March Revolution (Denmark)
The March Revolution in Denmark in 1848 (Danish: Martsrevolutionen ) was part of the series of European revolutions in 1848 and 1849 . It led to the transformation of the absolute monarchy into a constitutional one, the formation of a dualistic national liberal-conservative government and the adoption of the Danish constitution , which (with modifications) is still in force today. The revolution took place at the same time as the Schleswig-Holstein uprising . The question of whether the revolution in Copenhagen was the result or cause of the Schleswig-Holstein uprising is assessed differently in German and Danish historiography.
background
After 1814, the Danish state as a whole included Denmark with around 1.2 million inhabitants and overseas possessions such as the West Indies or the Nicobar Islands, as well as the duchies of Schleswig , Holstein and Lauenburg with around 800,000 inhabitants. Holstein and Lauenburg were purely German-speaking areas and belonged to the German Confederation . The King of Denmark was therefore, in his capacity as Duke of Holstein and Lauenburg, at the same time the German Federal Prince. The German-Danish language border ran through the Duchy of Schleswig, including a mixed - language zone in Central Schleswig and Frisian-speaking areas in North Frisia, with a language change in the central parts of Schleswig in favor of German in the 19th century . Under constitutional law, Schleswig was a Danish fiefdom with the Danish king both as a vassal (duke) and as a liege lord (king). While the majority of the population in North Schleswig spoke Danish, the majority in South Schleswig spoke German.
The first liberalizations were introduced in Denmark with the reforms of 1831. The administrative reform led to the separation of the judiciary and administration. Four provincial class assemblies were set up to represent the people’s estates.
The assemblies of the estates in Schleswig and Holstein had dissolved in 1846 in protest against the open letter of King Christian VIII . The background was a conflict over the succession in the kingdom. King Christian, whose only son was childless, wanted to introduce the female succession possible in the Kingdom of Denmark for the duchies as well. In the German-speaking areas of the duchies (and in the press throughout Germany) this met with opposition. Here one supported predominantly the hereditary claims of the Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Glückstadt-Augustenburg , who would have become Duke with the previous hereditary regulation. However, this would mean that the duchies' ties to Denmark would have expired due to different succession regulations.
The planning of an overall state constitution
As early as 1847 under Christian VIII, first considerations began to establish a constitution. In December 1847 he commissioned Peter Georg Bang to work out a draft constitution. The draft was to be discussed at a meeting of the State Council on January 10, 1848. However, this was canceled due to the king's illness.
After Christian VIII's death on January 20, 1848, the Eider Danes stormed the new King Frederick VII with the proposal of a new - Eider Danish - constitution. But the government had other plans and on January 28th issued the Forfatningsreskript ("constitutional decree "), with which 52 representatives from across the empire were convened to consider how the transition to a free constitution should take place. These men were to be elected partly from the midst of the assembly of estates, partly appointed by the king, the universities, the clergy and the knighthood, in such a way that the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg had as many seats as the actual Kingdom of Denmark. This distribution was criticized by the Danes, as the proportion of the Danes in the total population was well over half.
At the same time, the revolutionary year of 1848 began with the February Revolution in Paris . In Copenhagen the population was calm. The calls for liberal reforms, which were put forward by the people in other countries, were prepared in Denmark by the government itself. The National Liberals (more precisely: the Comiten til Danmarks og Slesvigs constitutionelle Forening ) invited to a popular assembly on March 11th in the Casino on the Amaliegade (the largest public hall in Copenhagen, which could hold 3,000 people), but it did not succeed in creating a revolutionary atmosphere .
The March 20th Revolution and the Formation of the March Government
On March 18, a joint assembly of the Schleswig and Holstein estates and a people's assembly took place in Rendsburg . There the constitutional plans were discussed. Above all, the central demand of the Eider Danes to integrate Schleswig into Denmark sparked fears. The meeting decided to send a delegation of five men to Copenhagen to get King Frederick to promise not to take this step.
The news of the Rendsburg meeting reached the capital on the morning of March 20th on the steamboat “Copenhagen”. The rumor spread in the city - actively supported by the National Liberals - that Schleswig-Holstein was in an uprising and had renounced Denmark. Against the background of a Schleswig-Holstein uprising, the political differences of opinion between the conservatives and the national liberals receded. Politically interested citizens met in the newly opened casino. The (alleged) riot was unanimously condemned and an energetic appearance against the Germans was demanded. The (alleged) lack of loyalty of the Schleswig-Holsteiners and their (alleged) oath to the king was grist on the mill of the Eider Danes.
Orla Lehmann , the leader of the Eider Danes, made five points to the assembly, which were unanimously supported by the assembly:
- The king could not allow a constitution of Schleswig-Holstein, since this would mean an inadmissible abandonment of the royal rights in Schleswig.
- The Danish people guarantee the king every support in defending the sovereignty of Denmark (including Schleswig).
- In order to institutionally secure the connection between Schleswig and Denmark, a general Danish state constitution is required.
