in 1527 absolute liberty of conscience was established in Denmark. In 1533 King Frederick died.—W. J. P.
Frederick II., King of Denmark and Norway, the son of Christian III., was born in 1534, and ascended the throne in 1559. His first act was to subdue the inhabitants of Dithmarsh, who had hitherto gallantly maintained their independence. In a few years he was at war with Sweden. The contest was obstinate; but the Danish general, Rantzau, a man of remarkable capacity, gained several victories, and at the peace of Stettin (1570) it was stipulated that Sweden should pay all the expenses of the war. Aided by an able minister, Peder Oxe, Frederick II. now devoted his attention to peaceful improvement and progress. The Sound dues were placed upon a footing more satisfactory to Denmark, and the commerce of the country was materially developed. Always a warm patron of science, Frederick II. gave to its most illustrious Danish disciple, Tycho Brahe, the island of Hveen, where an observatory was at once erected. After a just and popular reign of twenty-nine years, the king died in 1588. He was at one time a suitor for the hand of our Queen Elizabeth, from whom he received the order of the garter; and his daughter, Anne, became the queen of our James I.—W. J. P.
Frederick III., King of Denmark and Norway, was born in 1609. His father. Christian IV., died in 1648, but two months elapsed before Frederick was elected by the states-general to succeed him. This delay was chiefly owing to the opposition of Ulfeldt, the late king's minister, who continued for some time to exercise a paramount influence over the new monarch, and compelled him to sign a constitution which restricted the royal prerogative within very narrow limits indeed. Frederick, however, grew impatient of his sway, and Ulfeldt had to seek a refuge in Sweden, where he was well received. In 1657 Frederick, chiefly relying upon Dutch assistance, declared war against Sweden, and the contest which ensued was gallantly maintained by both countries. The Swedish king, Charles X., led a whole army across the ice of the Little Belt. In February, 1658, he was before Copenhagen; Ulfeldt was in his camp, and Frederick could only obtain peace by the cession of five provinces. Encouraged by his success, and aiming at nothing less than the entire conquest of Denmark, Charles X. soon broke the treaty and renewed the war. Again his army invested Copenhagen; but the spirit of the Danes was fairly roused, and their king displayed a courage that was worthy of the occasion. A grand assault upon the capital was energetically repulsed; a Dutch fleet, commanded by Opdam and De Ruyter, vanquished the Swedes at sea; and Charles X., defeated and disheartened, was obliged to raise the siege and return to Sweden, where he did not survive his disaster many months. Nevertheless, the peace of Copenhagen (1660) left Sweden in possession of the provinces previously ceded to her. During the terrible trials which had marked Frederick's reign, the nobles had not borne their fair share of the burdens of the state, and a cry of indignation against their selfishness now rose up from all the other orders of the people. The debates in the states-general were violent and long; the clergy heartily co-operated with the commons; the gates of Copenhagen were shut, so that none of the nobility could leave; and a complete change in the constitution of Denmark was the result. The monarchy, hitherto elective and limited, became hereditary and absolute; and Frederick, by imposing taxes on the nobles, and by reclaiming the crown lands, speedily improved the financial position of the country. The absolute power which he possessed he does not seem to have abused; and when he died, in 1670, he was regretted by his subjects as a monarch who had been brave and constant in the hour of danger, just and moderate when unprecedented authority was suddenly intrusted to his hands.—W. J. P.
