoping to
rival the splendor of the French king, Louis XIV., whom he had taken for
his model. In order to counteract the influence of the old Danish
nobility, which, on account of its wealth, was yet formidable,
Christian V. created a new court nobility of counts and barons, most of
whom were Germans. German became the language of the court, and lands
and lucrative offices were given away to German favorites. In order to
procure money wherewith to imitate the glittering vices of Versailles,
Christian V. sold his subjects, both Norwegians and Danes, as
mercenaries for foreign service. He had an able adviser in his
chancellor, Griffenfeld, who rose from poverty to the highest position,
in order as suddenly to be plunged into misery. His enemies aroused the
fickle king's suspicions as to his loyalty; and he was condemned to
death, but his sentence, on the scaffold, was commuted to imprisonment
for life. "Oh mercy more cruel than death," he exclaimed. Toward the end
of his life he was, however, pardoned.
Christian V. had a new code of laws elaborated for Norway, which is yet
partly in force. He waged a futile war with Sweden which cost blood and
treasure, but brought no advantage to either of the combatants.
Frederick IV. (1699-1730) ascended the throne like his father, by right
of inheritance, but did not in other respects follow in his footsteps.
He was a shrewd, but ignorant man; penurious, industrious, and
heartless. By his feud with the Duke of Holstein, he came into collision
with the latter's brother-in-law, Charles XII., of Sweden, and after a
brief and unsuccessful campaign, made peace on unfavorable terms at
Travendal (1700). When, however, Charles XII., in 1709, lost the battle
of Pultawa, in Russia, Frederick thought his opportunity had come for
regaining what he had lost; wherefore he entered into an alliance with
Russia and Poland and began the Great Northern War (1709-1720). Sixteen
thousand Danish troops invaded Skaane, but were beaten by the Swedish
general, Magnus Stenbock (1710). In the naval battle of Kjoegebugt, the
Norseman, Ivar Hvitfeldt, who commanded the ship Dannebrog, made a
valiant attack upon the Swedish fleet. His ship, however, took fire, and
although he might have saved himself by beaching it, such a course would
have endangered the rest of the Danish fleet, which lay nearer shore.
Hvitfeldt, therefore stayed where he was, sending volley after volley
against the Swedes, while death was staring him in the face. When the
fire reached the powder magazine, he, with five hundred men, was blown
into the air.
On his return to Sweden in 1715 Charles attempted to conquer Norway and
penetrated by three different routes into the country. He himself
commanded the division which entered Hoeland (1716). The Norwegian
Colonel Kruse met him with 200 men, who fought with such heroism, that
Charles, brave as he was himself, was filled with admiration.
"Has my brother, King Frederick, many such officers as thou?" he asked
the colonel, as he lay wounded at his feet.
"Oh, yes," answered Kruse, "he has plenty of them, and I am far from
being among the ablest."
In his blindness, Frederick had, in order to raise money, hired out a
large number of the country's defenders as mercenaries, leaving only a
wretched little, half-naked and half-starved force of 6,000 men under
General Luetzow. Charles with his well-drilled troops expected to make
short work of such paltry opponents. But he failed to take account of
the Norsemen's temper. Every man, young and old--nay, many a woman, too,
was ready to defend hearth and home against the foe. Colonel Loewen, whom
he had sent with 600 men to destroy the silver mines of Kongsberg, was
captured with 160 Swedes, by the Norsemen at the parsonage in Ringerike,
after having been hoodwinked by the parson's wife, the intrepid and
quick-witted Anna Kolbjoernsdatter. When, suspecting that he was trapped,
Loewen put the pistol to her head, she asked, coolly:
"Do you serve your king in order to kill old women?"
Charles captured Christiania, but could accomplish nothing against the
fortress of Akershus. The citizens of Frederickshald burned their town,
so that it might not afford a shelter for the Swedes against the cannon
of the fortress Fredericksteen. Here the two brave and patriotic
brothers, Peter and Hans Kolbjoernsson, half-brothers of Anna,
distinguished themselves, and, with their hardy volunteers, harassed the
enemy incessantly. It became evident to Charles that he could not take
the Norse fortresses without artillery, and he expected a convoy from
home with field-cannon and other munitions of war. But this expectation,
too, failed. His fleet was destroyed in Dynekilen by a daring deed of
Tordenskjold, the greatest naval hero that Norway has produced.
