History.—The oldest inhabitants of Denmark were the Cimbri, who dwelt in the peninsula of Jutland, the Chersonesus Cimbrica of the Romans. They first struck terror into the Romans by their incursion, with the Teutons, into the rich provinces of Gaul (113-101 B.c.).
After this, led by the mysterious Odin, the Goths broke into Scandinavia, and appointed chiefs from their own nation over Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. For a considerable time Denmark was divided into a number of small states, whose inhabitants lived mostly by piracy along the neighboring coasts. In 787 they began to make their descents on the E. coast of England, and along with other inhabitants of Scandinavia they conquered Normandy in 876-877. Under Gorm the Old all the small Danish states were united in 920, and his grandson Sweyn, now the head of a powerful king dom, began the conquest of Norway and of England, which was ultimately com pleted by his son Canute. Canute died in 1035, leaving a powerful kingdom to his successors, who, in 1042, lost Eng land, and in 1047 Norway. In 1047 Sweyn Magnus Estridsen ascended the throne, but with the exception of the great Waldemar the new dynasty fur nished no worthy ruler, and the power of the kingdom decayed considerably till the accession of the politic Queen Mar garet in 1387, who established the union of Calmar in 1397, uniting under her rule Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. In 1448 Christian I., Count of Oldenburg, was elected to the throne, thus founding the royal family of Oldenburg, which kept possession of the throne till 1863. Under the rule of Christian, Not way, Sweden, Schleswig, and Holstein were connected with the crown of Denmark, but under his successor, Christian II., Sweden established its independence. Under Frederick I. (1523-1533) the Re formation was introduced. Christian IV. of Denmark ascended the throne in 1588, took part in the Thirty Years' War, and engaged twice in a war with Sweden, with most unfortunate results. Fred erick III., again engaging in war with Sweden in 1657, was equally unsuccess ful. Christian V. and Frederick IV. were conquered in the war with Charles XII. Denmark, however, after the fall of Charles XII., gained, by the peace of 1720, the toll on the Sound, and main tained possession of Schleswig. After this Denmark enjoyed a long repose. In 1800, having joined the Northern Con federacy, the kingdom was involved in a war with Great Britain, in which the Danish fleet was defeated at Copen hagen, April 2, 1801. In 1807, there
being reason to think that Denmark would join the alliance with France, a British fleet was sent up the Sound to demand a defensive alliance or the sur render of the Danish fleet as a pledge of neutrality. Both were denied, till the Danish capital was bombarded and forced to capitulate, the whole fleet being delivered up to the British. The war, however, was continued, Denmark forming new alliances with Napoleon till 1814, when a peace was concluded by which she ceded Heligoland to England in exchange for the Danish West India Islands, and Norway to Sweden in ex change for Swedish Pomerania and Rii gen, which, however, she shortly after surrendered to Prussia, receiving in re turn Lauenburg and a pecuniary com pensation. In June, 1815, the king en tered into the German Confederacy as representing Holstein and Lauenburg. In 1848 Schleswig and Holstein revolted and were not finally subdued till 1852. In 1857 the Sound dues were abolished. Frederick VII. died in 1863 and with him the Oldenburg lino became extinct. He was succeeded by Christian IX. (Prince of Sonderburg-Gliicksburg). At the beginning of 1864 the Danish tern tory was politically distributed into four parts, viz., Denmark proper (consisting of the Danish islands and North Jut land), the duchy of Schleswig or South Jutland, with a population more than one-balf Danish, the remainder Frisian and German; the duchy of Holstein, purely German; the duchy of Lauen burg, also German, The measures of the Danish government compelling the use of the Danish language in state schools having given great umbrage to the German population of the duchies, the disputes resulted in the intervention of the German Confederation, and ulti mately Holstein was occupied by the troops of Austria and Prussia (1864). After a short campaign the Prussians captured Alsen, overran the greater part of Jutland, and forced the Danes to accept peace (Aug. 1), by which they renounced their right• to the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg. A difference now arose between Austria and Prussia as to what should be done with the duchies, and Prussia showing an evident intention of annexing them, the result was a war between the two powers, which ended in the total defeat of Austria at Sadowa, or Koniggratz, July 3, 1866. By the treaty which fol lowed Austria relinquished all claim to the duchies, which thus fell to Prussia.