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Margaret and the Kalmar Union
Margaret I was the daughter of Valdemar Atterdag. She was married to Håkon VI of Norway in an attempt to join the two kingdoms, along with Sweden, since Håkon was related to the Swedish royal family. Originally her son, Olaf III was intended to rule the three kingdoms, but due to his early death she took on the role. During her life, the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (including the Faroe Islands, as well as Iceland, Greenland, and present-day Finland) were unified under her capable rule, in what was called the Kalmar Union, made official in 1397.
Her successor, Eric of Pomerania, lacked his predecessor's skill and was directly responsible for the breakup of the Kalmar Union. However, there was still some enthusiasm for the idea, so when Christopher of Bavaria, a distant relative came to the throne, he managed to be elected in all three kingdoms, briefly reuniting Scandinavia. The Swedish nobility grew increasingly unhappy with Danish rule and the union soon became merely a legal concept with little practical application. In the early 16th century, Christian II came to power. He is quoted as saying, "If the hat on my head knew what I was thinking, I would pull it off and throw it away." This is apparently in reference to his devious and machiavellian political dealings. He had conquered Sweden in an attempt to reinforce the union, and had about 100 leaders of the Swedish anti-unionist forces, as well as many ordinary citizens, women, and children killed in what came to be known as the Stockholm Bloodbath. The bloodbath continued during the following months in other parts of the country, with about 500 more killed, and it destroyed any lingering hope of Scandinavian union.
In the aftermath of Sweden's definite secession from the Kalmar Union in 1521, civil war and Protestant Reformation followed in Denmark and Norway. When things had settled down, the Privy Council of Denmark was weakened, and that of Norway was abolished. The two kingdoms were joined in personal union, known as Denmark-Norway. Norway kept its separate laws and some institutions, such as a royal chancellor, and separate coinage and army. Being a hereditary kingdom, Norway's status as separate from Denmark was important to the royal dynasty in its struggle to win elections as kings of Denmark. The two kingdoms remained tied until 1814.
Early Modern
Reformation
The Reformation, which originated in Germany from the ideas of Martin Luther, had a strong impact on Denmark; today the national Church of Denmark is Lutheran. The Reformation was introduced in Denmark in 1536. As elsewhere in Europe, the spread of protestantism was made possible by the powerful combination of popular enthusiasm for the reform of the church and the enthusiasm of the government for the opportunity for increased independence from Rome. No small incentive for independence from Rome involved seizure of Church lands by the King. In Denmark this increased royal revenues by 300%.
There was widespread dissatisfaction with the established Roman church and in the early 1530s the people were incited to attack monasteries and churches. When Frederick I died in 1533, a council of Bishops took control of the country and refused to allow the election of Christian III whom they feared would welcome Lutheranism. Armed opposition from nobles and the mayor of Lübeck forced them to accept Christian as king, and sure enough, church lands were soon confiscated (to pay for the armies that had enforced his election) and priests were forced to convert their allegiance to Lutheranism. Denmark quickly became part of the heartland of Lutheranism. The seventeenth century became a period of strict Lutheran orthodoxy in Denmark; teachings suspected of representing either Calvinism or the teachings of Huldrych Zwingli were harshly punished.
Early Modern politics
Denmark-Norway ceded the Danish provinces of Terra Scania and the Norwegian provinces of Trondheim and Bahusia to Sweden. In red; Halland was already ceded to Sweden for a 30-year period. In yellow; the provinces of Terra Scania and Bahusia. In purple; rebelling provinces that returned to Danish rule in 1660.
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Denmark-Norway ceded the Danish provinces of Terra Scania and the Norwegian provinces of Trondheim and Bahusia to Sweden. In red; Halland was already ceded to Sweden for a 30-year period. In yellow; the provinces of Terra Scania and Bahusia. In purple; rebelling provinces that returned to Danish rule in 1660.
Denmark grew wealthy during the sixteenth century, largely because of the increased traffic through the Øresund which they were able to tax because Denmark controlled both sides of the Sound. The grain trade from Poland to the Netherlands and the rest of Europe grew enormously at this time, and the Danish Kings were not hesitant to cash in on it.
The Danish economy benefited from the Eighty Years' War in the Netherlands because a large number of skilled refugees from that area, the most economically advanced in Europe, came to Denmark. This helped to modernize many aspects of society and established trade links with the Netherlands.
Denmark was a relatively powerful kingdom at this time. European politics of the sixteenth century revolved largely around the struggle between Catholic and Protestant forces, so it was almost inevitable that Denmark, a strong, unified Lutheran kingdom, would get drawn into the larger war when it came. The Thirty Years' War went badly for the protestant states in the early 1620s, and Denmark was called on to "save the protestant cause". Embarrassingly for Christian IV, the Danish military intervention in Germany was a fiasco; worse still, Sweden later intervened with greater success.
Christian IV is nevertheless widely remembered as one of the great kings of Denmark. He had a very long reign, from 1588 to 1648, and is known as the architect on the Danish throne because of the large number of building projects he undertook. Many of the great buildings of Denmark were constructed during his reign.
After his death, Denmark waged a disastrous war against Sweden. An abnormally cold winter allowed Swedish troops to cross the sound on the ice and attack Copenhagen directly. The peace in 1658 ceded three of Denmark's richest provinces, Scania, Halland, and Blekinge, to Sweden under the terms of the Treaty of Roskilde.
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