History UsefulNotes / NorwegianConstituentAssembly

When arriving, Sverdrup learned that the prince vouched for totalitarian rule, and some of the men gathered there were of the same mind. Sverdrup on the other hand was not. He reminded the prince that he had forfeited his inherited rights for the Norwegian crown at the treaty of Kiel, and therefore, the crown had "fallen back to the Norwegian people". The prince would be wise to choose a popular sovereignty over totalitarianism. Christian Frederik complied to this. A constitutional assembly had to be called in. By March 25, churches all over the country held a popular oath to defend the national freedom, and men were elected: farmers, priests, officers and merchants, other officials beside. They were to gather at Eidsvold, where the proprietor Carsten Anker would see to their needs. He had a house big enough.

It so happened that the house of commons later brought the issue to debate, but the Norwegian cause fell. This made the Assembly at Eidsvold speed up their work.

The assembly gathered at the appointed day, April 10, which was a sunday. The delegates assembled from all the southern parts of Norway. Because of long distances, Northern Norway was unable to send any delegates in time - a fact that part of the country still resents. Because the day of meeting was a sunday, the assembly attended mass, and then a dinner, before actually going to business monday morning. The Prince regent adressed the delegates, and they used a couple of days on stating how the meetings should progress. Twelve delegates were then called forth to form a constitutional comitee, among them ''Christian Magnnus Falsen'' and ''Nicolai Wergeland'', both with their own drafts written in advance. The main lines of the constitution were presented soon after.

A full draft of the constitution was delivered the assembly at the end of April, and the following days saw discussions on different and separate issues: How to handle national debt, the national bank, and of course the question of Jews. This last one came to haunt the assembly, and Norwegian politics for many years. The original draft vouched for full religious freedom, but this was gradually narrowed down to state religion, and the exclusion of Jews altogether. The question was raised again a generation later, when Creator/HenrikWergeland made a heroic effort to get the parliament change the clause.

Historians have debated this issue ever since. The fallout between certain members of the assembly, from the different fractions, was so serious they never actually forgave eachother, and some were frozen out of further political discussion. The questions at hand were serious enough, concerning the question of independence, trade, foreign policies, propriety rights, voting rights, how to deal with democratic power, and then there was the issue of time. While sitting there, rumors went that Sweden assembled an army at the border, and would invade in the second half of may. Sweden also had the support of [[UseFulNotes/{{Prussia}} Prussian troops]]. News like this could make the assembly panic at times, and the constitution was made pragmatic and brief, to be finished as soon as possible.

Sweden invaded in the summer, and the Norwegians had to beat them back once again. But this time, Carl Johan was in charge, and a savvy tactician with experience from the Napoleonic army, who had beaten the French at Leipzig, was not an easy match. The Prince Regent soon had to face the facts, and by august, he packed his bags and left quietly, leaving the Norwegians to settle matters with the Swedes. As was the situation in January, central powers intervened, and through shrewd diplomacy the constitution was respected, with some amendments to please the Swedes. Carl Johan, who had been a French general, could not for the sake of shame overrule a constitution that was built on the principles from UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution. This saved the day to some extent, and the union with Sweden became as loose as you could possibly get it - ratified at Moss in August. Charles XIII was elected king of Norway by November 4, but the union with Sweden was so shaky it rattled considerably every tenth year over one issue or another. Local farmers and veterans who had been at the front in 1809 and again in 1814, complained, and even 40 years afterwards, and as long as there were veterans alive, they claimed they could have won "had not the great ones bailed out". On the other hand, the compromise secured peace in Northern Europe, which apparently was a good thing.

* A TV special was made in Norway as part of the 175th annual celebration in 1989. Here, the midshipman Thorsen was made TheEveryman, while [[DependingOnTheWriter some points were exaggerated in favor of Falsen and Sverdrup]].

