Loading

History of Denmark

A Nordic country that was the first to legally recognise same-sex partnerships. 4 eras, 1016 to today.

North Sea Empire, 1016–1035 Draft, not yet reviewed

The North Sea Empire was the personal union of the kingdoms of England, Denmark and Norway for most of the period between 1013 and 1042 towards the end of the Viking Age. The first king to unite all three kingdoms was Sweyn Forkbeard, king of Denmark since 986 and of Norway since 1000, when he conquered England in 1013. His son Cnut the Great acquired England in 1016, Denmark in 1018 and Norway in 1028. At the height of his power, when Cnut ruled all three kingdoms (1028–1035), he was the most powerful ruler in western Europe after the Holy Roman Emperor.

Seat of power: Roskilde

Rulers

Kalmar Union, 1397–1523 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then including much of present-day Finland), and Norway. Legally, the countries remained separate sovereign states, but their domestic and foreign policies were directed by a common monarch. Gustav Vasa's election as King of Sweden on 6 June 1523 marked Sweden's final secession from the Kalmar Union.

Seat of power: Copenhagen

Rulers

Denmark–Norway, 1536–1814 Draft, not yet reviewed

Denmark–Norway was a 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real union consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (including the then Norwegian overseas possessions: the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and other possessions), the Duchy of Schleswig, and the Duchy of Holstein. From 1536/1537, Denmark and Norway formed a personal union that would eventually develop into the 1660 integrated state called Denmark–Norway by modern historians, at the time sometimes referred to as the "Twin Kingdoms". Prior to 1660, Denmark–Norway was de jure a constitutional and elective monarchy in which the King's power was somewhat limited; in that year it became one of the most stringent absolute monarchies in Europe, and was shortly thereafter, in 1665, formalized by an absolutist constitution, the King's Law. The Dano-Norwegian union lasted until 1814, when the Treaty of Kiel decreed that Norway (except for the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland) be ceded to Sweden.

Seat of power: Copenhagen

Rulers

Denmark, 1814 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

The adoption of the Constitution of Denmark on 5 June 1849 ended the absolute monarchy. In the Second Schleswig War, Denmark lost Schleswig-Holstein, which led to changes in Danish politics henceforth emphasising social cohesion in the diminished realm. Danish neutrality was violated in World War II by a rapid German invasion in April 1940. In 1973, Denmark, together with Greenland but not the Faroe Islands, became a member of what is now the European Union.

Seat of power: Copenhagen

Rulers

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.