Editing History of Norway (section)

=== The Puppet State era (''lydriketiden'') ===
When Frederick died and a three-way [[Count's Feud|war of succession]] broke out between the supporters of his eldest son [[Christian III of Denmark|Christian]] (III), his younger Catholic brother Hans and the followers of Christian II. Olaf Engelbrektsson again tried to lead a Catholic Norwegian resistance movement. Christian III triumphed and Engelbrektsson went into exile and, in 1537, Christian demoted Norway from an independent kingdom to a [[puppet state]], dissolving the Norwegian Council of State.<ref>Derry pp.84–89</ref> The Reformation was also [[Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein|imposed in 1537]],<ref name="s45" /> strengthening the king's power. All church valuables were sent to Copenhagen and the forty percent of the land which was owned by the church came under the control of the king. [[Danish language|Danish]] was introduced as a written language, although [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] retained distinct dialects. Professional administration was now needed and power shifted from the pincial nobility to the royal administration: district stipendiary magistrates were appointed as judges and the [[lensmann|sheriffs]] became employees of the crown rather than of the local nobility. In 1572 (or 1556), a [[Governor-general of Norway|viceroy]] was appointed for Norway with a seat at [[Akershus Fortress]] in Oslo. In 1628 the [[Norwegian Army]] was founded, and professional military officers were employed.<ref>Stenersen: 50</ref><ref name="DBL">{{cite book |last1=Bricka |first1=Carl Frederik |title=Dansk biografisk Lexikon, vol. 11 |date=1897 |publisher=Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag |location=Copenhagen |page=514 |url=https://runeberg.org/dbl/11/0516.html |access-date=1 June 2018 |archive-date=4 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504155031/http://runeberg.org/dbl/11/0516.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Norwegian economy improved with the introduction of the water-driven saw in the early 16th century. Norway had huge resources of timber but did not have the means to exploit much of it in the Middle Ages as only hand-tools were available. The new saw mills which sprang up in the fjords changed this. In 1544 a deal was struck with the Netherlands (then part of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]) and the Dutch controlled the export of Norwegian timber for the next 150 years. [[Amsterdam]] was built on piles from Norway. Tree-felling was done in the winter when farm-work was impossible and it was easy to get the felled trees across the snow to the rivers. In the spring, the logs floated down the rivers to the saw mills by the sea.<ref>Derry pp.91–92</ref> By the mid-16th century the power of the Hanseatic League in Bergen was broken; though German craftsmen remained, they had to accept Danish-Norwegian rule.<ref>Derry pp.92–93</ref>

The 17th century saw a series of wars between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. The [[Kalmar War]] between 1611 and 1613 saw 8,000 Norwegian peasants conscripted. Despite lack of training, Denmark–Norway won and Sweden abandoned its claims to the land between [[Tysfjorden]] and [[Varangerfjord]]. With the Danish participation in the [[Thirty Years' War]] in 1618–48, a new conscription system was created in which the country was subdivided into 6,000 ''legd'', each required to support one soldier.<ref>Stenersen: 53</ref> Denmark–Norway lost the war and was forced to cede [[Jämtland]] and [[Härjedalen]] to Sweden. The [[Second Northern War]] in 1657 to 1660 resulted in [[Bohuslän]] being ceded to Sweden.