Editing History of Denmark (section)

== Early Modern Denmark ==
[[Image:Daniaeregnitypvs.jpg|thumb|right| Abraham Ortelius's 1570 map of Denmark including parts on the Scandinavian peninsula.]]

=== The Reformation ===
{{main|Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein}}
[[Image:Hans Tausen - Jacob Kornerup efter maleri i Ribe Domkirke.jpg|thumb|[[Hans Tausen]] was one of the first Lutheran preachers, and later a bishop, in Denmark.]]
The [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]], which originated in the German lands in the early 16th century from the ideas of [[Martin Luther]] (1483–1546), had a considerable impact on Denmark. The Danish Reformation started in the mid-1520s. Some Danes wanted access to the [[Bible]] in their own language. In 1524 Hans Mikkelsen and [[Christiern Pedersen]] translated the [[New Testament]] into Danish; it became an instant best-seller.<ref name="runeberg.org"/>

Those who had traveled to [[Wittenberg]] in Saxony and come under the influence of the teachings of [[Martin Luther|Luther]] and his associates included [[Hans Tausen]], a Danish monk in the [[Knights Hospitaller|Order of St John Hospitallers]]. On Good Friday in 1525, Tausen used the pulpit at [[Antvorskov]] Abbey Church to proclaim Luther's reforms. His scandalized superiors ordered him out of Zealand and held him in the priory at [[Viborg, Denmark|Viborg]] under close confinement until he should come to his senses.<ref name="runeberg.org">{{cite encyclopedia
|entry-url= https://runeberg.org/dbl/17/
|entry= Tausen, Hans, 1494–1561, evangelisk Reformator og Biskop
|access-date= 2008-09-09
|editor= C. F. Bricka
|editor-link= Carl Frederik Bricka
|year= 1903
|encyclopedia= [[Dansk biografisk leksikon|Dansk Biografiske Lexicon]]
|publisher= Gyldendal
|pages= 100–114
|language= da
}}
</ref>

Townspeople came to see the troublesome monk, and Tausen preached to them from the window of his cell. Within days Tausen's ideas swept through the town. The then radical ideas of Luther found a receptive audience. Tausen's preaching converted ordinary people, merchants, nobles, and monks and even the Prior grew to appreciate Tausen and ordered his release. Tausen preached openly: much to the consternation of Bishop Jøn Friis, who lost his ability to do anything about the Lutherans and retreated to Hald Castle.<ref name="runeberg.org"/>

After preaching in the open air, Tausen gained the use of a small chapel, which soon proved too small for the crowds who attended services in Danish. His followers broke open a Franciscan Abbey so they could listen to Tausen, who packed the church daily for services. The town leaders protected Tausen from the Bishop of Viborg.<ref name="runeberg.org"/>
Viborg became the center for the Danish Reformation for a time. Lutheranism spread quickly to [[Aarhus]] and [[Aalborg]].

Within months King [[Frederick I of Denmark|Frederick]] appointed Tausen as one of his personal chaplains (October 1526) in order to protect him from Catholics. Tausen's version of Luther's ideas spread throughout Denmark. Copenhagen became a hotbed of reformist activity and Tausen moved there to continue his work. His reputation preceded him and the excitement of hearing the liturgy in Danish brought thousands of people out to hear him. With the kings' permission, churches in Copenhagen opened their doors to the Lutherans and held services for Catholics and for Lutherans at different times of the day.

At Our Lady Church, the main church of Copenhagen, Bishop Ronnow refused to admit the "heretics". In December 1531, a mob stormed the [[Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen|Church of Our Lady]] in Copenhagen, encouraged by Copenhagen's fiery mayor, [[Ambrosius Bogbinder]]. They tore down statues and side-altars and destroyed artwork and reliquaries. Frederick I's policy of toleration insisted that the two competing groups share churches and pulpits peacefully, but this satisfied neither Lutherans nor Catholics.

Luther's ideas spread rapidly as a consequence of a powerful combination of popular enthusiasm for church reform and a royal eagerness to secure greater wealth through the seizure of church lands and property. In Denmark the reformation increased the crown's revenues by 300%.

==== Dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church ====
Dissatisfaction with the established Catholic Church had already been widespread in Denmark. Many people viewed the [[tithe]]s and fees — a constant source of irritation for farmers and merchants — as unjust. This became apparent once word got out that King Frederick and his son, [[Christian III of Denmark|Duke Christian]] had no sympathy with Franciscans who persistently made the rounds of the parishes to collect food, money, and clothing in addition to the tithes. Between 1527 and 1536 many towns petitioned the king to close the Franciscan houses.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Krønike om Gråbrodrenes Udjagelse''
</ref>

Frederick obliged by sending letters authorizing the closure of the monasteries, often offering a small sum of money to help the brothers on their way. With the royal letter in hand, mobs forcibly closed [[Franciscan]] abbeys all over Denmark. They beat up monks, two of whom died.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The closure of Franciscan houses occurred systematically in Copenhagen, Viborg, Aalborg, Randers, Malmö and ten other cities; in all, 28 monasteries or houses closed. People literally hounded Franciscan monks out of the towns.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

No other order faced such harsh treatment. Considering how strongly many people felt about removing all traces of Catholic traditions from Danish churches, surprisingly little violence took place. Luther's teaching had become so overwhelmingly popular that Danes systematically cleared churches of statues, paintings, wall-hangings, reliquaries and other Catholic elements without interference. The only exceptions came in individual churches where the local churchmen refused to permit reform.

[[Image:Christian III of Denmark.jpg|thumb|[[Christian III of Denmark|King Christian III]] carried out the Protestant Reformation in Slesvig, Holsten, Denmark and Norway.]]
[[Frederick I of Denmark|Frederick I]] died in 1533; the Viborg Assembly ({{langx|da|landsting}}) [[Election of Christian III|proclaimed his son, Duke Christian of Schleswig, King Christian III]]. The State Council ({{langx|da|Rigsråd}}) on Zealand, led by the Catholic bishops, took control of the country and refused to recognize the election of Christian III, a staunch Lutheran. The regents feared Christian's zeal for Luther's ideas would tip the balance and disenfranchise Catholics — both peasants and nobles.

The State Council encouraged Count [[Christopher of Oldenburg]] to become Regent of Denmark. Christian III quickly raised an army to enforce his election, including mercenary troops from Germany. Count Christopher raised an army (including troops from [[Mecklenburg]] and [[Duchy of Oldenburg|Oldenburg]] and the Hanseatic League, especially [[Lübeck]]) to restore his Catholic uncle King [[Christian II]] (deposed in 1523). This resulted in a three-year civil war called the [[Count's Feud]] ({{langx|da|Grevens Fejde}}).

==== Count's Feud (1534–1536) ====
Armed rebellion by Catholic peasants led by [[Skipper Clement]] started in northern Jutland. Rebellion swept across [[Funen]], Zealand and Skåne. Christian III's army soundly defeated an army of Catholic nobles at Svenstrup on 16 October 1534. Christian forced a truce with the [[Hanseatic League]], which had sent troops to help Count Christopher. Christian III's army, under [[Johan Rantzau]], chased the rebels all the way back to [[Aalborg]] and then massacred over 2,000 of them inside the city in December 1534.

The Protestants captured Skipper Clement (1534), and later executed him in 1536. Christian III's mercenary troops put an end to Catholic hopes on Zealand and then Funen. Skåne rebels went as far as proclaiming Christian II king again. King [[Gustav I of Sweden|Gustav Vasa]] of Sweden sent two separate armies to ravage [[Halland]] and Skåne into submission. Besiegers finally starved the last hold-outs in the rebellion, Copenhagen and [[Malmø]], into surrender in July 1536. By the spring of 1536, Christian III had taken firm control.

==== State Lutheranism ====
Denmark became officially Lutheran on 30 October 1536 by decree of King Christian III, and in 1537 the reconstituted State Council approved the [[Church Order (Lutheran)|Lutheran Ordinances]] which was worked out by Danish theologians and [[Johannes Bugenhagen]], based on the [[Augsburg Confession]] and Luther's [[Small Catechism|Little Catechism]]. The government established the Danish National Church ({{langx|da|Folkekirken}}) as the [[state church]]. All of Denmark's Catholic bishops went to prison until such time as they converted to Luther's reform. The authorities released them when they promised to marry and to support the reforms.