Tordenskjold, having learned from some fishermen that the Swedish
admiral was to have a banquet on board, that night, concluded that the
officers would scarcely be in condition for fighting, after having risen
from the table. He cried to his lieutenant, Peter Grib:
"I hear that the Swedish admiral is going to have a carousal on his
fleet. Would it not be advisable if we went with our ships and became
his guests, though unbidden? The pilot says we have wind."
Under a rattling fire from the shore batteries Tordenskjold ran into
Dynekilen and attacked the hostile fleet. He was right in his
supposition that the enemy had imbibed heavily. But the danger sobered
them. After three hours of heavy cannonading, the Swedish admiral
capitulated with 44 ships and 60 cannon. When this intelligence reached
the king, he began his retreat from Norway. But he could not give up the
thought of conquering a country which was so poorly equipped for
defence. In 1718 he sent General Armfelt with 14,000 men against
Drontheim and moved, himself, against Fredericksteen with 22,000. The
outer redoubt was stormed and taken and trenches were dug toward the
main fortress. In one of these trenches Charles was standing, when he
was hit in the head by a bullet from the fortress and fell dead.
Armfelt, on receiving this intelligence, immediately retreated toward
the frontier, but lost a great number of men, who froze and starved to
death upon the mountains. Thus the war was at an end, and peace was
concluded in Fredensborg (1720).
[Illustration: THE CAPERCAILZIE IN NORWAY.]
The fortitude of the Norsemen had saved Denmark from a great danger.
Frederick IV. rewarded their staunchness and intrepidity by subjecting
them to further pillaging. In order to raise money for Danish needs, he
sold all the churches of Norway to private parties, contending that, if
the people owned them, they must have deeds and papers proving their
right of property. By this miserable quibble, he pretended to give a
show of legality to his spoliations. The trade with Finmark he sold to
three citizens of Copenhagen, who interpreted their monopoly as a
license for unlimited extortion. The population sank into misery and
degradation.
During the reign of Frederick IV. lived the Norseman Ludvig Holberg, who
was born in Bergen, 1684. He spent his life, however, in Denmark,
writing a great number of excellent comedies, in Moliere's style,
mock-heroic poems, satires and historical works. The life of the first
half of the eighteenth century is vividly portrayed and satirized in his
writings.
Christian VI. (1730-1746) was an extreme pietist, and surrounded himself
with Germans who sympathized with his morbid and lugubrious religion. He
was lavish in his expenditures, built costly palaces, and introduced a
rigid ceremonial at his court. The one meritorious act of his reign was
the issue of a decree ordering confirmation in the Lutheran faith, and
thus indirectly compelling all classes of the people to learn to read.
Well-meant, but misdirected, were his efforts to encourage trade and
manufactures, and positively disastrous was his decree forbidding the
inhabitants of southern Norway to import grain from any other country
than Denmark.
[Illustration: CARVED LINTEL, STABBUR, OR STORE-HOUSE; CARVED
BEER-MUGS.]
Frederick V. (1746-1766) was a man of kindly nature, but limited
intelligence. He opened the theatres, which his father had closed, and
abolished the many arduous regulations for the keeping of the Sabbath.
He came within a hair of having war with Russia, and was only saved by
the murder of the emperor, Peter III. But the great preparations he had
made necessitated an increase of taxation, which especially fell heavily
upon the poor Norse peasants. In Bergen, the "extra-tax" led to a
revolt. The peasants broke into the city, and insulted and maltreated
the magistrates, whereupon the tax was abolished. The Norwegian Military
Academy in Christiania was founded during the reign of this king, as
also the Academy of Sciences in Drontheim.
