Christian IV, part I
First, I promise you screenies once I’ve finished this monarch. The screens I have are all from around 1660, and it’d be giving away the action if I let you have them now, eh? Oh, well. I suppose I'll just spoil you buggers, then.
Copenhagen, 1588.
A young boy was playing in the garden, using his wooden sword to stab imaginary soldiers. The two dukes were standing at a vantage point, observing the boy, who would soon become king.
“He is still too young!”, one of them said.
“He is young, but he will make an excellent king some day! Look at him. He’s already commanding legions. Imaginary ones, but still”
“We’ve had kings commanding imaginary legions before, without much success. And we are at war!”
“We are. But we are not threatened…”
Copenhagen, August 1589.
Christian, still at a tender age, had matured significantly. The bishops and dukes that tutored him had offered all kinds of well-meant advice. But Christian sought knowledge writing to the most learned men in Europe, like the Dane Tyge Brage. Or Tycho Brahe, as he is known as in Latin. A confident and assertive youth, Christian was actively taking a part in the affairs of the kingdom.
Christian joined the generals in the study. They were mulling over a map of northern Scandinavia. Apparently, the Russian generals had launched a counter-offensive against the Danish army in Olonets.
“Why are we fighting the Russians, general?”, Christian asked, his tone of voice deceptively naïve.
“To honour the treaty of Lübeck with Sweden and Brandenburg, your majesty”
“But, pray tell me, we do not want their lands. And Russia is a poor land, while we are rich, and don’t need their ducats…”
“Your majesty, are you suggesting your father was wrong?”
”I am merely stating a fact, and I believe we should stand by the treaty. However, our forces should withdraw to defend our own lands. Order the army to retire to Karelia, please!”
The Danish empire expanded, mostly through the settling of virgin soil in Southern Africa, where Kappstaden was founded in 1596. This colony in Table Bay proved important strategically, as it allowed Danish vessels to re-supply on their way further east. Furthermore, land was settled in Ciskei, a province rich on sugar.
Despite Christian’s wishes of a peace with the Russians, the Czar rejected any such offers. Christian was therefore intent on enforcing his will upon the Russians, and invaded Estland and Olonets in the spring of 1593. The young king won respect among his admirals and generals. At the same time, more settlers were leaving Denmark proper for the overseas possessions.
All was not well, as the war dragged on. The peasants in Vorpommern and Isle Royale allied with nobles, neglected by the Crown, took control of the castles and fortresses, diverting important troops from the battles against Russia. The Danish fleet did, however, once again prove its valour by defeating several squadrons of light Russian vessels in the Baltic.
A conspiracy against the Crown in 1595, where certain nobles allied with Poland, saw the kingdom plunge into a period of prolonged unrest, as every little grievance, from a dead cow, to neighbours accusing one another of witchcraft led to armed insurgency. Christian himself travelled the kingdom, calming people down, and raising the spirits. On one of these long travels he met Anna Catherine, his future wife and queen. Two years later they married at the royal palace in Copenhagen. Christian travelled on horseback, and often alone.
The Russian war dragged on until 1597, when the Czar and Christian finally agreed upon ending hostilities. The Russian Empire would pay Denmark 200,000 pieces of silver in indemnities. Sweden’s Russian war was to a great extent hampered by the fact that the nobility in Courland declared that they no longer accepted the Swedish king as their rightful ruler. Neither Denmark nor Brandenburg and the Netherlands joined Sweden in the war of independence in Courland, but Sweden soon accepted to join the Protestant alliance again.
The Diary of King Christian, January 1st 1600.
“Dearest Diary,
It is now a new year, yea, even a new century, and I embark upon this century as the monarch of Denmark, the strongest kingdom in Northern Europe.
My position is not safe. The nobility complains that I am too friendly with the commoners, the commoners want more freedom. I cannot appease them both. The future lies not in warfare, but in trade.
Steadily, I have made efforts to improve our land. The roads are better, and my latest reforms have seen mayors of cities become governors of provinces. I hope to continue my efforts to build our kingdom into a strong empire, by building manufactories for naval equipment in Norway. The Norwegians are good sailors.
May God be on my side as we enter a new century!”
Oslo, present day.
The weather was nice. September often is nice in Oslo. Although the leaves had become slightly yellowish, the temperature allowed for t-shirts and shorts. I had left work early, as I had worked overtime several days in a row. Sitting in the middle of the square “Stortorget”, I kept noticing beautiful young women walking across. I looked up at the statue of Christian, and smiled.
“You’d have loved your city now, old friend”, I muttered.
I decided to go to the library to find some books about the old bugger.
