First War of Schleswig
Encyclopedia
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question
Schleswig-Holstein Question
The Schleswig-Holstein Question was a complex of diplomatic and other issues arising in the 19th century from the relations of two duchies, Schleswig and Holstein , to the Danish crown and to the German Confederation....
, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig
Schleswig
Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...
and Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
. The war, which lasted from 1848–1851, also involved troops from Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Ultimately, the war resulted in a Danish victory. A second conflict, the Second Schleswig War, erupted in 1864.
Background
At the beginning of 1848, Denmark contained the Duchy of Schleswig, Duchy of Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg, where the majority of the ethnic Germans in Denmark lived. Germans made up a third of the country's population, and the three duchies were behind a half of Denmark's economic power. The Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, which ended in 1815, had increased Danish and German nationalism. Pan-German ideology
Pan-Germanism
Pan-Germanism is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanists originally sought to unify the German-speaking populations of Europe in a single nation-state known as Großdeutschland , where "German-speaking" was taken to include the Low German, Frisian and Dutch-speaking populations of the Low...
had become highly influential in the decades prior to the war outbreak and writers such as Jacob Grimm
Jacob Grimm
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was a German philologist, jurist and mythologist. He is best known as the discoverer of Grimm's Law, the author of the monumental Deutsches Wörterbuch, the author of Deutsche Mythologie and, more popularly, as one of the Brothers Grimm, as the editor of Grimm's Fairy...
argued that the entire Peninsula of Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
had been populated by Germans in before the arrival of the Danes
Danes
Danish people or Danes are the nation and ethnic group that is native to Denmark, and who speak Danish.The first mention of Danes within the Danish territory is on the Jelling Rune Stone which mentions how Harald Bluetooth converted the Danes to Christianity in the 10th century...
and that there it could justifiably be reclaimed by Germany. These claims were countered in pamphlets by Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae
Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae
Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae was a Danish archaeologist, historian and politician, who was the second director of the National Museum of Denmark . He played a key role in the foundation of scientific archaeology. Worsaae was the first to excavate and use stratigraphy to prove C.J...
, an archaeologist who had excavated parts of Danevirke
Danevirke
The Danevirke The Danevirke The Danevirke (modern Danish spelling: Dannevirke; in Old Norse Danavirki ; in German Danewerk ; is a system of Danish fortifications in Schleswig-Holstein (Northern Germany). This important linear defensive earthwork was constructed across the neck of the Cimbrian...
, who argued that there was no way of knowing the language of the earliest inhabitants of Danish territory, that Germans had more solid historical claims to large parts of France and England, and that Slavs by the same reasoning could annex parts of Eastern Germany.
The conflicting aims of Danish and German nationalists was a cause behind the First Schleswig War. Danish nationalists believed that Schleswig, but not Holstein, should be a part of Denmark, as Schleswig contained a large number of Danes, whilst Holstein did not. German nationalists believed that Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg should remain united, and their belief that Schleswig and Holstein should not be separated led to the two duchies being referred to as Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
. Schleswig was a particular source of contention, as it contained a large number of Danes, Germans and North Frisians
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
. Another cause of the war was the illegal introduction of a royal law in the duchies.
When King Christian VIII of Denmark
Christian VIII of Denmark
Christian VIII , was king of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, king of Norway in 1814. He was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway and Sophia Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, born in 1786 at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen...
died without children in January 1848, the duchies could have gone under the rule of the House of Oldenburg
House of Oldenburg
The House of Oldenburg is a North German dynasty and one of Europe's most influential Royal Houses with branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Russia, Greece, Norway, Schleswig, Holstein, Oldenburg and Sweden...
, which might have resulted in a division of Denmark. As a result, a royal law was decreed in the duchies that would allow a female relative of Christian VIII to assume control. The implementation of this law was illegal.