Christian VII. (1766-1808) succeeded to the throne at the age of
seventeen, and wasted his youth in the wildest dissipation. His vitality
was accordingly used up before he reached mature manhood, and insanity
followed. During a journey abroad, he became much attached to his body
physician, a German, named Struensee, and, after his return, made him
prime-minister, and left the government entirely in his hands. Struensee
was a man of great ability, penetrated with the ideas of Voltaire and
Rousseau, and rather headlong in the reforms which he introduced. The
nobles and the queen-dowager, Juliana Maria, hated him, and, by their
influence, the king was induced to sign an order for his arrest. From
the prison to the block the road was short. A favorite of the
queen-dowager, named Ove Guldberg, carried on the government during the
next twelve years, and revoked all Struensee's liberal measures. He
endeavored to abolish the very name of Norseman, insisting that no such
nationality existed, all being citizens of the Danish State.
During the reign of the last three kings, Norway had, owing to the
peace, steadily advanced in material prosperity. The population had, in
one hundred years, nearly doubled, being, in 1767, 723,000; and the
merchant marine had, since the destruction of the Hanseatic monopoly,
grown from 50 to 1,150 ships. A class of native officials, educated at
the University of Copenhagen, began to replace the Danish, and, by the
sale of the estates of the crown, the number of freeholders among the
peasants was largely increased.
As the insanity of the king made him unable to attend to the government,
his son, Crown Prince Frederick, became, in 1784, the responsible
regent, and made an excellent selection of a premier in Andreas
Bernsdorff (1784-1797). This capable and enlightened man piloted Denmark
and Norway safely through the stormy times of the French Revolution. In
the latter country four provincial superior courts were established, and
a peculiar institution called "commissions of reconciliations," intended
to prevent litigation. In 1800 Denmark had the imprudence to conclude a
treaty of armed neutrality with Russia and Sweden, with a view to
resisting the right, which England demanded, of searching the ships of
non-combatants for munitions of war. It was the aim of England to cut
France off from all commercial intercourse with the rest of the world
and, as munitions of war were regarded not only guns and powder, but
grain and all kinds of provisions. The Norwegian and Danish merchant
marines, which were then doing a great business as carriers, were
injured by this arbitrary interpretation. The government was, however,
not strong enough to bid defiance to England, and after the battle in
Copenhagen harbor (April 2, 1801) Denmark was forced to retire from the
"armed neutrality." The crown prince, Frederick, seemed, however, to
have a poor idea of the power of England, for his policy soon again
began to show symptoms of friendliness for the emperor of the French.
According to a secret agreement between Napoleon and Alexander of Russia
(1807) at the Peace of Tilsit, the former was to take possession of the
Danish fleet, and by means of it dispute England's dominion over the
sea. The English government soon got wind of this plan, and immediately
demanded the temporary surrender of the Danish fleet, guaranteeing its
return as soon as peace was reestablished. When this demand was refused,
the English landed troops on Seeland and surrounded Copenhagen, while
from the sea side they bombarded the city for three days and a half
(1807). The Danes then had no choice but to surrender their fleet, but,
owing to their resistance, it was never returned. This second battle of
Copenhagen threw Denmark more completely into the arms of Napoleon, and
when the emperor's star declined and set, his ally was left helpless at
the mercy of his enemies.
Owing to the isolation of Denmark during the war and the difficulty of
maintaining communication, Norway was temporarily governed by a
commission, or council of regency, under the presidency of Prince
Christian August of Augustenborg.
[Illustration: PEASANTS DANCING.]
When Frederick VI. (1808-1814), at the death of his insane father,
mounted the throne, the condition of his two countries was deplorable.
