Union Between Sweden and Norway - Background

Background

Sweden and Norway had previously been united under the same crown on two occasions, from 1319 to 1343, and briefly from 1449 to 1450 in opposition to Christian of Oldenburg who was elected king of the Kalmar Union by the Danes. During the following centuries, Norway remained united with Denmark in a close union, nominally a kingdom, but in fact reduced to the status of a province, ruled by Danish kings from their capital Copenhagen. After the establishment of absolutism in 1660, a more centralised form of government was established, but Norway kept some separate institutions, including its own laws, army and coinage. The two united kingdoms are referred to as Denmark-Norway by later historians.

Sweden managed to break out of the Kalmar Union permanently in 1523 under king Gustav Vasa, and in the middle of the 17th century rose to the status of a major regional power after the intervention of Gustavus II Adolphus in the Thirty Years' War. The ambitious wars waged by king Charles XII, however, led to the loss of that status after the Great Northern War, 1700-1721.

Following the break-up of the Kalmar Union, Sweden and Denmark-Norway remained rival powers and fought many wars, during which both Denmark and Norway had to cede important provinces to Sweden in 1645 and 1658. Sweden also invaded Norway in 1567, 1644, 1658 and 1716, with the ultimate motive of wresting the whole country away from the union with Denmark, and either annex it, or form some kind of union. The repeated wars and invasions led to popular resentment against Sweden among Norwegians.

During the 18th century, Norway enjoyed a period of great prosperity and became an increasingly important part of the united kingdoms. The biggest growth industry was the export of planks, with Great Britain as the chief market. Saw-mill owners and timber merchants in the Christiania region, backed by great fortunes and economic influence, formed an elite group that began to see the central government in Copenhagen as a hindrance to Norwegian aspirations. Their increasing self-assertiveness led them to question the policies that favoured Danish interests and rejected Norwegian demands for important national institutions, such as a bank and a university. Some members of the "timber aristocacy" saw Sweden as a more natural partner, and cultivated commercial and political contacts with Sweden. Around 1800, many prominent Norwegians secretly favoured a break with Denmark, without actively taking steps to promote independence. Their undeclared leader was count Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg.

The Swedish policy during the same period was to cultivate contacts in Norway and encourage all signs of separatism. King Gustav III (1746–1792) actively approached circles in Norway that might favour a union with Sweden instead of Denmark.

Such endeavours on both sides of the border toward a "rapprochement" were far from realistic before the Napoleonic Wars created conditions that caused political upheavals in Scandinavia.