Trigger
On March 21, 1848, a crowd of Danish citizens in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
demonstrated for the creation of a liberal constitution for Denmark. Local government officials and other important people in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, a city in Schleswig-Holstein and a settlement from which the German nationalist party operated, did not know fully what was going on in Copenhagen, and proclaimed a provisional government on March 24. They did this because they thought the King had fallen under the control of the revolutionaries who wanted to separate Schleswig from Holstein. The declaration was considered an act of rebellion by the central Danish government. Schleswig-Holsteinian Prince Frederik of (Schleswig-Holstein-Augustenburg-) Noer took the 5th "Lauenburger" Rifle Corps (Jägerkorps) and some students of Kiel university to take over the fortress of Rendsburg
Rendsburg
Rendsburg is a town on the River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the northeastern part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the Kreis of Rendsburg-Eckernförde. As of 2006, it had a population of 28,476.-History:...
in Schleswig-Holstein. The fortress contained the main armoury of the duchies, and the 14th, 15th, and 16th Infantry Battalions, the 2nd Regiment of Artillery, as well as some military engineer
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
s. When Noer's force arrived, they found that the gates to the fortress had been left open for an unknown reason, and promptly walked in, surprising the would-be defenders. After delivering a speech to the defenders, the prince secured the allegiance of the battalions and regiment of artillery to the provisional government. Danish officers who had been serving in the defense of the fortress were allowed to leave for Denmark, but on the assurance that they did not fight against Schleswig-Holstein in the coming war.
1848
Wishing to defeat Denmark before Prussian, Austrian, and German troops arrived to support them, 7,000 Schleswig-Holsteinish soldiers under General Krohn occupied Flensborg on March 31st. Over 7,000 Danish troops landed east of the city, and Krohn, fearing he would be surrounded, ordered his forces to withdraw. The Danes were able to reach the Schleswig-Holsteiners before they were able to retreat, and the subsequent Battle of BovBattle of Bov
The Battle of Bov was a battle between troops fighting for Schleswig-Holstein, and those for Denmark, which happened on April 9, 1848 in the area of Flensborg in Denmark, during the First Schleswig War. Denmark won the engagement...
on April 9th was a Danish victory. At the battle, the Prince of Noer, senior commander of the Schleswig-Holsteinish forces, did not arrive until two hours after fighting had started, and the Schleswig-Holsteiners were more prepared for the withdrawal they had intended to make before they were attacked than for an engagement.
- April 12: The diet recognized the provisional government of Schleswig and commissioned Prussia to enforce its decrees. General WrangelFriedrich Graf von WrangelFriedrich Heinrich Ernst Graf von Wrangel was a Generalfeldmarschall of the Prussian Army. He was nicknamed Papa Wrangel....
was also ordered to occupy Schleswig. - April 23: Prussian victory in battle at Schleswig.
- April 23: German victory in battle at Mysunde.
- April 24: Prussian victory in battle at OeverseeOeverseeOeversee is a municipality in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. 10 km south of Flensburg. The Oeversee municipality was merged with Sankelmark on March 1, 2008. The new municipality is, however, still called Oeversee.Oeversee is part of the...
. - May 27: Battle at SundevedSundevedUntil January 1, 2007 Sundeved was a municipality in the former South Jutland County on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in south Denmark. The municipality covered an area of 69 km², and had a total population of 5,298...
. - May 28: Battle at Nybøl.
- June 5: Danish victory over Germans in battle at DybbølDybbølDybbøl is a small town, with a population of 2,457 in the southeastern corner of South Jutland, Denmark. It is located around west of Sønderborg....
Hill. - June 7: Battle at Hoptrup.
- June 30: Battle at Bjerning.
By entering the war on behalf of Schleswig-Holstein, the Prussians were acting on behalf of a democratic uprising. This was out of the norm for the Prussians. This was the only time that Prussia carried out assistance for a revolutionary movement. Indeed, concurrently with their participation in the First Schleswig-Holstein War, Prussia, was occupying the Polish city of Posen to put down a revolutionary uprising there, and was fighting in Italy and Hungary to put down revolutionary uprisings.
