_Frederick V. (1746-1766)_
When Christian VI. died, his eldest son, Frederick V., ascended
the throne. He was a man of limited intelligence, but of a kindly
disposition. By his affability and his taste for the language of the
country he stood in sharp contrast with his late father, and he and his
lovely young queen, Louisa, daughter of George II. of England, soon
won the hearts of the people. He abolished all the harsh ordinances
against amusements, the national theatre was opened again, and Ludvig
Holberg had the pleasure, in his old age, to again see his comedies
played and received with great applause. The change was at first
beneficial, especially as long as Queen Louisa lived; but, after her
death, in 1751, when her place had been taken by Juliana Marie of
Brunswick, the liberal tone at court often degenerated into giddiness
and license, and, in an attempt to imitate the French manners, a luxury
was introduced which was too expensive for the ordinary resources of
the crown.
The reign of Frederick V. was, like that of his father, peaceful,
although a war with Russia seemed very imminent, when one of the
Holstein-Gottorp princes, Charles Peter Ulrik, had ascended the throne
of Russia, under the title of Peter III., and laid claim to a part
of the duchy of Schleswig. A Russian army was sent into Mecklenburg
with orders to advance on Holstein, where an army of 70,000 Danish and
Norwegian soldiers had been drawn together. The armies lay within a few
miles of each other, when the conflict was suddenly averted by the news
that Peter III. had been deposed, and, shortly afterward, murdered by
his wife (July, 1762). The empress, Catherine II., who succeeded her
husband, had always been averse to the war, and a treaty of peace was
concluded with her, principally as the result of the able diplomacy of
the king's adviser, Count Johan Hartvig Bernstorf.
The great preparations for this threatened conflict had, however,
necessitated an increase of taxation. The so-called "extra-tax" was
felt as a great burden; every person above twelve years of age had to
pay a tax of one Rigsdaler (about fifty-five cents) per year. This
was especially felt as a burden by the common people in the districts
around Bergen, where the fisheries had been a failure, and a revolt
was the result. About 4,000 peasants armed themselves and made an
assault upon the city, maltreated the magistrates, and plundered about
8,000 Rigsdalers of the public means. Quiet was soon restored, and the
participants in the revolt were punished. A few years afterward the
"extra-tax" was abolished.
A great deal was done during this reign for the promotion of science
and art, trade, manufactures and agriculture. At Kongsberg a mineral
school was established and two hundred German experts employed as
teachers. The bishop at Throndhjem, Johan Gunnerus, Rector Gerhard
Schöning, and the Danish scholar, Peter Suhm (who had married the
daughter of a merchant at Throndhjem), established the Royal Academy
of Sciences in Throndhjem. A free school of mathematics, afterward
reorganized as the Norwegian Military Academy, was founded in
Christiania.
Frederick V., who shortened his life by all kinds of excesses, died in
his forty-third year, January 14, 1766. He left a public debt of about
twenty millions. By his first wife he had one son, Christian, and three
daughters; his second wife became the mother of Prince Frederick.