If they agreed, they received property and spent the rest of their lives as wealthy landowners. If they refused conversion, they died in prison. The State confiscated Church lands to pay for the armies that had enforced Christian III's election. Priests swore allegiance to Lutheranism or found new employment. The new owners turned monks out of their monasteries and abbeys. Nuns in a few places gained permission to live out their lives in nunneries, though without governmental financial support. The Crown closed churches, abbeys, priories and cathedrals, giving their property to local nobles or selling it.

The King appointed Danish superintendents (later bishops) to oversee Lutheran orthodoxy in the church. Denmark became part of a Lutheran heartland extending through Scandinavia and northern Germany. The Catholic Church everywhere in Scandinavia had sealed its fate by supporting hopeless causes: Christian II and the emperor Charles V in Denmark, Norwegian independence in that country, and in Sweden the Kalmar Union. Geographical distance also prevented them from receiving anything more than a sympathetic ear from Rome.

The 17th century saw a period of strict Lutheran [[orthodoxy]] in Denmark, with harsh punishments visited on suspected followers of either [[John Calvin|Calvinism]] or [[Huldrych Zwingli]]. Lutheran authorities treated Catholics harshly — in the fear that they might undermine the king, government, and national church. In a delayed result of the Reformation, Denmark became embroiled in the [[Thirty Years' War]] (1618–1648) on the Protestant side.

=== The loss of Eastern Denmark ===
{{see also|Dominium maris baltici}}

The [[Denmark–Norway|Dano-Norwegian Kingdom]] grew wealthy during the 16th century, largely because of the increased traffic through the [[Øresund]], which Danes could tax because Denmark controlled both sides of the Sound. The trade in grain exports from [[Poland]] to the [[Netherlands]] and to the rest of Europe grew enormously at this time, and the Danish kings did not hesitate to cash in on it. The Sound duty was only repealed in the 1840s.

The Danish economy benefited from the [[Eighty Years' War]] (1568–1648) 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 to establish trading links between Denmark and the Netherlands.

[[Denmark–Norway]] had a reputation as a relatively powerful kingdom at this time. European politics of the 16th century revolved largely around the struggle between Catholic and Protestant forces, so it seemed 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 a call went out to [[Denmark–Norway]] to "save the Protestant cause".

King [[Christian IV of Denmark|Christian IV]], who was also a duke of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] on the basis of his possessions in [[Duchy of Holstein|Holstein]], decided to intervene in the conflict raging in northern Germany. The campaign [[Battle of Wolgast|ended in defeat]], and Jutland was occupied by the imperial army of [[Albrecht von Wallenstein]]. In the [[Treaty of Lübeck]], Christian made peace and agreed to not intervene in Germany again. The war in Germany had been very expensive and [[Christian IV of Denmark|Christian IV]] saw no other recourse than to raise the Sound tolls. Unfortunately, this act pushed the [[Netherlands]] away from Denmark and into the arms of Sweden.

==== Torstenson War (1643–1645)====
[[File:Danmark før 1645.png|thumb|Denmark before 1645]]
In 1643, Sweden's armies, under the command of [[Lennart Torstensson]], suddenly invaded Denmark without declaring war. The ensuing conflict became known as the [[Torstenson War]]. The [[Netherlands]], wishing to end the Danish stranglehold on the Baltic, joined the Swedes in their war against [[Denmark–Norway]]. In October 1644, a combined Dutch-Swedish fleet destroyed 80 percent of the Danish fleet in the Battle of Femern. The result of this defeat proved disastrous for [[Denmark–Norway]]: in the [[Second treaty of Brömsebro (1645)]] Denmark ceded to Sweden the Norwegian provinces [[Jemtland]], [[Herjedalen]] and [[Älvdalen Municipality|Älvdalen]] as well as the Danish islands of [[Gotland]] and [[Saaremaa|Øsel]]. [[Halland]] went to Sweden for a period of 30 years and the [[Netherlands]] were exempted from paying the Sound Duty.