!! A number of tropes to be found in the Constitutional Assembly:

* AfraidOfBlood: Christian Frederik, to the point where he fainted at the sight of it. In other words, no WarriorPrince.
* ArchEnemy: Sweden, of course. This spilled over to the way history handled the subject.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Sweden. First towards Denmark, later towards Norway.
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: Norway played this one straight. A couple of times, Christian Frederik issued orders for ambush, but recalled them immidiately afterwards. The battle of Langnes (August 9, 18149) is the best example of this, crossing into the area of conflicting orders: General Hegermann actually beat the Swedish back, using cannons, and was more than willing to make a pursuit, only to be stopped short by the king`s orders. When he and the Norwegian force then were ordered to ''retreat'' after actually winning the battle, the trope came in with force.
* BadassBaritone: Georg Sverdrup. According to popular tradition, he ''singlehandedly'' managed to convince the prince regent to get his support from a Norwegian constituent assembly - ''in one sentence''. The prince had been a hardliner on his inherited right to rule Norway, until Sverdrup arrived on the scene and set him straight.
* BadassBoast: Several. Most notably the farmer mentioned above: "We would not go under Sweden. Before that happens, we will leave only women and children at home, and send every man to the border... ''including me!''". This man was already reaching 60.
** The final sentence from Carsten Anker towards the British secretary of state also counts, pitting Norway against [[WoodenShipsAndIronMen the might of the British army]]. Of course, everybody managed to avoid that.
** And of course the Gudbrandsdal farmers: ''If the enemy comes this way, we will handle them the way we handled the scots''! (who had been massacred in a CurbStompBattle 200 years earlier).
** Carl Johan had a truly epic one on behalf of Sweden days before war broke out:
---> I may die, my son Oscar may die, we may fight for ten, twenty, thirty years, and conquer Norway inch by inch, village by village, but in the end, ''we will take Norway''!
*** That man had a natural knack for boasting, to be sure.
* BadassCrew: When a company of 470 Norwegians held the advancing Swedish force abay for two hours on August 2, 1814. The Swedes were at least ''five thousand men strong''!
** The Norwegians managed it with small amounts of gunpowder, some of it even wet! The sheer badassery lies in the effort, not in the result. Many Norwegian units have to be counted into this trope.
* BigDamnHeroes: As far as the principle of popular sovereignty is concerned. The meeting of VIP s on February 16 could have ended in a statement for absolutism. Then Georg Sverdrup arrived as the last man to the meeting, conveniently turning the tables completely, opening the way to a general assembly and a constitution.
* BothSidesHaveAPoint: Played historically straight with the two constituent fractions. Over time, it seems both sides gained some points, and the justice between them is evened out.
* BullyingTheDragon: The assembly knew full well that the Swedish army was on the border, and Norway had to deal with them in summer 1814. The Swedish monarch never quite forgave the Norwegians for the constitution, which he regarded as a personal offence, and he tried to overrule it time and again without success.
* CassandraTruth: The Norwegians who warned Christian Frederik on the way things were going were rebuffed. Many of those saw a union with Sweden as inevitable, and tried to make the best of it. Too bad the prince regent never listened to them.
* ConflictingLoyalty: Loyalty to Denmark or to the Norwegian cause was the main problem of Christian Frederik. Apart from him, people struggled with it all over, and accusations rose of loyalty or disloyalty towards or against the constitution, Sweden, Denmark, the treaty of Kiel. And this still haunts historians who discuss the subject.
* CrazyEnoughToWork: Trying to claim independence with ''every major power'' working against you by making a democratic constitution to secure power for an ambitious prince who already had plans of a coup d`etat? It just might work...
* CurbStompBattle: The trek done by the Swedish Army through Jutland in January 1814, once and for all stating who had the actual power. Denmark finally ratified the treaty of Kiel ''after'' that experience. They had hardly any defences left, and gave in after two days.
** Later, the attack on Fredrikstad.
* DarkestHour: Remembered as such later, famously in the Norwegian national anthem: "We endured harsh times, eventually became outcasts, but in our direst hour of need, Freedom was born to us..."
* DavidVersusGoliath: Norway played it straight three times during the war August: At the fortifications at Lier August 2, at Matrand August 5, and at Langnes August 9. The Norwegians had greater manpower in the first battles, and more cannons in the last of them. All things considered, the Swedes were two to one most of the time.
