From War to Revolution

This chapter starts by surveying the political situation in Europe in January 1864 with a special emphasis on the great power policies towards the Danish unitary state, Scandinavianism and the Schleswig question. It concludes that while some powers such as Russia and Britain preferred peace, Prussia and France speculated in how a war could be used to their advantage. Both powers wanted to carve up the unitary state and divide it between Danes and Germans. A solution that could involve the creation of a Scandinavian union, which was made clear to Charles XV. Shortly after the outbreak of the war in February 1864, the Danish army retreated from Dannevirke. The caused riots in Copenhagen and new plans for a Scandinavianist revolution were hatched. According to traditionalist historiography they were an expression of nationalist fervour. Here, however, it is argued that they were cause by a well-founded fear of Christian IX was trying to reach a peace resting on personal union between a united Schleswig-Holstein and the Kingdom of Denmark. The chapter explores this divide between dynastic and national interests and how the national opposition began to conduct its own foreign policy to reach a national and Scandinavianist solution. The diplomatic game up to, during and in the wake of the failed peace conference in London (April to June) is analysed with a special emphasis on the plans for a Scandinavian union inside and outside of Scandinavia. The former is seen in the plans of Bismarck and Napoleon III. The latter is seen in the attempts of Charles XV and Scandinavianists to create a Scandinavian federation and the plans of Monrad to use the war to reach an understanding with Prussia. The Danish council president sought a solution that would leave Denmark with most of Schleswig and the creation of a Scandinavian union possible. For this he was willing to let Prussia incorporate the remainder of the duchies. This policy clashed with Christian IX attempts to create a personal union with the help of Russia. The split between the king and his government caused crisis in June. Fear of revolution made it impossible for the king to form a new government. For a moment, Christian IX was allegedly willing to abdicate, so his son (Frederik VIII) could pursue a Scandinavianist policy. However, at the decisive cabinet meeting on 20 June the king refused to have Schleswig divvied by arbitration, hereby causing the renewal of the war and a new catastrophic Danish defeat. Monrad’s government was replaced by a conservative cabinet and a ceasefire was agreed upon. In the final analysis, however, the king’s choice must be seen as an attempt to gain a personal union. This policy that would have demanded Denmark proper to enter the German Confederation resulted in new plans for a Scandinavianist revolution. These were sought realised with the help of Bismarck and Napoleon III. Bismarck was anything but dismissive in his talks with an agent of the Scandinavianist. On the contrary, he offered to give back Northern Schleswig in exchange for an alliance with a united Scandinavia against Russia.