RSS Feed 
Twitter A concise history of Denmark
As my (Danish) girlfriend is working on a Masters degree in (Danish) History from the University of Copenhagen, I've had some pretty good input to ensure this is account of the history of Denmark through the ages is accurate - and sufficienty detailed.
Click on the links for the full history of each era - the highlights of the contents of each include:
Danish resistance during World War II
If you're interested in the Danish resistance during World War II, we've got a pretty good overview to get you started.
Highlights include:
• The overstated strategic impact of the resistance in Denmark
• Nonviolent resistance: 1940-1943
• The "model protectorate"
• Danish resistance groups
• 1943 General election in Denmark
• The German ultimatum of 1943 …and the Danish refusal
• Military intelligence operations
• Acts of sabotage and violent resistance: 1943-End
• The rescue of Denmark’s Jewish population
• Prominent members of the Danish resistance
• References
Early Denmark history
Highlights include:
• The Vikings
• Christianity and establishing the Kingdom of Denmark
• The origins of Copenhagen
• Baltic power
• Legend of the Denmark flag
• Difficulties for the kings – and Denmark’s first constitution
• A kingless kingdom (1132-1340)
• The beginning …and ending… of the Kalmar Union
Middle ages history of Denmark (13th to 16th century)
Highlights include:
• Difficulties for the kings – and Denmark’s first constitution, and the counts gain control of much of Denmark
• 1332-1340: A kingless kingdom
• Expansion continues…the Hanseatic league opposes (1360)
• The beginning …and ending… of the Kalmar Union
• ...and finally the Kalmas Union ends in 1521
• Denmark-Norway as (almost) one ...until 1814
Early modern Danish history
Highlights include:
• The Reformation in Denmark ...and the translated bible (1524) becomes a best seller
• Hans Tausen brings the teachings of Luther to Denmark (1525)
• Lutherans...not welcome in Copenhagen?
• The closure of monestaries and churches
• Christian III battles for the throne
• A mark on Denmark history: The establishment of the Danish National Church
• The Catholic Church ensures it's own demise
• Lutheran orthodoxy - 17th century strict punishment
Early Modern Danish politics
Highlights include:
• Taxes from the Øresund
• Skilled immigrants from the Netherlands
• The political impact of the Catholic-Protestant struggle
• Christian IV (1588-1648) and The Thirty Years’ War
• Denmark's esteemed royal architect...to this day
• Frederick'S war against Sweden (1657) takes a disastrous turn when the Sound freezes over
• Sweden attacts... Europe comes to the rescue (1658)
• Absolutism ...and the end of a Danish Sweden
18th century Denmark history
Highlights include:
• 18th century history of Denmark.
• Peace, power centralisation …and legal standardisation
• Population growth, but little industry
• Adscription- the peasants become serfs
• Agricultural reforms
• Relaxed censorship and increased nationalism, peasants become landowners ...and the lover is the ruler (for a while)
19th century Denmark history
Highlights include:
• The Napoleonic Wars and The Battle of Copenhagen (1801)
• "the Golden Age" of Danish intellectual history: Hans Christian Andersen’s (1805-1875), Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Thorvaldsen (1770-1834), Grundtvig (1783-1872)
• 1830-1850: Nationalism and liberalism
• the Danish king's realm
• Schleswig-Holsteinists
• Picking up the pieces from a long series of military defeats ...the rise of rural Denmark
• The Danish Labour Movement ...the peasants eventually form the government
• Scandinavian Monetary Union
20th century Denmark history
• 1901-1939
• World War I
• The German-Denmark border shifts
• Easter Crisis of 1920 ...and an ultimately dimished role for Denmark's monarchs
• Iceland
• 1924: The rise (and continued rise) of the Social Democrats
• World War II - Occupation of Denmark
• Carpe Diem: Iceland declares independence in 1944
• German occupation conditions
• Cooperation with the Germans becomes intolerable
Click here to return from History of Denmark to The Copenhagen Report main page.
