Editing Denmark (section)

=== Early modern history (1536–1849) ===
{{Main|Denmark–Norway|Danish overseas colonies}}{{More sources|section|date=April 2025}}[[File:Denmark-Norway in 1780.svg|thumb|Extent of the [[Denmark–Norway|Dano-Norwegian Realm]]. After the Napoleonic Wars, Norway was ceded to Sweden while Denmark kept the [[Faroe Islands]], [[Greenland]], and [[Iceland]].]]

After Sweden permanently [[History of Sweden (1523–1611)|broke away]] from the personal union, Denmark tried on several occasions to reassert control over its neighbour. King [[Christian IV of Denmark|Christian IV]] attacked Sweden in the 1611–1613 [[Kalmar War]] but failed to accomplish his main objective of forcing it to return to the union. The war led to no territorial changes, but Sweden was forced to pay a [[war reparations|war indemnity]] of 1 million silver [[riksdaler]] to Denmark, an amount known as the ''[[Treaty of Stettin (1570)|Älvsborg ransom]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smb.nu/svenskakrig/1611.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011111014/http://smb.nu/svenskakrig/1611.asp |archive-date=11 October 2007 |title=Kalmarkriget 1611–1613 |access-date=4 May 2007 |publisher=Svenskt Militärhistoriskt Bibliotek |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.com/topics/scandinavia/kalmar-union |title=Kalmar Union |publisher=History.com |access-date=22 May 2025 |date=10 November 2009}}</ref> King Christian used this money to found several towns and fortresses, most notably [[Glückstadt]] (founded as a rival to [[Hamburg]]) and [[Oslo|Christiania]]. Inspired by the [[Dutch East India Company]], he founded a similar [[Danish East India Company|Danish company]] and planned to claim [[Sri Lanka|Ceylon]] as a colony, but the company only managed to acquire [[Tharangambadi|Tranquebar]] on India's [[Coromandel Coast]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/fort-dansborg-the-second-largest-after-kronborg-spotlights-the-danish-legacy/article67249632.ece |title=Fort Dansborg, the second largest after Kronborg, spotlights the Danish legacy |publisher=The Hindu |access-date=22 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/danish-east-india-company |title=The Danish East India Company |publisher=History Today |access-date=22 May 2025}}</ref> Denmark's large colonial aspirations included a few key [[trading posts]] in [[Africa]] and [[India]]. While Denmark's trading posts in India were of little note, it played an important role in the highly lucrative [[Atlantic slave trade]], through its trading outposts in [[Osu Castle|Fort Christiansborg]] in [[Osu, Accra|Osu]], [[Ghana]] through which 1.5 million slaves were traded.<ref name="guardian6nov2018">{{cite news |last1=Rawlinson |first1=Kevin |title=Prince Charles says Britain's role in slave trade was an atrocity |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/nov/05/prince-charles-says-britains-part-in-transatlantic-slave-trade-was-atrocity |access-date=6 November 2018 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=5 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105232718/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/nov/05/prince-charles-says-britains-part-in-transatlantic-slave-trade-was-atrocity |archive-date=5 November 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/the-transatlantic-slave-trade/ |title=The Transatlantic Slave Trade |publisher=National Archives |access-date=22 May 2025 |date=14 March 2023}}</ref> While the Danish colonial empire was sustained by trade with other major powers, and [[plantation]]s – ultimately a lack of resources led to its stagnation.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-first=James Stuart |editor1-last=Olson |editor2-first=Robert |editor2-last=Shadle |year=1991 |title=Historical Dictionary of European Imperialism |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-26257-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyqepNdgUWkC&pg=PA167|access-date=15 May 2014}}</ref>

In the [[Thirty Years' War]], Christian tried to become the leader of the [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] states in Germany but suffered a crushing defeat at the [[Battle of Lutter]].{{sfnp|Parker|1984|p=78}} The result was that the Catholic army under [[Albrecht von Wallenstein]] was able to invade, occupy, and pillage Jutland, forcing Denmark [[Treaty of Lübeck|to withdraw from the war]].{{sfnp|Parker|1984|p=79}} Denmark managed to avoid territorial concessions, but King [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden|Gustavus Adolphus]]' intervention in Germany was seen as a sign that the military power of Sweden was on the rise while Denmark's influence in the region was declining. Swedish armies [[Torstenson War|invaded Jutland]] in 1643 and claimed Scania in 1644. In the 1645 [[Second Treaty of Brömsebro (1645)|Treaty of Brømsebro]], Denmark surrendered Halland, [[Gotland]], the last parts of Danish Estonia, and several provinces in Norway.

