_Frederick III. (1648-1670)--Absolutism Introduced (1660)_
After the death of Christian IV. some months elapsed before the Council
of State would agree to elect his son, Frederick III., to the throne.
He was finally elected toward the end of the year 1648, after having
given the nobility still greater power, by signing a more humiliating
charter than any king had yet granted; but it also became the last one.
The conditions were such that he could not exercise any of the powers
of a king without the consent of the council.
During the first nine years of Frederick's reign the country had peace;
but the war which then broke out was most fatal in its result. The
Swedish king, Charles X. Gustavus, was at war with Poland, and rumor
had it that he had suffered serious defeats. Although the country
highly needed peace, the army and navy, as well as the finances,
being in a miserable condition, King Frederick believed there was an
opportunity to recover the lost provinces, and war against Sweden
was declared, 1657. But King Charles hastily left Poland and invaded
Denmark, and, before the year was closed, he had conquered Holstein,
Schleswig and Jutland. The winter being unusually severe, he could
march across the ice to the islands of Langeland, Lolland, and
Falster, and, in February, he stood with his whole army in Zealand
(Sjælland) and threatened Copenhagen. King Frederick was obliged to
sign the peace at Roskilde (February 26, 1658), by which he ceded to
Sweden the Norwegian provinces of Bahus-Len and Throndhjem Stift and
the Danish provinces of Scania, Halland, Blekinge, and the island of
Bornholm. Thus Norway was again deprived of some territory, although
the Norwegians, under Iver Krabbe (after whom the war was called the
Krabbe War), had repulsed the attacks of the Swedes, while General
Jorgen Bjelke had conquered Jemteland, which, however, had to be
evacuated when peace was concluded.
Having discovered the great weakness of Denmark, King Charles thought
he saw a chance to place the three crowns on his head, and five months
later he broke the peace, under some pretext, and again landed with
a well-equipped army, with which he besieged Copenhagen. He captured
the castle of Kronborg and other points of defence, and arrogantly
declared, to the Danish messengers sent to him, that "it could matter
little whether the king of the Danes was called Charles or Frederick,
and that he would explain the causes of the war after Denmark had been
taken." At Copenhagen, however, King Charles met a stronger resistance
than he had expected. A Dutch fleet, under Admiral Opdam, succeeded
in forcing its way past Kronborg and the Swedish fleet, and brought
provisions and help to the starving citizens. When Charles, during the
night of February 10, 1659, tried to take the city by assault, he was
repulsed after a desperate conflict, leaving 2,000 dead and wounded
in the hands of the Danes. Later in the year King Frederick succeeded
in securing the assistance of France, England and Holland. After a
conference held at the Hague, a Dutch fleet, under Admiral de Ruyter,
was sent to aid the Danes, and in November, 1659, the Swedish army was
defeated at Nyborg.
King Charles, after this defeat, turned his principal attention to
Norway, where his forces needed reinforcements. The able Major-General
Reichwein had proceeded to Throndhjem, shortly after the renewal
of the war, with a force of soldiers from the southern part of
Norway, and, with the aid of the inhabitants, had driven the Swedes
out of Throndhjem Stift. In the south, the citizens of Halden (now
Frederickshald) had especially distinguished themselves under the
brave Colonel Tonne Hvitfeld, the commandant at the fortress, and
the merchant, Peter Olafson Normand. Halden was twice visited by the
Swedes, and both attacks were heroically repelled by the citizens. In
the beginning of 1660 King Charles sent an army of 5,000 men, under
Field-Marshal Kagg, against Halden, and a vigorous siege was commenced.
For six weeks one assault after another was repulsed. About half of the
able-bodied citizens had fallen, the town was partly destroyed, and
the fortifications were badly damaged. But the Swedish army had also
suffered great losses, and on February 23d the siege was discontinued
and the army returned home, upon learning of the death of Charles
X. at Gothenburg (February 13). The Swedes now desired peace, and
King Frederick had no reason to wish to continue the war. He readily
concluded a peace with the queen-regent of Sweden, which was signed
at Copenhagen, May 27, 1660. The Swedes relinquished Throndhjem Stift
and the island of Gottland; but otherwise the terms of the Peace of
Roskilde were confirmed.
