The coup of 1660 did not meet the expectations that were placed on it. The social order of things that existed in Denmark until 1660 was not significantly changed. The nobility was saved as an estate; their judicial rights on the estates were left unchanged, as well as a number of economically beneficial privileges. Their freedom from paying duties and excises was limited, their exclusive right to purchase land and to occupy top government positions was also abolished. The burghers received the privilege on a par with noblemen to be called upon to councils and administration, the right to buy and take noble lands as collateral, to ride in carriages, even to judge nobles as members of the supreme court. They also acquired the right to directly submit petitions to the king, the exclusive privilege of engaging in crafts, etc.
In remuneration for the heroic defense of the city, the Copenhagen burghers received a number of special rights, however, they were taken away from them before the end of the 17th century. Nothing was done, except for some peasants, whose position deteriorated thanks to a number of measures taken by absolute power in fiscal and military forms.
Management, which had previously been concentrated in Rigsdaag, was divided between 6 colleges independent of each other, whose members were appointed by the king, used only a deliberative vote and at first consisted half of the nobles, half of the burghers. From the chairmen a secret council was formed, and for cases of special importance all the members gathered in a general meeting. The decision of the latter was supposed to be first passed on for discussion to all estates of the kingdom, but such an assumption was never carried out. A collection of laws was published under the name of the royal law, later replaced by a new one.
Under Christian V (the first of the Danish kings who ascended the throne besides being elected and without signing a capitulation) the bureaucratic organization of the state and the social system received a final finish that was so solid that it resisted mainly until 1848. The nobles were made responsible for the correct contribution of taxes and for the correct serving of peasant recruitment by the peasants. In accordance with this, their disciplinary and police authority increased, and were given the right not only to judge and beat the peasants or to punish them in any other way, but also to call upon them to work in the fortress.
The law on the ranks of 1671 formed a new, privileged class – officials elevated to long-term nobility. Members of the old nobility were systematically removed from senior government positions.
The results of such a system of management were not slow to reveal themselves already under Christian V in the form of ruin and bringing the peasants to poverty, who fell upon the whole burden of recruitment and taxes. There was no question of the return of Denmark to the role it played in the 16th century in international politics. An attempt to reclaim areas transferred to Sweden ended in complete failure. The Peace of Lund (1679) once again approved their ownership of Sweden.
Frederick IV, who took part in the Northern War against Charles XII, had small success : it was only thanks to the victories of the Allies and the ruin of Sweden that he managed (according to the world in 1720) to make a large contribution.
Some reward for the loss of territory was only the accession of Schleswig, whose eternal possession was then guaranteed to Denmark by France and England.
Until 1784, the internal history of Denmark represented a constant change of reform attempts by reactions. Under Frederick IV, serfdom was abolished (1702), and landowners were not allowed to arbitrarily drive peasants from their yards and lands. But already in 1731, under Christian VI, the law of 1702 was interpreted in the sense of denial of the rights of transition for peasants subject to military service, under threat of punishment, as for desertion. At the same time, landowners were given the right to turn in unsuitable and incapable workers into soldiers. Frightened peasants mobbed to flee abroad, but they were arrested and subjected to heavy punishment.
In 1733, the law of 1702 was repealed; all peasants from 14 to 36 years old were ordered to be listed, and the transition was strictly forbidden to them all. The nobles were allowed to demolish peasant yards in the types of improvement and expansion of farms. The spirit of intolerance in the same reign was elevated to the system.
In 1735, all subjects were required on Sundays to be present at the service, and work on holidays was prohibited. The amusements, games, songs and dances in the villages were strictly forbidden. To oversee the implementation of these rules, a board of general church inspection was established with purely inquisitorial rights. The Inspection the highest censorship over books, even by authorized bishops and universities. The king became available only to the highest nobility.
Under Frederick V, the period of attachment of peasants to residency was extended to 40 years of age, some of the state assets were sold to speculators, communal lands were divided, communal ownership was destroyed. In order to fill the deficit in any way, one of the ministers of Frederick V resorted to such a desperate means as the universal taxation of each and every one, without distinction of gender, age and condition, 8 shillings a month. True, concerns about the development of trade and factories were almost continuous; but they were based on purely mercantile principles : heightened patronage of trading companies had an effect, monopolies were distributed to the detriment of the mass of the population.
The reaction was suspended, but briefly in the early 70s, with the mentally ill King Christian VII, when his German doctor and one of the “reformers” of the 18th century, Johann Friedrich Struensee, was appointed minister. He immediately defined his program by proclaiming complete freedom in printing and destruction of censorship. The secret private council of the king was abolished, clerical work was simplified, the distinction between classes was eliminated in determining this or that position, court proceedings were simplified, the court was given greater independence, torture was abolished, some revenues were transferred from royal to state, costs were reduced in general and on the royal court a certain corvée was appointed according to the amount of land.
It was also supposed to replace the natural obligations with monetary ones, to stop the support provided by the state to factories and plants. But Struensee did not have to fulfill his intentions to the end; court intrigue, led by the widowed queen and prof. Guldberg, ruined Struensee. He was arrested in 1772, put on trial by a mixed commission, accused of having an affair with the queen and also for putting in an effort to destroy morals and religion. He was executed.
The whole previous order was restored, including torture. It was recognized that comprehensive education should be given only to those who are obliged to serve the state, that is, mainly to nobles; for merchants and artisans – it is enough to read, write and read a little, and for the peasants – all knowledge is harmful. Only trade significantly moved forward thanks to Bernstorf, the uprising of the American colonies and the act of armed neutrality.
Finances were brought to a deplorable state: the debt rose from 16 million to 29 million, and the debt in tickets went from 5 to 16 million. In one respect only, Gouldberg retreated from old traditions: he pursued a purely national policy regarding the language.
No matter how powerful the reaction that prevailed in Denmark, it was unable to suppress public opinion. New views that developed in other countries also penetrated into Denmark. The young crown prince Frederick (future King Frederick VI) as regent of the state managed to take the first steps to the coup.
In the foreground was the peasant reform (1786). The judicial power of the landowners was abolished. Attachment to the ground was canceled for people who were under 14 years and older than 36 years. The corvée was transferred to money or recognized as redeemable. A number of measures were taken to create small peasant property. By the laws of 1795-1796, the right of appointing judges was taken away from the nobles, and by the law of 1809, the right of patronage over the church and the right of presentation. The freedom of the nobility from taxes was gradually put an end to. By the laws of 1788 and 1814, Jews are equal in civil rights with the rest of the population. The Negro trade was destroyed in the Danish colonies by the law of 1792, the first act of this kind in Europe.
In 1796, magistrates were instituted; the entire judicial department was reorganized, a certain independence of judges was established, and the first steps were taken to separate the court from the administration. The magistrates abolished the punishment with sticks; many schools were opened in the villages, and several teacher seminaries have been founded.
The result of this reform activity was a strong mental movement, which made the period of reforms one of the brilliant periods. The government, however, made no concessions on the question of the return of the old political freedom that was destroyed in 1660. In 1790, the misdemeanors of the press were brought before the court; but a strong stir in public opinion prompted the government to begin a series of anti-press processes, and then issue a strict restrictive law of 1799. At the same time, a law was passed that threatened to execute anyone who dared to demand or advise the abolition of unlimited form of government, and eternal penal servitude – to those who would criticize the government’s actions.
Sources:
Denmark // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
Helge Paludan, Eric Ulsig, Carsten Rasmussen, Hertz Boncerup, Eric Petersen, Henning Poulsen, Søren Rasmussen. History of Denmark