[[File:Stormen på København (F.C. Lund).jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|The [[Assault on Copenhagen (1659)|Assault]] on [[Copenhagen]] on 11 February 1659 during the [[Second Northern War]]. Danish defenders under King [[Frederick III of Denmark|Frederick III]] successfully repelled the forces of the [[Swedish Empire]]. Painting by [[Frederik Christian Lund]].]]

Seeing an opportunity to tear up the Treaty of Brømsebro, King [[Frederick III of Denmark]], in 1657, declared war on Sweden, the latter being deeply involved in the [[Second Northern War]] (1655–1660), and marched on [[Bremen-Verden]]. This led to a massive Danish defeat as the armies of King [[Charles X Gustav]] of Sweden conquered [[Jutland]] and, following the [[March Across the Belts|Swedish March across]] the frozen [[Danish straits]], occupied [[Funen]] and much of [[Zealand]] before signing the [[Treaty of Roskilde|Peace of Roskilde]] in February 1658, which gave Sweden control of Scania, [[Blekinge]], [[Bohuslän]], [[Trøndelag]], and the island of [[Bornholm]]. Charles X Gustav quickly regretted not having ruined Denmark and in August 1658, he launched a [[Dano-Swedish War (1658–1660)|second attack on Denmark]], conquered most of the Danish islands, and began a two-year-long siege of [[Copenhagen]]. King Frederick III actively led the defence of the city, rallying its citizens to take up arms, and [[Assault on Copenhagen (1659)|repelled the Swedish attacks]].{{sfnp|Isacson|2002|p=229}}{{sfnp|Englund|2000|p=610}} The siege ended following the death of Charles X Gustav in 1660.{{sfnp|Stone|Bain|Booth|Parnell|2008|p=35}} In the ensuing [[Treaty of Copenhagen (1660)|peace settlement]], Denmark managed to maintain its independence and regain control of Trøndelag and Bornholm.{{sfnp|Frost|2000|pp=180–183}} Attaining great popularity following the war, Frederick III used this to [[King's Law|disband the elective monarchy]] in favour of [[absolute monarchy]], which lasted until 1848 in Denmark.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ekman|first=Ernst|date=1957|title=The Danish Royal Law of 1665|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/237987|journal=The Journal of Modern History|volume=29|issue=2|pages=102–107|doi=10.1086/237987|s2cid=145652129|issn=0022-2801|access-date=27 March 2021|archive-date=23 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123102335/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/237987|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Denmark tried but failed to regain control of Scania in the [[Scanian War]] (1675–1679). After the [[Great Northern War]] (1700–21), Denmark managed to regain control of the parts of [[Schleswig]] and [[Holstein]] ruled by the house of [[Holstein-Gottorp]] in the 1720 [[Treaty of Frederiksborg]] and the 1773 [[Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo]], respectively. Denmark prospered greatly in the last decades of the 18th century due to its [[Country neutrality (international relations)|neutral status]] allowing it to trade with both sides in the many contemporary wars. In the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Denmark traded with both [[First French Empire|France]] and the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] and joined the [[Second League of Armed Neutrality|League of Armed Neutrality]] with [[Russian Empire|Russia]], Sweden, and [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]].<ref>{{cite web|title=League of Armed Neutrality|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100056830|publisher=Oxford Reference|access-date=28 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924130430/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100056830|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> British fears that Denmark-Norway would ally with France led to two attacks against Danish targets in Copenhagen in [[Battle of Copenhagen (1801)|1801]] and [[Battle of Copenhagen (1807)|1807]]. These attacks resulted in the British capturing most of the Dano-Norwegian navy and led to the outbreak of the [[Gunboat War]]. In 1807 much of Copenhagen was burned down as a result of these bombardments, including Vor Frue Kirke, the main Danish cathedral. British control of the waterways between Denmark and Norway proved disastrous to the union's economy and in 1813 Denmark–Norway went bankrupt.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

The union was dissolved by the [[Treaty of Kiel]] in 1814; the Danish monarchy "irrevocably and forever" renounced claims to the Kingdom of Norway in favour of the Swedish king.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jenssen-Tusch|first=Georg Friedrich|title=Zur Regierungsgeschichte Friedrich VI. Königs von Dänemark, Herzogs von Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg|page=166|year=1852|publisher=Verlag Schröder|language=de}}</ref> Denmark kept the possessions of [[Iceland]] (which retained the Danish monarchy until 1944), the [[Faroe Islands]] and [[Greenland]], all of which had been governed by Norway for centuries.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dörr|first=Oliver|title=Kompendium völkerrechtlicher Rechtsprechung : eine Auswahl für Studium und Praxis|date=2004|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|location=Tübingen|isbn=978-3-16-148311-0|page=101}}</ref> Apart from the Nordic colonies, Denmark continued to rule over [[Danish India]] from 1620 to 1869, the [[Danish Gold Coast]] (Ghana) from 1658 to 1850, and the [[Danish West Indies]] from 1671 to 1917.