[[File:Danmark før 1658.png|thumb|Denmark before 1658]]
[[File:Scandinavia 1658.gif|thumb|right|'''Treaty of Roskilde, 1658'''.<br />{{legend|#FF0000|Halland, previously occupied by Sweden for a 30-year period under the terms of the Peace of Brömsebro negotiated in 1645, was now ceded}}
{{legend|#FFFF00|the Scanian lands and Bohus County were ceded}}
{{legend|#B404AE|Trøndelag and Bornholm provinces, which were ceded in 1658, but rebelled against Sweden and returned to Danish rule in [[Treaty of Copenhagen (1660)|1660]].}}]]

Nevertheless, Danes remember Christian IV as one of the great kings of Denmark. He had a very long reign, from 1588 to 1648, and has become known as "the architect on the Danish throne" because of the large number of building [[project]]s he undertook. Many of the great buildings of Denmark date from his reign. After the death of Christian IV in 1648, his son Frederick succeeded him.

==== Second Northern War (1655–1660) ====
In 1657, during the [[Second Northern War]], [[Denmark–Norway]] launched a war of revenge against Sweden (then distracted in Poland) which turned into a complete disaster. The war became a disaster for two reasons: Primarily, because Denmark's new powerful ally, the [[Netherlands]], remained neutral as Denmark was the aggressor and Sweden the defender. Secondly, the [[Great Belt|Belts]] froze over in a rare occurrence during the winter of 1657–1658, allowing [[Charles X Gustav of Sweden]] to [[March across the Belts|lead his armies across the ice]] to invade [[Zealand]].

In the following [[Treaty of Roskilde]], [[Denmark–Norway]] capitulated and gave up all of [[Terra Scania|Eastern Denmark]] ({{langx|da|Skåne, Halland, Blekinge and [[Bornholm]]}}), in addition to the counties of [[Bohuslän]] ({{langx|no|Båhuslen}}) and [[Trøndelag]] in Norway. [[Holstein-Gottorp]] was also tied to Sweden, providing a gateway for future invasions from the south.

But the Second Northern War was not yet over. Three months after the peace treaty was signed, [[Charles X Gustav of Sweden]] held a council of war where he decided to simply wipe Denmark from the map and unite all of Scandinavia under his rule. Once again the Swedish army arrived outside Copenhagen. However, this time the Danes did not panic or surrender. Instead, they decided to fight and prepared to defend Copenhagen.

[[File:Tåget över bält2.jpg|thumb|right|[[March across the Belts]] in 1658]]
[[Frederick III of Denmark]] had stayed in his capital and now encouraged the citizens of Copenhagen to resist the Swedes, by saying he would die in his nest. Furthermore, this unprovoked declaration of war by Sweden finally triggered the alliance that [[Denmark–Norway]] had with the [[Netherlands]]. A powerful Dutch fleet was sent to Copenhagen with vital supplies and reinforcements, which saved the city from being captured during the [[Assault on Copenhagen (1659)|Swedish attack]]. Furthermore, [[Brandenburg-Prussia]], the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] and the [[Habsburg monarchy]] had gathered large forces to aid [[Denmark–Norway]] and fighting continued into 1659. 
[[File:Battle in køge bay-claus moinichen 1686.jpg|thumb|[[Battle of Køge Bay (1677)|Battle of Køge Bay]] in 1677]]

[[Charles X Gustav of Sweden]] suddenly died of an illness in early 1660, while planning an invasion of Norway. Following his death, Sweden made peace in the [[Treaty of Copenhagen (1660)|Treaty of Copenhagen]]. The Swedes returned [[Trøndelag]] to Norway and [[Bornholm]] to Denmark, but kept both [[Bohuslän]] and [[Terra Scania]]. The [[Netherlands]] and other European powers accepted the settlement, not wanting both coasts of the Sound controlled by Denmark. This treaty established the boundaries between Norway, Denmark, and Sweden that still exist today. All in all, Sweden had now surpassed Denmark as the most powerful country in Scandinavia.

=== Absolutism ===

As a result of the disaster in the war against Sweden, [[Frederick III of Denmark|King Frederick III]] (reigned 1648–1670) succeeded in convincing the nobles to give up some of their powers and their exemption from taxes, leading to the era of [[Absolutism (European history)|absolutism]] in Denmark. The country's main objective in the following decades was the recovery of its lost provinces from Sweden. In the 1670s, [[Denmark–Norway]] had regained enough strength to start [[Scanian War|a war with Sweden to recover its lost provinces]]. However, in spite of Denmark's outside support, naval dominance and initial support from the population of [[Terra Scania|the former eastern provinces]], the war ended in a bitter [[Peace of Lund|stalemate]].