The Germans had embarked on this course of participation in the Schleswig-Holstein War alone, without the European powers. The other European powers were united in opposing any dismemberment of Denmark, even Austria
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
refusing to assist in enforcing the German view. Swedish troops landed to assist the Danes; Tsar Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
, speaking with authority as head of the senior Gottorp
Gottorp
Gottorf Castle is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the ancestral home of the Holstein-Gottorp branch of the House of Oldenburg...
line, pointed out to King Frederick William IV of Prussia
Frederick William IV of Prussia
|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...
the risks of a collision. Great Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, though the Danes had rejected her mediation, threatened to send her fleet to assist in preserving the status quo. The fact that Prussia had entered the war on behalf of the revolutionary forces in Schleswig-Holstein, created a great number of ironies. The newly elected Frankfort Diet tended to support the incursion into the Schleswig-Holstein War while King Frederick William did not. Indeed, Friedrich William ordered Friedrich von Wrangel, commanding the army of the German Confederation
German Confederation
The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...
, to withdraw his troops from the duchies; but the general refused, asserting that he was under the command of the Diet of the German Confederation and not of the King of Prussia but of the regent of Germany. Wrangel proposed that, at the very least, any treaty concluded should be presented for ratification to the Frankfurt Parliament
Frankfurt Parliament
The Frankfurt Assembly was the first freely elected parliament for all of Germany. Session was held from May 18, 1848 to May 31, 1849 in the Paulskirche at Frankfurt am Main...
. The Danes rejected this proposal and negotiations were broken off. Prussia was now confronted on the one side by the German nation urging her clamorously to action, on the other side by the European powers threatening dire consequences should she persist. After painful hesitation, Frederick William chose what seemed the lesser of two evils, and, on 26 August, Prussia signed a convention at Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
which yielded to practically all the Danish demands. The Holstein estates appealed to the German diet, which hotly took up their cause, but it was soon clear that the central government had no means of enforcing its views. In the end the convention was ratified at Frankfurt. The convention was essentially nothing more than a truce establishing a temporary modus vivendi. The main issues, left unsettled, continued to be hotly debated.
In October, at a conference in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Denmark suggested an arrangement on the basis of a separation of Schleswig from Holstein, which was about to become a member of a new German empire, with Schleswig having a separate constitution under the Danish crown.
1849
- 27 January: The London conference result was supported by Great Britain and Russia and accepted by Prussia and the German parliament. The negotiations broke down, however, on the refusal of Denmark to yield the principle of the indissoluble union with the Danish crown.
- 23 February: The truce came to an end.
- 3 April: The war was renewed. At this point Nicholas I intervened in favour of peace. However, Prussia, conscious of her restored strength and weary of the intractable temper of the FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
parliament, determined to take matters into her own hands. - 3 April: Danish victory over Schleswig-Holstein forces in battle at Adsbøl.
- 6 April: Battles at Ullerup and Avnbøl.
- 13 April: Danish victory over SaxonKingdom of SaxonyThe Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
forces in battle at DybbølDybbølDybbøl is a small town, with a population of 2,457 in the southeastern corner of South Jutland, Denmark. It is located around west of Sønderborg....
. - 23 April: Battle at KoldingKoldingKolding is a Danish seaport located at the head of Kolding Fjord in Region of Southern Denmark . It is the site of the council Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre, and has numerous industrial companies, principally geared towards shipbuilding...
. - 31 May: Danes stop Prussian advance through JutlandJutlandJutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
in cavalry battle at VejlbyVejlbyVejlby is a north-eastern suburb of Aarhus in Denmark. It is located 5km from the city centre....
. - 4 June: inconclusive Battle of Heligoland (1849)Battle of Heligoland (1849)The first Battle of Heligoland took place on 4 June 1849 during the First Schleswig War and pitted the fledgling all-German navy known as the Reichsflotte , which had been founded less than a year prior, against the Royal Danish Navy, which had blocked German naval trade in North Sea and Baltic Sea...