** The trope was mostly subverted because of Swedish manpower. At the defence of Fredrikstad, the Norwegians defended an island with 1100 men against 6000 Swedes. They fought bravely and lost, also being overpowered by immense cannon power from the Swedish ships.
* DecidedByOneVote: The dramatic votation of April 19, discussing how far the Assembly should have power, or whether or not disassemble after the concluded constitution. The debate ended in a tie, with 55 pro and 55 against. The speaker had to decide. As it happened, much sweat was wasted, a lot of bad blood was instigated, and the case fell flat. The assemble dissolved in may anyway.
* DefiantToTheEnd: The fortress of Halden kept the Swedish troops away for fourteen days straight. While Fredrikstad surrendered after a few hours, Halden kept the Swedes out. Only after the armistice the Halden commander let the Swedish inside - and the Norwegians gained just honor for this.
** The entire Norwegian society. The feeling of resentment towards the Swedish king remained, and political work for dissolving of the union began ''ten days'' after the agreement was brokered in August 1814. The Norwegians remained defiant towards their Swedish overlords all the way up to the end of the union in 1905.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: The basic Norwegian reaction when the treaty of Kiel was published. Note that no other nation in Europe regarded Norway as a legal state, let alone a nation. So, they had to define themselves on the spot - using the old norse definition, as can be seen from the citation on top of the page.
* DysfunctionalFamily: The Anker family and their relations: Jacob Aall, who supported Count Wedel against the Prince, was the son-in-law of Peder Anker, who was the cousin of Carsten Anker, the proprietor of Eidsvold and mentor of the Prince. The fact that Wedel was married to Peder`s other daughter, making him an in-law of Jacob Aall as well, makes this even more interesting. The Norwegian elite was so small that everybody knew eachother or were related. Thus, the assembly had shades of a family feud. Carsten Anker was not present, being on a diplomatic mission to London - and thus avoiding more conflict on his home turf.
* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: Foreign politics and relations. All of the elected constituent men knew they had to adress the problem sooner or later, but preferred not to talk about it. Nicolai Wergeland made a bold gesture when proposing a comitee for foreign affairs, and was scolded for it. A scrap of dialogue from the assembly could go like this:
---> '''Løvenskjold''': But the prince himself addressed our relation to Sweden in his opening speech...
---> '''Many others''': HUSH!
* EnemyWithin: ''Any'' significant person who disagreed with the other fraction. Wedel to Christian Frederik and otherwise, Sverdrup to Wergeland and otherwise. Christian Frederik was arguably a ''huge'' EnemyWithin if his hidden agenda is plausible.
* FakeUltimateHero: Christian Frederik the prince regent. Somewhat depending on how he handled, [[DependingOnTheWriter or if he was solely responsible for]] calling in the Constituent Assembly.
* FalseReassurance: The official statement from the Swedish king to the Norwegian people dated february 8. This statement boils down to "Norwegians, we are about to invade you, and we come as friends. Please embrace us".
* {{Foil}}: Most prominently Christian Frederik, king elect of Norway, and Carl Johan, king to be of Sweden. The first one was soft spoken and affable. The latter was a tough WarriorPrince, who was prone to use force over diplomacy if necessary. Furthermore, he had seen action where Christian Frederik had not.
** The age difference between them also counts: Christian Frederik was 27, Carl Johan 51.
* GameChanger: The Popular Sovereignty principle, as stated by Rousseau. After UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, nobody actually dared to ignore it when put to use. It is, however, clear that ''not even the British'' saw it coming early on - they actually thought the Norwegians would happily embrace a union with Sweden.
** The Norwegian constitution itself was a game changer. When this became known for the greater powers, England actually gave Norway a chance to maneuvre in the negotiations, and secured a far more loose union between the countries than Sweden had wished for in january (also because England saw the dangers in a strong Sweden in tight alliance with Russia. Reducing the Swedish power was just what England wanted, and the Norwegians came in handy).
*** To follow this narrative a bit further, Britain saw it fit to support Norwegian independence from Sweden in 1905, and ''that'' paid off some 35 years later, when the Norwegian commercial fleet helped securing the lifeline for a Britain under German blockade during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII (although with a high personal cost). If Norway had been an "unseparable" unit under Sweden from 1814, Britain might as well have been starved out by UsefulNotes/NaziGermany.
** Sadly inverted later in the case of {{UsefulNotes/Poland}} in 1830, when the British turned their heads away and let the Russian army crush the Polish rebellion, effectively putting the Poles under martial law all the way up to 1917.
* GratuitousFrench: Carl Johan AKA Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, was a Frenchman from the bottom of his heart, and never learned Swedish. The convention at Moss, written by him, is of course written in French. Christian Frederik, being an UpperClassTwit, wrote his diaries in French. ''His Diaries''!