==== Great Northern War (1700–1721) ====
A renewed attack during the [[Great Northern War|Third Northern War]] (1700–1721) first resulted in the unfavourable [[Peace of Travendal]], but after Denmark's re-entry into the war and Sweden's ultimate defeat by a large alliance, Sweden was no longer a threat to Denmark. However, the great powers opposed any Danish territorial gains, which meant the [[Treaty of Frederiksborg]] did not return the former eastern provinces to Denmark. Furthermore, Denmark was even forced to return [[Swedish Pomerania]], [[Siege of Stralsund (1711–1715)|held by Danish forces since 1715]], to Sweden. Denmark now had no hope of recovering its lost provinces from Sweden. As noted earlier, the rest of Europe was simply against the Sound being controlled by a single nation ever again.
[[File:Unification process of Holstein.png|left|thumb|180x180px|Unification process of Holstein]]
For most of the 18th century, Denmark was at peace. The only time when war threatened was in 1762, when the [[Duke of Holstein-Gottorp]] became Tsar [[Peter III of Russia]] and declared war on Denmark over his ancestral claims in [[Schleswig]]. Before any fighting could begin, however, he was overthrown by his wife, who took control of Russia as Tsarina [[Catherine the Great|Catherine II]] (Catherine the Great).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Elements of General History, Ancient and Modern|first=Lord Alexander Fraser|last=Tytler Woodhouselee|author-link=Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee|pages=[https://archive.org/details/elementsofgenera02wood/page/428 428]–429|year=1823|publisher=H. Hill|url=https://archive.org/details/elementsofgenera02wood|access-date=4 November 2016}}</ref> Empress Catherine withdrew her husband's demands and negotiated the transfer of ducal [[Schleswig-Holstein]] to the Danish crown in return for Russian control of the [[County of Oldenburg]] and adjacent lands within the [[Holy Roman Empire]], an exchange that was formalized with the 1773 [[Treaty of Tsarskoye Selo]]. The alliance that accompanied the territorial exchange tied Denmark's foreign policy to Russia's and led directly to Denmark's involvement in a series of wars over the succeeding decades.

With the suspension of the Danish [[diet (assembly)|diet]], that body disappeared for a couple of centuries. During this time power became increasingly centralized in Copenhagen. Frederick's government reorganized itself in a much more hierarchical manner, built around the king as a focal point of administration. Crown officials dominated the administration, as well as a new group of bureaucrats, much to the dismay of the traditional aristocracy, who saw their own influence curtailed even further. The absolutist kings of Denmark were quite weak compared to their Swedish counterparts, and non-noble landlords became the real rulers of the country. They used their influence to pass laws that favored themselves.

The administration and laws underwent "modernization" during this period. In 1683, the ''Danske lov 1683'' ([[Danish Code]]) standardized and collected all the old provincial laws. Other initiatives included the standardization of all [[weights and measures]] throughout the kingdom, and an agricultural survey and registry. This survey allowed the government to begin taxing landowners directly, moving it beyond dependence on revenue from [[crown land]]s.

The population of Denmark rose steadily through this period, from 600,000 in 1660 (after the loss of territory to Sweden) to 700,000 in 1720. By 1807, it had risen to 978,000.

==== Changes in the agricultural economy ====
Attempts to diversify the economy away from agriculture failed. During this period, little industry existed, except for a very small amount in Copenhagen (population: 30,000). In the late 17th century a small amount of industry did develop, catering to the military. Denmark suffered in part because of its lack of natural resources. It had nothing much to export except agricultural products. The Netherlands bought the largest share of Denmark's exports. The landlords, only about 300 in number, nevertheless owned 90% of the land in the country.

Rural administration remained primarily the preserve of the large landholders and of a few law-enforcement officials. In 1733, low crop prices caused the introduction of [[adscription]], an effort by the landlords to obtain cheap labor. The effect of this was to turn the previously free Danish peasantry into serfs. The adscription system tied rural laborers to their place of birth and required them to rent farms on the estates.