, the only naval combat of the war - 6 July: Danish victory in sortie from FredericiaBattle of FredericiaThe Battle of Fredericia was fought between soldiers of Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark on July 6, 1849 at Fredericia in Denmark. The battle was a part of the First Schleswig War, which was a conflict between Schleswig-Holstein, supported by several German states, and Denmark...
. - 10 July: Another truce was signed. Schleswig, until the peace, was to be administered separately, under a mixed commission; Holstein was to be governed by a vicegerent of the German empire (an arrangement equally offensive to German and Danish sentiment). A settlement seemed as far off as ever. The Danes still clamoured for the principle of succession in the female line and union with Denmark, the Germans for that of succession in the male line and union with Holstein.
1850
In April 1850, Prussia, which by now was war-weary, proposed a definitive peace on the basis of the status quo ante bellumStatus quo ante bellum
The term status quo ante bellum is Latin, meaning literally "the state in which things were before the war".The term was originally used in treaties to refer to the withdrawal of enemy troops and the restoration of prewar leadership. When used as such, it means that no side gains or loses...
and postponement of all questions as to mutual rights. To Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
the basis seemed meaningless and the proposed settlement would settle nothing. Nicholas I, openly disgusted with Frederick William's submission to the Frankfurt Parliament, again intervened. To him Duke Christian of Augustenborg was a rebel.
Russia had guaranteed Schleswig to the Danish crown by the treaties of 1767 and 1773. As for Holstein, if the King of Denmark could not deal with the rebels there, he himself would intervene as he had done in Hungary. The threat was reinforced by the menace of the European situation. Austria and Prussia were on the verge of war, and the sole hope of preventing Russia from entering such a war on the side of Austria lay in settling the Schleswig-Holstein question in a manner desirable to her. The only alternative, an alliance with the hated Napoleon Bonaparte's
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
nephew, Louis Napoleon, who was already dreaming of acquiring the Rhine frontier for France in return for his aid in establishing German sea-power by the ceding of the duchies, was abhorrent to Frederick William.
- 8 April: Karl Wilhelm von WillisenKarl Wilhelm von WillisenKarl Wilhelm Freiherr von Willisen was a Prussian general.-Biography :Willisen was born in Staßfurt as the third son of the mayor of Staßfurt, Karl Wilhelm Hermann von Willisen and his wife Friederike von Trotha .- Early career :Willisen was educated in the Prussian Cadet Corps and joined the...
became the Supreme Commander of the German Forces - 2 July: A treaty of peace between Prussia and Denmark was signed at BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Both parties reserved all their antecedent rights. Denmark was satisfied that the treaty empowered the King of Denmark to restore his authority in Holstein with or without the consent of the German Confederation. Danish troops now marched in to coerce the refractory duchies. While the fighting went on, negotiations among the powers continued. - 24–25 July: Danish victory in the Battle of Idstedt.
- 28 July: Danish victory in cavalry battle at JagelJagelJagel is a municipality in the district of Schleswig-Flensburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....
. - 2 August: Great Britain, France, Russia and Sweden-Norway signed a protocol, to which Austria subsequently adhered, approving the principle of restoring the integrity of the Danish monarchy.
- 12 September: Battle at MissundeMissundeMissunde is a village on the Schlei coast of Schwansen in Southern Schleswig in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, about 7 miles from Schleswig. It is part of the municipality Kosel. It has a ferry over the Schlei to Angeln. Knud Lavard built a fort there in 1120...
. - 4 October: Danish forces resist German siege at FriedrichstadtFriedrichstadtFriedrichstadt is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km south of Husum. It was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers...
. - 12 October: Battle at MissundeMissundeMissunde is a village on the Schlei coast of Schwansen in Southern Schleswig in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, about 7 miles from Schleswig. It is part of the municipality Kosel. It has a ferry over the Schlei to Angeln. Knud Lavard built a fort there in 1120...