- The independence of Schleswig and Denmark within the state as a whole would have to be ensured through the respective provincial parliaments and regional administrations.
- The government must be made up of men who are energetic and patriotic.
State Councilor Carl Francke described the situation in Rendsburg from a German perspective and showed that there was no revolt without being believed.
In the meantime, the Secret Council of State had met in an extraordinary session under the chairmanship of the King since noon. Even if the Council of State was aware that no revolt had (yet) broken out in Rendsburg, it was decided that general mobilization would take place. However, this should be done discreetly via letters to the officials and not through public notice. Due to legitimate doubts about the loyalty of these troops, the mobilization did not apply to the Holstein regiments.
A crowd marched to the royal palace at noon on March 21st to persuade King Frederick to appoint a new government and commit to Eider-Danish politics. At the same time, Justice Minister Carl Emil Bardenfleth , a childhood friend of the king, contacted the king in order to convince him. The king gave in to pressure and released on March 21 at 14:00 the Government Poul Christian Stemann . The March Ministry , which began its work on March 22, was headed by the conservative Adam Wilhelm Moltke as Prime Minister. Both national liberals and conservatives were represented in the ministry. Orla Lehmann was a government minister without portfolio.
The delegation of the duchies did not arrive until March 22nd in Copenhagen on the steamboat “Skirner”. She was received by the king on March 23rd. The demands of the Rendsburg assembly, especially those for a common constitution for Schleswig-Holstein (“ Up eternally ungedeelt ”), were rejected by the king. The Duchy of Holstein could have its own constitution, but Schleswig and Denmark should have a common constitution. The delegation traveled back to Kiel on the “Skirner” that same evening . However, the rumors of the revolution in Copenhagen were faster.
On March 23, the riot that had previously only been alleged in Copenhagen actually broke out in Schleswig-Holstein. The rumors in Kiel said that the king was in the hands of the mob in Copenhagen and unable to act. The revolutionaries in Kiel took this as an argument to form a Provisional Government to act in place of the incapacitated monarch. The division of the empire was complete and the road to civil war was free.
The elections and the constitution
On October 5, 1848, there were general elections for the constituent assembly of the Reich (Den grundlovgivende Rigsforsamling). Due to the Schleswig-Holstein War, no members could be elected in the duchies.
With the adoption of the Basic State Law of June 5, 1849, the liberal renewal work was completed.
In contrast to the 1848 revolutions in Germany and other countries, the revolution in Denmark was bloodless. Through the involvement of the national liberals and conservatives, a consensus quickly developed on the future structure of the state that was to last. There was no reaction era in Denmark in which the innovations of the March Revolution were withdrawn.
This contributed to the fact that further demands from the left or from Republicans had played no role in the revolution. Accordingly, the political conflict in the following decades was not (as in Germany) between liberal and conservative forces, but between the National Liberals and the Peasant Party.
Culture of remembrance
The core of the culture of remembrance in Denmark was the interpretation of the March Revolution as an initial for the introduction of a democratic constitution and as a solidarity between the king and the people to ward off the secession of Schleswig under the German-Schleswig-Holstein movement and to successfully defend sovereignty over Denmark and Schleswig. Accordingly, from a Danish point of view, the revolution was seen as a necessary reaction to the Schleswig-Holstein uprising (in Danish usage: "uproar").
On the German side, the revolution was understood as a seizure of power by the Eider-Danish party. Through the revolution, the German population of Schleswig was to be pressed into a Danish state and the traditional ties between the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were to be broken. The Schleswig-Holstein elevation was directed against this.
literature
- The March days in Copenhagen in 1848: moods and experiences of an eyewitness. Anonymous, 1851. (contemporary representation from a German perspective) (online)
- Hans Vammen: The Casino “Revolution” in Copenhagen 1848. ZSHG, CXXIII, 1998, pp. 59–78.
- Steen Bo Frandsen: 1848 in Denmark. The implementation of democracy and the breakdown of the state as a whole. In: Dieter Dowe , Heinz-Gerhard Haupt , Dieter Langewiesche (eds.): Europe 1848. Revolution and Reform . Dietz Verlag, Bonn 1998, pp. 389-420.
- Michael Bregnsbo: Denmark and 1848: System Change, Civil War and Consensus Tradition. In: Heiner Timmermann: Eighteen hundred and forty-eight revolution in Europe. 1999, ISBN 3-428-49778-3 , p. 158 ff. (Online)
Individual evidence
- ^ Karl N. Bock: Middle Low German and today's Low German in the former Danish Duchy of Schleswig. Studies on the lighting of language change in fishing and Mittelschleswig . In: Det Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab (ed.): Historisk-Filologiske Meddelelser . Copenhagen 1948.
- ^ Manfred Hinrichsen: The development of language conditions in the Schleswig region . Wachholtz, Neumünster 1984, ISBN 3-529-04356-7 .
- ↑ Benito Scocozza, Grethe Jensen: Politikens Etbinds Danmark history. 3rd edition, Politikens Forlag, Copenhagen 2005, ISBN 87-567-7064-2 , p. 232.
