Briar Dluhy

Mrs. Bennett
Humanities II
Period 5
1

An Iron Fist
People often say that power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely. Its
not hard to see why, considering the fact that many large empires ruled with an iron fist;
such is the fate of Denmark. Being a fairly large empire in control of over a dozen
different locations, Denmark was poised to become a major player in the world, that is,
until their greed and harsh rule caused them to lose their most prosperous locations; their
Nordic neighbors, Sweden, Finland, and Norway. After these losses, the Danish empire
began to slowly crumble beneath them.
It was clear, even during the Kalmar Union, that Sweden wanted nothing to do
with Denmark. They constantly left the union, only to be brought back again. Constant
wars frustrated the Swedes and the tensions between Sweden and Denmark grew thick.
However, on November 8th, 1520, Denmark pushed its luck too far. On that day, as well
as the day following, Denmark, having invaded Sweden a year before, began a mass
execution in the capital, which is now known as the Stockholm Bloodbath. Two years
later, the Kalmar Union dissolved (Britannica). This event, which was ordered by King
Christian II of Denmark, was not the only controversial decision made by the Danish
government during this time.
Despite their cruelty toward Sweden, Denmark was fairly gentle with its overseas
territories, or, at least they tried. Denmark attempted to execute peaceful and kind rule
over the Danish West Indies, but the local government didnt always invoke the rules put
forth by the Crown. In 1755, Denmark ruled that slaves could not be separated from their
children and were entitled to medical care in times of sickness and old age. This law,

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however, was not actually put into action by the local government of the Danish West
Indies. Almost a century later, in 1848, Denmark abolished slavery; this caused problems,
however, for the former slaves. Many freed slaves were rehired by their former masters.
They made money, but were not provided with food as they had been during their time as
slaves.
Although Denmark showed very little tolerance towards Sweden, Norway, and
Finland during this time, they were actually quite gentle when it came to territories
further overseas, and in more recent years they have become one of the most peaceful
countries in the world (Global Peace Index).