Frederick IV., King of Denmark and Norway, was born Oct. 12, 1671, and succeeded his father, Christian V., in 1699. He joined Peter I. of Russia, and Augustus, elector of Saxony and king of Poland, in their league against Charles XII. of Sweden; but Charles, landing on the coast of Zealand, and threatening Copenhagen, speedily compelled him to sue for peace. Later, when he heard of Pultowa and Bender, Frederick again declared war against Sweden, and sent Reventlow with sixteen thousand men into Scania. The Swedish general, Steinbock, however, speedily assembled an army of defence, and the invading forces, after being signally defeated near Helsingborg (10th March, 1710) were compelled to re-embark. Nor was Frederick himself more fortunate; he met Steinbock in person at the battle of Gadebusch (1712), but was defeated, with the loss of six thousand men and all his artillery. The victorious general invaded Holstein, burnt Altona, and laid the country under contribution; but Frederick, energetically re-organizing his army, forced Steinbock into Tonningen, where, pressed by famine, he was ultimately obliged to surrender with eleven thousand men. On the return of Charles from exile in Turkey, the Danes joined in the siege of Stralsund; and the war continued, with varying success, until the great Swede met his death at Frederickshall. In the naval part of the war, the genius and valour of the celebrated Tordenskiold gained several important advantages for the Danish fleet. Peace restored, Frederick busied himself with internal improvements. He ameliorated the condition of the peasantry; he reformed the administration of justice; he gave a wise and liberal encouragement to commerce, founding a company to promote the trade with Greenland; he supported Egede in his missionary labours; and he founded an orphan asylum at Copenhagen. He was a sincere lover of the fine arts, a taste for which he had acquired whilst travelling in Italy in 1708. On the 12th October, 1730, he died, leaving his country in a flourishing condition.—W. J. P.
Frederick V., King of Denmark and Norway, was born in 1722, and succeeded Christian VI. in 1746. Under his father's reign a puritanical gloom and austerity had prevailed; but the young king brought with him the life, the gaiety, and a few other qualities not quite so creditable, which were inspired by the new "philosophy" of France. He was fortunate in possessing ministers whose wisdom preserved the kingdom in peace. A treaty was concluded with Sweden, and a friendly understanding between the two countries was promoted by the marriage of Frederick's daughter to the future Gustavus III. Under the king's liberal and intelligent patronage science, industry, and the arts made rapid progress. A botanical garden, a hospital, and an academy were founded in Copenhagen. The commerce of Denmark, and especially that of the Danish East India Company, steadily increased. A scientific expedition, headed by Niebuhr, was sent to explore the antiquities of Egypt and Arabia. To the poet Klopstock Frederick assigned a pension, and all men of letters received a hearty welcome. At one time, however, not merely the prosperity, but even the national existence of Denmark stood in sore peril. When, on the death of the Empress Elizabeth, the duke of Holstein became czar of Russia as Peter III., he demanded the cession of Schleswig to his new dominions. Frederick of course refused, whereupon Peter remarked, with a touch of grim humour, that he would transport Frederick to Tranquebar, a Danish settlement in the East Indies! Undismayed by this grotesque threat, Frederick prepared for the unequal struggle by equipping a fleet of thirty-six vessels, and assembling an army of seventy thousand men. The Russian troops had entered Mecklenberg, and the two armies were on the eve of battle when news arrived of Peter's violent death. Catherine II., who succeeded him, abandoned the claim to Schleswig, and a peace was concluded; but this desperate effort of self-defence had exhausted the finances of Denmark, and, despite the imposition of fresh taxes, the national debt alarmingly increased. Frederick V., otherwise a good king, was passionately addicted to pleasure, and his imprudent indulgences led to an early death. He was but in his forty-fourth year when he died, on the 14th January, 1766.—W. J. P.
Frederick VI., King of Denmark and Norway, only son of Christian VII., was born Jan. 28, 1768, and became regent in 1784, in consequence of his father's mental infirmity. During his regency many important reforms were effected. A liberal system of education was organized; the Jews were emancipated; and to Denmark belongs the honour of having been the first power that decreed the abolition of the slave trade. Serfdom and the feudal privileges of the nobility were also abolished; and both commerce and agriculture advanced with rapid strides. By joining, however, with the other northern powers in their armed neutrality, Frederick embroiled his country with Great Britain, and the memorable battle of Copenhagen, April 2, 1801, was the result. Peace was restored by the treaty of St. Petersburg, but in 1807 the English government determining to prevent Bonaparte's design of employing the Danish navy against this country, sent an expedition to Copenhagen to demand its surrender, with the understanding that it should be restored as soon as a general peace was concluded. Frederick refused compliance with this demand; whereupon the English fleet