. - 24 November: Battle of LottorfBattle of LottorfThe Battle of Lottorf was fought between Denmark, and Schleswig-Holstein, on November 24, 1850, at Lottorf in Schleswig-Holstein, during the First Schleswig War...
- 31 December: Skirmish at Möhlhorst.
1851
- May: The Copenhagen government made an abortive attempt to come to an understanding with the inhabitants of the duchies by convening an assembly of notables at FlensburgFlensburgFlensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
. - 6 December 1851: The Copenhagen government announced a project for the future organization of the monarchy on the basis of the equality of its constituent states, with a common ministry.
1852
- 28 January: A royal letter announced the institution of a unitary state which, while maintaining the fundamental constitution of Denmark, would increase the parliamentary powers of the estates of the two duchies. This proclamation was approved by Prussia and Austria, and by the German confederal diet insofar as it affected Holstein and Lauenburg. The question of the Augustenborg succession made an agreement between the powers impossible.
- 31 March: The Duke of Augustenborg resigned his claim in return for a money payment. Further adjustments followed.
- 8 May: another London Protocol was signed. The international treaty that became known as the "London Protocol" was the revision of the earlier protocol, which had been ratified on August 2, 1850, by the major Germanic powers of Austria and Prussia. The second, actual London Protocol was recognized by the five major European powers (the Austrian EmpireAustrian EmpireThe Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
, the Second French Republic, the Kingdom of PrussiaKingdom of PrussiaThe Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, the Russian EmpireRussian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
), as well as the two major Baltic Sea powers of DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
The Protocol affirmed the integrity of the Danish federation as a "European necessity and standing principle". Accordingly, the duchies
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
of Schleswig
Schleswig
Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...
(a Danish fief) and Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
, and Lauenburg
Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg
The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg between the 14th and 17th centuries), later also known as the Duchy of Lauenburg, was a reichsfrei duchy that existed 1296–1803 and 1814–1876 in the extreme southeast region of what is now Schleswig-Holstein...
(sovereign states within the German Confederation
German Confederation
The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...
) were joined by personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
with the King of Denmark. For this purpose, the line of succession to the duchies was modified, because Frederick VII of Denmark
Frederick VII of Denmark
Frederick VII was a King of Denmark. He reigned from 1848 until his death. He was the last Danish monarch of the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg and also the last king of Denmark to rule as an absolute monarch...
remained childless and hence a change in dynasty was in order. (The originally conflicting protocols of succession between the duchies and Denmark would have stipulated that, contrary to the treaty, the duchies of Holstein and Lauenburg would have had heads of state other than the King of Denmark.) Further, it was affirmed that the duchies were to remain as independent entities, and that Schleswig would have no greater constitutional affinity to Denmark than Holstein.
This settlement did not resolve the issue, and only fifteen years passed before the Second Schleswig War in 1864 resulted in the incorporation of both duchies into the German Confederation, and later, in 1871, into the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
.
See also
- History of Schleswig-HolsteinHistory of Schleswig-HolsteinThe Jutland Peninsula is a long peninsula in Northern Europe, and the current Schleswig-Holstein is its southern part. Schleswig is also called Southern Jutland...
- Schleswig-Holstein QuestionSchleswig-Holstein QuestionThe Schleswig-Holstein Question was a complex of diplomatic and other issues arising in the 19th century from the relations of two duchies, Schleswig and Holstein , to the Danish crown and to the German Confederation....
- Second Schleswig War
- German exonyms for places in DenmarkGerman exonyms for places in DenmarkBelow is list of German language exonyms for places in Denmark :*København Kopenhagen*Hejls Heils*Mandø Mandö*Ribe Ripen-Sønderjylland:-See also:*German exonyms*List of European exonyms...
Further reading
- Price, Arnold. "Schleswig-Holstein" in Encyclopedia of 1848 Revolutions (2005) online
- Steefel, Lawrence D. The Schleswig-Holstein Question. 1863-1864 (Harvard U.P. 1923).
