Editing History of Denmark (section)

=== Industrialisation ===
[[Industrialisation]] came to Denmark in the second half of the 19th century. The nation's first railroads were constructed in the 1850s, and improved communications and overseas trade allowed industry to develop in spite of Denmark's lack of natural resources. Trade unions developed starting in the 1870s. There was a considerable migration of people from the countryside to the cities.

Danish agriculture became centered around the export of dairy and meat products, especially to Great Britain. Instead of relying on German middlemen in Hamburg, the Danes opened new direct trade routes to England after the defeat by the Germans.<ref>Markus Lampe, and Paul Sharp, "How the Danes discovered Britain: the international integration of the Danish dairy industry before 1880." ''European Review of Economic History'' 19.4 (2015): 432-453 [Lampe, Markus, and Paul Sharp. "How the Danes discovered Britain: the international integration of the Danish dairy industry before 1880." European Review of Economic History 19.4 (2015): 432-453. online]. </ref>  Lampke and Sharp argue that Denmark's success as in the dairy industry was not based on co-operatives, which came in the late nineteenth century. Instead leadership was in the hands of the landed, intellectual and political elites. They made land reforms, adopted new technologies, and started educational and trading systems. Together these made Denmark a major exporter of butter after 1850. Land reform enabled the growth of a middle ranking class of farmers. They copied the innovations pioneered by wealthy estate owners, and implemented them through newly formed co-operatives.<ref>Markus Lampe, and Paul Sharp, '' A Land of Milk and Butter: How Elites Created the Modern Danish Dairy Industry'' (2018).</ref>

Internationalism and nationalism have become very much part of the history of the Danish [[Labour movement]]. The Labour movement gathered momentum when social issues became associated with internationalism. Socialist theory and organisational contact with the [[International Workingmen's Association|First International]], which linked labour movements in various countries, paved the way. [[Louis Pio]] emerged as the driving force. In 1871, following the bloody defeat of the [[Paris Commune]], he started publishing socialist journalism. He campaigned strongly for an independent organisation of the workers under their own management, and organised a Danish branch of the First International. This became the foundation stone for the [[Social Democrats (Denmark)|Social Democratic Party]] under the name of ''Den Internationale Arbejderforening for Danmark'' (The International Labour Association for Denmark). As a combination of union and political party, it adroitly brought together national and international elements.<ref>Harald Lövaas, ''The trade union movement in Denmark'' (European Trade Union Institute, 1987).</ref>

Pio saw internationalism as vital for the success of the workers' struggle: without internationalism, no progress. He pointed out that the middle classes cooperated across national frontiers and used nationalistic rhetoric as a weapon against the workers and their liberation.<ref>Peder Tabor, "The Oldest Social-Democratic Press in the World." ''Gazette'' (Leiden, Netherlands) 9.2 (1963): 157–164.</ref>

The Danish section started organising strikes and demonstrations for higher wages and social reforms.<ref>David Greasley,  "A Tale of Two Peripheries: Real Wages in Denmark and New Zealand 1875–1939." ''Scandinavian Economic History Review'' 54.2 (2006): 116–136.</ref> Demands were moderate, but enough to provoke the employers and the forces of [[Law and order (politics)|law and order]]. Things came to a head in the Battle of [[Fælledparken|Fælleden]] on 5 May 1872. The authorities arrested the three leaders, Louis Pio, [[Poul Geleff]] and Harald Brix, charged them and convicted them of high treason. The three left Denmark for the United States to set up the ill-starred and short-lived socialist colony near Hays City, in [[Ellis County, Kansas]].

Back in Denmark, the emerging political situation made possible by the new Danish door of independence alarmed many of the existing elites, since it inevitably [[empowerment|empowered]] the peasantry. Simple men with little education replaced professors and professionals in positions of power. The peasants, in coalition with liberal and radical elements from the cities, eventually won a majority of seats in the Folketing. Even though constitutional changes had taken place to boost the power of the Landsting, the Left {{Lang|da|[[Venstre (Denmark)|Venstre]]}} Party demanded to form the government, but the king, still the head of the executive branch, refused. However, in 1901, king [[Christian IX of Denmark|Christian IX]] gave in and asked [[Johan Henrik Deuntzer]], a member of Venstre, to form a government, the [[Cabinet of Deuntzer]]. This began a tradition of [[parliamentary government]], and with the exception of the [[Easter Crisis of 1920]], no government since 1901 has ruled against a parliamentary majority in the Folketing.