Denmark - The Ambitions Fulfilled?

[Norgesvenn]

Thanks for the support, lads.

I'll implement the event with CB shields on Scandinavian provinces (hence not on Finland).

Next update might be a Wednesday or so. I've been busy being a BastAARd.

 

[Norgesvenn]

Fredrik II – The Restoration of Oldenborgs



Present day, on a train between Kiel and Hamburg


Although I was extremely tired, and the air in the compartment was stuffy and hot, I eagerly looked at the scenery. The land was flat, compared to what I’m used to. It reminded me a lot of Denmark. And Denmark held these lands too.

“Must be good for agriculture this land”, I said to one my mates.
“What?”
“The land… it’s probably good for agriculture. Farms all over here, and those old windmills and enclosed tracts of land are quite good indicators of that…”
“What’s wrong with you? Talking about farms and all that. Get some sleep, or at the very least shut up!”

I sighed, and turned to face the window again. Then I remembered I had brought with me a biography about Fredrik II of Denmark. It had been resting on my bookshelf for quite some time. I think I had ordered it from Amazon. It was one of those books Ove had written.

“Fredrik II’s reign was marked by less internal strife than during Christian II’s reign. Where Christian had been staunch and unrelenting, Fredrik showed a great aptitude for adjusting to the realities of Denmark’s new status as Europe’s pariah and as a great power.

The population growth ensured by this new-won stability and relative peace gave rise to a more active colonial Denmark. There was a shift from primarily seeking to establish colonies for trading to settler colonies, with permanent garrisons.

In the southern part of North America, Jacob Beyer claimed Bayou, Matagorda and Wichita for Denmark. In Wichita, the natives were slaughtered, while in Bayou they were pacified and subjugated, and eventually ended up as servants and labourers for the huge cotton farms. The city of Fredriksberg became the primary shipping centre for cotton, and supplied the cloth makers of Flandern with raw materials. The unfortunate consequences of such developments was of course also that the sugar farms of Seminole and cotton farms of Bayou drew Denmark heavily into the slave trade.

The most important development during Fredrik’s reign happened in 1562.

In March 1562, Fredrik and representatives from the burghers and nobles in Amsterdam signed the Treaty of Brügge, granting independence to the Netherlands. The Oranje family swore eternal fealty to the king of Denmark, but would now be allowed to govern their own affairs. This was an unpopular decision on Fredrik’s behalf, but one that in the long run proved to be very successful, as the Crown of Denmark would receive half of the monthly incomes from the burgeoning trading empire of the Dutch. In hindsight, this would stand as the diplomatic triumph of Fredrik II”.

I paused. Denmark releasing the Netherlands? Why? There were obvious cultural differences between the two, but still…

“The independence of the Netherlands created a scandal at the court, but its peacefulness stands in stark contrast to the general trend in Europe at the time. A year later, through bloody rebellion, the people of Hellas declared independence from the Ottoman Empire, which was in a state of sudden disintegration, as Spain, Sweden and France had picked on its provinces in previous decades. In North America, both England and the Netherlands violently subjugated the natives of the Lenape and Huron.

Denmark’s peaceful development also saw its infrastructure and economy improve drastically in the mid-1560s.

In 1568, Sweden went to war against Russia, under the pretext of pre-emptively stopping Russian aggression in the Baltic area. Denmark stood by her obligations as leader of the Northern Alliance, and so did the Netherlands and Brandenburg. The war effort was mostly limited to a few pitched battles and navy blockades in the six year long war, which saw Russia pay Denmark 150.000 pieces of silver for peace.

The years of Fredrik’s reign also saw the emergence of scholar and astronomer Tycho Brahe, along with general developments in the fields of science. The Danish army was the best equipped and most technologically advanced in the whole of Europe, and the Danish navy ensured a dominance at sea second only to the English navy.

The Danish court was a centre of thinking, and on the whole, Denmark’s development was rapid and strong in those years. New land was claimed in North America, and the city of St. Hans grew to number over five thousand souls. At sea, Danish explorers travelled along the coasts of South America and Africa.

The last years of Fredrik’s reign will, however, be remembered as the years of tension. Sweden, Denmark’s ally, declared war on Poland, claiming that the Polish crown clearly tried to expand its influence in unfair ways.

This gave Denmark a chance for territorial expansion along the Baltic sea, as Memel and Prussia were forcefully liberated from the iron grip of the aristocratic regime of the Poles. The Danish navy proved its superiority in the Baltic sea by annihilating the entire Polish fleet in the Sund.

