Those who control the Danish straits control commerce. That is the way it was in the Bronze Age, and that is the way it was in 1836, when our story takes its beginning. The control of trade going in and out of the Baltic is the reason that the German neighbors tried to influence Denmark throughout Medieval times, and it is the reason that Denmark became what it is- a mixture of German and Scandinavian, European and Nordic.
Danish politics always hinged on this- whether to face north or south, seek closer ties with Norway and Sweden or with the German states. By the late 14th century, a desisive shift was made, when the Union of Kalmar was formed under the leadership of Margrete I, the daughter of a Danish king. The unification of the Scandinavian countries was tumultous and long, but when it was finally fulfilled, the three kingdoms had the power to dominate the Baltic.
The many German and Slavic subjects that this brought under the crown were to a great extent allowed to govern themselves, but between the three kingdoms, there was a great deal of strife over the amount of resources spent on medling with the Holy Roman Empire rather than developing the Scandinavian core lands- again, wether to face north or south. Through the civil wars of the 18th century, the kingdom of Scandinavia emerged as a decentralized state with the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden as the core and the many subjects of the German, Slavic and Baltic duchies left out of the body politic. But with the Great Revolution and later on the establishment of the Empire, they were by 1836 equal citizens in a Centralized, modern and enlightened state.
As our story begins, tensions between Traditionalism and Progressionism, Scandinavianism and Europeanism, Intervensionism and Isolationism, and Monarchism and Republicanism are once again at a boiling point. The world is about to change, yet everything stays fundamentaly the same.
Welcome.
This is my second AAR, and my first in Victoria.
Whether you come here because you read the first part of this alternate history of Denmark - Gesta Danorum- Deeds of the Danes, or you are a new reader, welcome.
This is a continuation of an AAR that I made in EU III, IN, starting in 2009. I finished it this Spring, and I am now continuing it in Victoria II through the wonders of the EU3 to Vic2 savegame converter.
As the title suggests, this AAR, in contrast to Gesta, will focus on a few persons and their lives in the Scandinavian Empire. Through their eyes we will see the workings of the state, the transformation of the Empire and its neighbors from agricultural to industrial societies and the colonization of Africa and the Far East.
In case you are not familiar with the events of Gesta Danorum, I fully understand that you will want to start here rather than have to go through 50 chapters of backstory before you even know if this new project will be worth following. However, this might leave you a little confused about the state of the world you are about to acquaint yourself with. So for YOU, my lucky, if lazy reader, I have compiled a short summary of those 400 years of history that might differ slightly from your previous understanding of Danish history, which will make up the first four chapters of this AAR. Afterwards, there will be an introduction to the characters who we will follow from the start of this AAR.
Danish politics always hinged on this- whether to face north or south, seek closer ties with Norway and Sweden or with the German states. By the late 14th century, a desisive shift was made, when the Union of Kalmar was formed under the leadership of Margrete I, the daughter of a Danish king. The unification of the Scandinavian countries was tumultous and long, but when it was finally fulfilled, the three kingdoms had the power to dominate the Baltic.
The many German and Slavic subjects that this brought under the crown were to a great extent allowed to govern themselves, but between the three kingdoms, there was a great deal of strife over the amount of resources spent on medling with the Holy Roman Empire rather than developing the Scandinavian core lands- again, wether to face north or south. Through the civil wars of the 18th century, the kingdom of Scandinavia emerged as a decentralized state with the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden as the core and the many subjects of the German, Slavic and Baltic duchies left out of the body politic. But with the Great Revolution and later on the establishment of the Empire, they were by 1836 equal citizens in a Centralized, modern and enlightened state.
As our story begins, tensions between Traditionalism and Progressionism, Scandinavianism and Europeanism, Intervensionism and Isolationism, and Monarchism and Republicanism are once again at a boiling point. The world is about to change, yet everything stays fundamentaly the same.
Welcome.
This is my second AAR, and my first in Victoria.
Whether you come here because you read the first part of this alternate history of Denmark - Gesta Danorum- Deeds of the Danes, or you are a new reader, welcome.
This is a continuation of an AAR that I made in EU III, IN, starting in 2009. I finished it this Spring, and I am now continuing it in Victoria II through the wonders of the EU3 to Vic2 savegame converter.
As the title suggests, this AAR, in contrast to Gesta, will focus on a few persons and their lives in the Scandinavian Empire. Through their eyes we will see the workings of the state, the transformation of the Empire and its neighbors from agricultural to industrial societies and the colonization of Africa and the Far East.
In case you are not familiar with the events of Gesta Danorum, I fully understand that you will want to start here rather than have to go through 50 chapters of backstory before you even know if this new project will be worth following. However, this might leave you a little confused about the state of the world you are about to acquaint yourself with. So for YOU, my lucky, if lazy reader, I have compiled a short summary of those 400 years of history that might differ slightly from your previous understanding of Danish history, which will make up the first four chapters of this AAR. Afterwards, there will be an introduction to the characters who we will follow from the start of this AAR.
Table of contents
Introduction
The Union of Kalmar
The House of Gyldenstierne
The Imperial Age
Valdemar V and the Revolution
Chapters by chronology
Country First
Masters in the Realm of the Spirits
Valborgsaften
The Codfish of Øresund
With the Emperor
Mene Tekel
Chapters by character
General Ulfeld
Country First
With the Emperor
Valdemar Keiser
Masters in the Realm of the Spirits
Mene Tekel
Jens Madsen
Valborgsaften
Christopher Skomager
The Codfish of Øresund
Introduction
The Union of Kalmar
The House of Gyldenstierne
The Imperial Age
Valdemar V and the Revolution
Chapters by chronology
Country First
Masters in the Realm of the Spirits
Valborgsaften
The Codfish of Øresund
With the Emperor
Mene Tekel
Chapters by character
General Ulfeld
Country First
With the Emperor
Valdemar Keiser
Masters in the Realm of the Spirits
Mene Tekel
Jens Madsen
Valborgsaften
Christopher Skomager
The Codfish of Øresund
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