His wrong-headed policy had placed him in a position which was wellnigh
desperate. The war with England had put an embargo upon all commerce,
and famine and misery were the result. Norway, which, without being
consulted, had been dragged into this maze of difficulties, suffered
from constant naval attacks, to which it was, by its long coast-line,
particularly exposed. The finances were in hopeless disorder. To add to
the confusion, a war broke out with Sweden, which, in time, had seen its
advantage in seeking an English alliance. General Armfelt once more
invaded the country, but Christian August did not lose his courage. The
Council of Regency unfolded a heroic activity in carrying out his
measures for the defence of the land, and divisions of Norwegian troops
beat the Swedes in three successive fights (Toverud, Trangen, and
Prestebakke). Simultaneously Sweden was attacked by Russia, which had
guaranteed to enforce the stipulations of the Peace of Tilsit, one of
which was the blockading of the Swedish ports against the English. But
the obstinate king, Gustavus IV., would not give his consent to this
measure, in consequence of which the Russians invaded Finland, and,
after several hotly contested engagements, drove the Swedes out. The
result of these disasters was the dethronement of the king and the
election of his brother, Charles XIII., as his successor. As the latter
was childless, he was induced to adopt the regent of Norway, Prince
Christian August, as his heir, and there was thus a chance of the
peaceful union of Norway and Sweden under an able and popular king. But,
unhappily, this beloved prince died very soon after, at a review of
troops in Skaane (1809). At the Peace of Frederickshamn, Sweden was
obliged to cede Finland to Russia, but by the Treaty of Paris was
guaranteed possession of Pomerania, on condition of its adhering to
Napoleon's so-called "continental system." This naturally involved war
with England, which was the one unconquered and irreconcilable enemy of
the emperor; but as long as Sweden refrained from actively aiding
Napoleon, England, which had its hands full elsewhere, assumed an
expectant attitude and exercised no hostilities. But this
semi-neutrality was far from satisfying Napoleon. Enraged by the
indecision of Charles XIII., he again occupied Pomerania, thereby giving
Sweden a pretext for openly siding with his enemies. Peace was concluded
with England at Oerebro (1812), and soon after Sweden joined the great
European alliance, which had for its object the overthrow of Napoleon.
This change of policy was, no doubt, to a large extent, due to Jean
Baptiste Bernadotte, Prince of Pontecorvo, who had risen from the ranks
in Napoleon's service, had become a field marshal, and after the death
of Christian August, had been made crown prince of Sweden (1812). At a
meeting with Alexander of Russia at Aabo, he was promised Norway, as a
reward for his adherence to the cause of the allies; and the same
promise was later repeated by England.
The condition of Norway, during this period, was aggravated by the
continued blockading of her ports by the English. In 1812 a famine broke
out, and the people were obliged to grind birch bark into flour and bake
it into bread. The depreciation of the Danish paper money swept away the
savings of thousands of families, and demoralized all commercial
relations. Everywhere the greatest discontent prevailed at the union
with Denmark, which had brought the country to such a strait. The tardy
grant of a charter for a Norwegian University (1811) which had before
been refused, caused a temporary enthusiasm, but did not allay the
discontent. The political sense which seemed to have been dormant for
centuries, began to awake again, and a feeling of independence and a
desire for national self-assertion found expression in the Society for
Norway's Welfare, (1810), in the liberal contributions to the
University, and in a sudden patriotic ferment, which pervaded the land.
The native official class came to the front as the leaders and exponents
of these political aspirations, and rendered important service by
formulating the people's desires and leading them toward rational aims.
To be disposed of, like chattels, by foreign powers, which had no
sympathy with Norway's traditions, nor interest in her welfare, was
revolting to their self-respect, and amid all the insecurity, which the
various moves upon the foreign diplomatic chess-board produced, a
stubborn determination to resist to the utmost asserted itself among the
thinking classes of the people.
As long, however, as Norway was a mere appendage of Denmark, it could
not escape being involved in the consequences of King Frederick's
policy. When, after Napoleon's disastrous campaign in Russia, the allies
demanded the surrender of Norway to Sweden, the king refused and sent
his cousin, Prince Christian Frederick, to govern the country as
viceroy. But Napoleon's defeat at Leipsic and Bernadotte's invasion of
Holstein, at the head of a large army, compelled him to come to terms.
At the Peace of Kiel, (January 14, 1814) he ceded Norway to Sweden, and
soon after released the Norsemen from their allegiance to him, giving up
all claim upon their country for himself and his descendants.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]