At the peace negotiations in Copenhagen in 1582, Poland agreed to cede both Memel and Prussia to the Danish crown. Fredrik was relieved, as the Danish army was in great danger of being overrun in Mazovia at the very time of the negotiations”.

Denmark was really growing, I thought. I looked out of the window and noticed we were standing still at some station. My mates were asleep. I decided to read on, despite my eyes feeling as if I had been rubbing grains of sand into them.

“Sweden continued their expansionist policies, as Poland ceded Danzig and Kurland to Sweden. Only a fourteen months later, Sweden declared war against Russia once again, and her allies followed suit.

Fredrik had rebuilt the Northern flank of Denmark, fortifying Karelia, and recruiting ten thousand new soldiers. This ensured that Russian troops never saw Danish soil in this war, and the naval superiority of Denmark was once again proven, as Russian ships were sunk almost weekly in the Baltic.

Unfortunately, the Russian war also coincided with the prolonged illness of Fredrik. The evening of the fifth of April 1588, he summoned his son Christian and his closest advisors to his bed, and gave them his last will. The day after, Fredrik was found dead in his bed. His son Christian, the fourth of Denmark’s kings to bear that name, would be crowned king of Denmark, despite his tender age”.


A period of consolidation, I thought. That sounded just about right. That Christian II had jeopardized Denmark’s position. Now it would be stronger than ever.

The train was approaching the Hauptbahnhof Hamburgs, and I had to get ready to leave the train. Bags were packed, and my friends and I were ready for our German adventure. Pity that only I knew how Denmark once ruled great parts of Germany.

 

[Nikolai II]

Originally posted by Norgesvenn

I paused. Denmark releasing the Netherlands? Why? There were obvious cultural differences between the two, but still…

Pity that only I knew how Denmark once ruled great parts of Germany.

Why? You only get half the tax money. But they are necessary for some touch of historicity I guess, which brings us up to 2.

2. It'll be interesting to see your take on the decline of Denmark and it's transmutation into a Denmark somewhat like our Denmark.

 

[Norgesvenn]

Netherlands will make me more money than the province of Holland alone, and are no threat to my own colonisation. Therefore I thought it to be a good idea vassalising them.

As for 2)... we'll have to see.

Screenies will be available shortly. Just need to convert and trim them a little.

 

[kurtbrian]

Thumbs up!

Its still great to read you alternative danish history!

 

[Secret Master]

Originally posted by Norgesvenn
Netherlands will make me more money than the province of Holland alone, and are no threat to my own colonisation. Therefore I thought it to be a good idea vassalising them.

Wait. So when you released the Netherlands, the events that cede provinces to the Netherlands that are held by other powers (France, Spain, Austria, or England) fired off and the Netherlands became it's proper size? That was a clever move....

 

[Norgesvenn]

Some might even call it an exploit...

It helped my income, and strangely enough I didn't have to cede Flanders.

 

[Cat Lord]

OK Norg, now stop chatting, and give us the screenies !



Cat

 

[Nikolai II]

Originally posted by Norgesvenn
Netherlands will make me more money than the province of Holland alone, and are no threat to my own colonisation. Therefore I thought it to be a good idea vassalising them.

I was thinking you had more of them. I also forgat to add that you probably did it to bleed off some opposition, but I wasn't 100% anyway

Now how about releasing BiBlandia?

 

[Norgesvenn]

Christian IV (1577-1648) - The Original 'Norgesvenn'

Should you ever visit Oslo, there’s a good chance that you will notice Christian IV in many different settings. There’s street named after him in downtown Oslo. Sadly, our parade avenue is still named after the first Bernadotte king, Carl Johan. If you’re into stand-up comedy or just out to have a drink or two, you should visit Christian Kvart (“kvart” meaning ¼) also named after Christian IV.

There are two squares in Oslo bearing testimony of Christian’s influence on the city. One has a statue of the renaissance king, the other just a monument with a huge glove, its index finger pointing straight at the cobblestones on the square.
Why?

In 1624, Oslo suffered from a particularly devastating fire. The medieval city burnt down to the ground. Christian is said to have visited Oslo shortly afterwards, and to have dropped his glove on the ground at the particular square (which was no square at that time). He then said: “Here’s where the city will be!”.

Thus, Oslo was rebuilt and renamed Christiania, a name it would bear until the 20th century.

Norwegians still love Christian IV. He was the first 'Norgesvenn', and "re-discovered" Norway, rich on natural resources. Denmark is an agricultural country; Norway has raw materials.