Denmark was in a miserable condition at the end of the war, without
fleet, without money, and hopelessly in debt. In his great need the
king summoned the nobles, the clergy, and the burgher class to a diet
at Copenhagen. The nobles, as usual, asserted their special privilege
of exemption from taxation; but the other estates joined in an appeal
to the king for the curtailment of the privileges of the nobles, and
proposed a disposal of the crown fiefs to the highest bidders without
regard to rank. While these propositions were made, the gates of the
city were closed by order of the burgomaster, Hans Nansen, and a
strong guard was placed at the doors of the hall where the meeting was
held. The nobles, being taken by surprise, were obliged to agree to
the payment of the taxes demanded of them. Later, by similar means,
the nobles were compelled to assent to an important change in the
government. The charter signed by the king at the time of his election
was declared void, the Council of State was abolished, and Denmark was
declared henceforth to be a hereditary kingdom. Thus, by a bloodless
and sudden revolution, King Frederick had become perfect master of
the situation. He was authorized to draft a new constitution, which
might be for the benefit of all classes; but this constitution never
appeared. He prepared a charter setting forth the absolute power of
the king, and this document was signed by all classes throughout
Denmark. Later he published the so-called Royal Law, which confirmed
the absolute power of the king. The only unconditional demands upon him
were, that he must belong to the Lutheran Church, that he must reside
within the country, and that he must not divide his countries.
The effect of the establishment of absolutism in Norway was at first
only that the country was placed under one master, the king, instead
of the many who had composed the Danish Council of State. Having,
since 1537, been ruled principally by Danish nobles, the country
gained by having absolutism introduced, as it was placed on an equal
footing with Denmark. The king now ruled with the same absolute power
in both countries, and the power of the Danish nobles was abolished or
greatly reduced. They were obliged to take their share of the burden of
taxation, and they suffered a great loss by the abolition of the fiefs.
The fiefs were changed into _Amts_, or counties, to be administered by
officers appointed and paid regular salaries by the king. The revenues
of the state were increased almost fivefold. In the new government
"colleges," which superseded the Council of State, citizens without
rank of nobility might become members. Thus able citizens, who were not
noblemen, obtained a chance to rise to power and dignity. Among those
who thus rose to high positions were Peter Schumacher and Kort Adeler.
Kort Syvertson Adeler was born in Brevig, Norway, December 26, 1622,
learned seamanship in Holland under the famous Admiral Tromp, and
distinguished himself as a brave fighter, first in Dutch, and afterward
in Venetian service, against the Turks, where he performed great
heroic deeds. Once he forced his way, with a single ship, through a
line of seventy-seven Turkish galleys, and another time he boarded the
Turkish admiral's ship, fought single-handed with Admiral Ibrahim, and
beheaded the admiral with his own sword. Several powers desired to get
the experienced naval hero in their service; but Frederick III. called
him home and made him admiral in the Danish navy. For twelve years he
labored with great zeal in establishing an efficient navy for Denmark
and Norway, but died in 1675 without having had a chance to make use of
it.
Frederick III., who had not inherited his great father's affection for
Norway, visited this country only once in great haste. He died February
9, 1670, about sixty years old. During his last years he busied himself
a great deal with alchemy, and an itinerant Italian, who claimed to
know the mystic art, helped him to squander a couple of millions of
Danish dollars on this foolishness.
The fortress of Frederickssteen and the city of Frederickshald
(formerly Halden) were named after Frederick III.
Frederick III. was married to the proud and ambitious Sophie Amalie of
Hesse-Cassel, who, on account of her jealousy and hatred, caused the
king's half-sister, Eleonore Kristine Ulfeld, to be tried on some false
and absurd charges, and imprisoned in Blaataarn (the Blue Tower) in
Copenhagen, where she remained for twenty-two years. She was liberated
on the death of her enemy in 1685. King Frederick's and Sophie Amalie's
children were, besides Crown Prince Christian, George, who was married
to Queen Anna of England; Anne Sophie, who was married to John
George III. of Saxony, and became the mother of Augustus II.; Ulrike
Eleonore, who was married to the Swedish king Charles XI., and became
the mother of the famous Charles XII.; Frederikke Amalie, married to
Duke Christian Albrecht of Gottorp, and Wilhelmina, married to Prince
Charles of the Palatinate.