As rent, peasants were required to work the landlords' plots and could not negotiate contracts or demand payment for improvements made to the farm. Peasants who refused to rent a farm were subject to six years of military service. Danish agriculture was very inefficient and unproductive as a result, since the peasants had no motivation to perform anything more than the absolute minimum of work. Attempts to sell Danish grain in Norway failed because of its low quality compared to grain from the Baltic.

In the late 18th century, extensive agricultural reforms took place, involving the abolition of the old [[Open field system|open-field system]] and the amalgamation of many smaller farms into larger ones. With the abolition of the adscription system, the military could now only obtain manpower through conscription. These reforms were possible because agricultural prices steadily rose in the second half of the century.

Throughout the 18th century, the Danish economy did very well, largely on the basis of expanded agricultural output to meet growing demand across Europe. Danish merchant ships also traded around Europe and the North Atlantic, venturing to new [[Danish colonization of the Americas|Danish colonies]] in the Caribbean and North Atlantic.

==== The Enlightenment and Danish nationalism ====
[[Image:Forrige Grev Iohan Frid. Struensee og Grev Enevold Brandt forreffillet og afbildet po hiul og Steyler d. 28 Aprill 1772.jpg|thumb|Denmark's social reformers [[Johann Friedrich Struensee|Struensee]] and [[Enevold Brandt|Brandt]] quartered and displayed on the wheel on 28 April 1772]]
New propriety and [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] ideas became popular among the [[middle class]]es of Denmark, arousing increased interest in [[personal liberty]]. In the last 15 years of the 18th century, the authorities relaxed the censorship which had existed since the beginning of the 17th century. At the same time, a sense of Danish nationalism began to develop. Hostility increased against Germans and Norwegians present at the royal court. Pride in the Danish language and culture increased, and eventually a law banned "foreigners" from holding posts in the government. Antagonism between Germans and Danes increased from the mid-18th century on.

In the 1770s, during the reign of the mentally unstable Christian VII (1766–1808), the queen [[Caroline Matilda of Great Britain|Caroline Matilda's]] lover, a German doctor named [[Johann Friedrich Struensee]], became the real ruler of the country. Filled with the ideas of the Enlightenment, he attempted a number of radical reforms including freedom of the press and religion. But it was short-lived and [[Royal Life Guards' Mutiny|saw open revolt]]. The landlords feared that the reforms were a threat to their power, while the commoners believed that religious freedom was an invitation to atheism.

In 1772, a court faction involving the [[Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel|king's stepmother]] had Struensee arrested, tried, and convicted of crimes against the majesty, his right hand was cut off following his beheading, his remains were quartered and put on display on top of spikes on the commons west of Copenhagen. The next 12 years were a period of unmitigated reaction until a group of reformers gained power in 1784.

=====Reforms=====
Denmark became the model of enlightened despotism, partially influenced by the ideas of the French Revolution. Denmark thus adopted liberalizing reforms in line with those of the French Revolution, with no direct contact. Danes were aware of French ideas and agreed with them, as it moved from Danish absolutism to a liberal constitutional system between 1750 and 1850. The change of government in 1784 was caused by a power vacuum created when King Christian VII took ill, and influence shifted to the crown prince (who later became King Frederick VI) and reform-oriented landowners. Between 1784 and 1815, the abolition of [[serfdom]] made the majority of the peasants into landowners. The government also introduced [[free trade]] and [[universal education]]. In contrast to France under the '''ancien regime''', agricultural reform was intensified in Denmark, civil rights were extended to the peasants, the finances of the Danish state were healthy, and there were no external or internal crises. That is, reform was gradual and the regime itself carried out agrarian reforms that had the effect of weakening absolutism by creating a class of independent peasant freeholders. Much of the initiative came from well-organized liberals who directed political change in the first half of the 19th century.<ref>Henrik Horstboll, and Uffe Ostergård, "Reform and Revolution: The French Revolution and the Case of Denmark, ''Scandinavian Journal of History'' (1990) 15#3 pp 155–179</ref>