Most Danes and Norwegians agree that Christian was a great king. He spent about fifty years in power, and the kingdoms are full of monuments of his reign. In Copenhagen, ‘Børsen’, Rosenborg Palace and ‘Rundetårn’ are all built during Christian’s reign. He also founded the silver mines in Kongsberg, Norway. These mines were productive until 1923, but sadly, Christian never found the gold he was sure the mountainous regions of Norway contained.

As a person, Christian was no stranger to horseback riding, sailing nor the occasional drinking binge. He also sired twenty-three (23) children…
He was a big man, and having more than a healthy appetite, he also grew horizontally…
Christian liked to engage himself in all matters, small or big. He frequently visited Tycho Brahe, and his correspondence shows that he was a bit of a control-freak, engaging himself in petty details.


Christian IV had the misfortune of being a contemporary of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. Despite beating Sweden in the Kalmar War 1611-13, the Torstensson Feud 1643-45 saw Denmark losing more land to the ever-expanding Swedes. Of course, these were old Norwegian lands, Jamtland and Herjedalen. Had Christian been less ambitious and more competent in military matters, he may have been remembered as a truly great king.

He will, however, always be remembered as the greatest builder the Nordic countries have ever seen.

 

[kurtbrian]

*wipes tear*

That was beautiful!

 

[unmerged(6777)]

Hi Norg.

I've just spent a delightful hour reaquainting myself with your AAR and getting myself up to date with where you are. I know I've said it before but I'd just like to reitterate how much I enjoy the style you've chosen to present this AAR. I really love the "personal" vignettes intersperced with the historical and game ones. It keeps you a bit on your toes - making sure you know which one you're reading about - and in an overall sense this reminds me a little bit of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence in terms of the mixture of reflections, recounting of deeds, and introspective historical analysis.

In short, I love it!

 

[Rictus]

Ditto. This is a beautiful AAR. Can't wait for the rest of it

 

[Norgesvenn]

kurtbrian, MrT and Rictus,

Thank you very much!

I'm personally quite fond of Christian IV. He and I share quite a few traits...

As for the story, I hope to keep the quality up. I can assure you all there is plenty of in-game events waiting to be told.

I've had a rough start this week at work, so I haven't managed to get the screenies ready (need to work them through PhotoShop here at work), but I promise that they'll be up before the weekend. So will hopefully the full tale of Christian IV's reign.

 

[Secret Master]

For a rough start, Norg, that was not to bad. However, if i may share some advice from the movie Animal House.


"My advice to you, is to start drikning heavily."

 

[kurtbrian]

Originally posted by Norgesvenn
kurtbrian, MrT and Rictus,

Thank you very much!

I'm personally quite fond of Christian IV. He and I share quite a few traits...

You're one-eyed too??

 

[Oerdin]

How about a picture or two showing use what your Empire looks like. One in Europe and one in North America should do the trick.

 

[Galleblære]

A lot of light red!

 

[unmerged(2695)]

Re: The Question of Events

Originally posted by Norgesvenn
Right...

I've been fiddling in Word Pad again. Wrote up a few new Danish events yet to be included in the event file.

One deals with "Scandinavian Supremacy", adding Sweden's provinces to the cores of Denmark, if I own them.

The payoff is 500 ducats to appease the nobles of Sweden.


Secondly, I've scripted an event that gives Denmark German culture if Oldenburg, Bremen, Mecklemburg and Vorpommern are held in 1680.

Costs? - 3 stability and +3 revoltrisk for 48 months.

Are these acceptable to you, the public, or are they just a refined way of cheating?

So far an interesting and plausible AAR.

I think your events are appropriate.

Personally I think the events as written for Denmark as well as the duistinction between "Scandinavian" and "German" culture stinks. Denmark should inherit Holstein and vassalize Oldenburg when it gets Christian I. He was already at the time ruling duke of Slesvig-Holsten and ruling count of Oldenburg.

The use of "German" culture prior to Luther's Bible is meningless.
The Middle Low German spoken in North Germany was so close to the Middle "Norse", "Scandinavian" of the 15th Century that the languages were mutually intelligble. The reason why the East Scandinavian languages are what they are today is a result of the prolonged and intense contact between Low German and Scandinavian speakers under the umbrella of the Hanseatic system.

It was Luther's Bible that made the High German dialect standard German and over the next three centuries marginalized Low German into a quaint patois.

If the Western Baltic had been unified politically it would have gotten a single written linguistc standard. The 1680 event is thus totally justified.

THe Scandinavian supremacy event: Yess - and for free.

 

[Galleblære]

In light of what the wise Hardu has said, instead of an event giving you german culture, how about an event changing the culture of northern germany to scandinavian, with some penalties to stability, negative innovetiveness and more narrowminded..