=====Newspapers=====
Danish news media first appeared in the 1540s, when handwritten fly sheets reported on the news. In 1666, [[Anders Bording]], the father of Danish journalism, began a state paper. The royal privilege to bring out a newspaper was issued to Joachim Wielandt in 1720. University officials handled the censorship, but in 1770 Denmark became one of the first nations of the world to provide for press freedom; it ended in 1799. In 1795–1814, the press, led by intellectuals and civil servants, called out for a more just and modern society, and spoke out for the oppressed tenant farmers against the power of the old aristocracy.<ref>Thorkild Kjærgaard, "The rise of press and public opinion in eighteenth‐century Denmark—Norway." ''Scandinavian journal of History'' 14.4 (1989): 215–230. He stresses the role</ref>

In 1834, the first liberal newspaper appeared, one that gave much more emphasis to actual news content rather than opinions. The newspapers championed the [[March Revolution (Denmark)|Revolution of 1848]] in Denmark. The new constitution of 1849 liberated the Danish press. Newspapers flourished in the second half of the 19th century, usually tied to one or another political party or labor union. Modernization, bringing in new features and mechanical techniques, appeared after 1900. The total circulation was 500,000 daily in 1901, more than doubling to 1.2 million in 1925. The German occupation brought informal censorship; some offending newspaper buildings were simply blown up by the Nazis. During the war, the underground produced 550 newspapers—small, surreptitiously printed sheets that encouraged sabotage and resistance.<ref>Kenneth E. Olson, ''The history makers: The press of Europe from its beginnings through 1965'' (LSU Press, 1966) pp 50 – 64, 433</ref>

=== Colonial ventures ===

{{main|Danish colonization of the Americas|Danish colonial empire}}{{See also|List of Danish colonial trading posts and settlements}}[[File:DanishColonialEmpireESTLAT.png|thumb|300x300px|Map showing Denmark–Norway and its colonial possessions.]]
Denmark maintained a number of [[colonies]] outside Scandinavia, starting in the 17th century and lasting until the 20th century. Denmark also controlled traditional colonies in Greenland<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thór |first1=J. Th. |title=De vestnordiske landes fælleshistorie: udvalg af indledende betragtninger over dele af den vestnordiske fælleshistorie |date=2003 |publisher=Grønlands Hjemmestyre, Direktoratet for kultur, uddannelse, forskning og kirke |location=Nuuk, Grønland |isbn=87-90948-07-6 |page=55 |edition=1. udg |url=https://naalakkersuisut.gl/~/media/Nanoq/Files/Publications/Uddannelse/De%20vestnordiske%20landes%20fælleshistorie.pdf |access-date=25 September 2020 |language=da |chapter=Fra biland til republik |quote=moreover, Greenland, which by 1800 was already described as a colony.}}</ref> and Iceland<ref>{{Cite book|title=Scandinavian Colonialism and the Rise of Modernity.|last1=Loftsdóttir|first1=Kristín|publisher=Springer|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4614-6202-6|location=New York, NY|pages=37–52|last2=Pálsson|first2=Gísli|chapter=Black on white: Danish colonialism, Iceland and the Caribbean.|doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-6202-6}}</ref> in the north Atlantic, obtained through the union with Norway. [[Christian IV of Denmark|Christian IV]] (reigned 1588–1648) first initiated the policy of expanding Denmark's overseas trade, as part of the [[mercantilist]] trend then popular in European governing circles. Denmark established its own first colony at [[Tranquebar]], or Trankebar, on India's south coast, in 1620.

In the [[Caribbean]] Denmark started a colony on [[Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands|St Thomas]] in 1671, [[Saint John, United States Virgin Islands|St John]] in 1718, and purchased [[Saint Croix]] from [[France]] in 1733. Denmark maintained its Indian colony, Tranquebar, as well as several other smaller colonies there, for about two hundred years. The [[Danish East India Company]] operated out of Tranquebar. The Danes also [[Danish Gold Coast|established themselves in the Gold coast]] and fought against other European powers like Sweden and the [[Dano-Dutch War|Netherlands there.]]

During its heyday, the Danish East Indian Company and the [[Swedish East India Company]] imported more tea than the [[British East India Company]] – and smuggled 90% of it into Britain, where it sold at a huge profit. Both of the Scandinavia-based East India Companies folded during the course of the Napoleonic Wars. Denmark also maintained other colonies, forts, and bases in West Africa, primarily for the purpose of [[Slavery|slave]]-trading.