* HalfTruth: The Danish king sent information to the Norwegian regent, his cousin, regarding the treaty of Kiel. But the crucial article IV, stipulating that Denmark had handed Norway over to Sweden, was edited out. Thus, Christian Frederik was misled by the king, and acted accordingly. One wonders why the Danish king wished to keep the regent in the dark about this - ahem - ''important'' point of the treaty...
* HamToHamCombat: Count Wedel vs Georg Sverdrup. Nicolai Wergeland vs Georg Sverdrup. Sverdrup vs Jacob Aal... And so on, and so on...
** Christian Frederik and the count Wedel had a famous one in march, with both of the yelling to the point that everybody heard them VolleyingInsults. The count arguably challenged the prince on "who retreats first" when the Swedes attacked.
* HumiliationConga: Denmark, or at least their king, had a serious one because of the greater powers. By the middle of may, the Russian and Prussian demands had turned so harsh the Danish prime minister allegedly splurted out:
---> What do you want of us? Do you wish to humiliate the king in the eyes of his people? Du you wish to make Denmark a Swedish province? You might as well do it, to get this crisis over with...
** Christian Frederik from the middle of July and onwards. He managed to prove himself as a useless war leader, and then got sick for a week, leaving all negotiations to everybody else, before leaving Norway incognito, never to return.
* IAmTheNoun: Christian Frederik came pretty close to set his personal crusade for kingship and the Norwegian cause for independence as one and the same. Although he did not say "I am Norway", the sources tell us he said he was "inseparable" from her. He actually got a good lot of people to rally for ''him personally'', to the point where accusations of treason were used if the Prince`s motifs were put under scrutiny. On the other hand: when the question of totalitarian rule came up, a good lot of people, including the army(!) had second thoughts.
** The prince regent was so good at this, he is prone to get more honour than he rightfully deserves, even today, DependingOnTheWriter.
* INeedToGoIronMyDog: A revision of the constitution had to be done when it was evident a union with Sweden was unavoidable come september. An extraordinary parliamentary session was called in to do the revision, but the two most prominent leaders of the "independence" fraction at the actual assembly that same spring were suddenly unavailable. Sverdrup excused himself and went to Denmark for books for his university chores (he was a professor in Latin). And Falsen, he probably ironed his dog in a secluded place.
* IntrinsicVow: The "popular oath", taken by almost every Norwegian present in all churches across the country, starting on february 25, 1814. As close as one gets a Norwegian declaration of independence. Elections for the Assembly was held at the same time.
** "''Faithful and united until Dovre falls''". Said by most of the assembly before finally breaking up May 19. Even more awesome as they made a "chain of brotherhood" at the same time.
* ITakeOffenceToThatLastOne: Georg Sverdrup was really annoyed by a couple of things Nicolai Wergeland had said in passing, and by May 18, after the work was finished, he craved that Wergeland should apologize publicly for his statements. This led to a new and heated discussion, until Jacob Aal famously arose and said: "No, Mr Sverdrup. I did not take offence of reverend Wergeland`s statements".
* ItHasBeenAnHonor: All of the assembled afterwards. Altough tensions lingered (Nicolai Wergeland never got promoted to Bishop although qualified, or elected to parliament afterwards), this was the rule.
* ItsPersonal: Carl Johan, after seven months of delay, took personal offence to the Norwegian "rebellion", and waged war almost for personal issues at the end of July. Note that Christian Frederik had offered negotiations to the point of leaving Norway already in the middle of June. So, when war came anyway, Carl Johan wanted Christian Frederik put to shame ''pretty bad'' - he hated Christian that much.
** This personal grudge lagged on for years, to the point that he took offence ''every time'' the Norwegians celebrated their may 17 (and he actually forbid the celebrations a couple of years).
* LargeHam: It is easier to find the few who weren`t. When the debates heatened up in April, the whole area reeked of ham.
* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: Christian Frederik in his later years. The whole Danish population was effectively ''ordered'' by the king to change their history books in school. Officially, the union with Norway never happened - for a ''very'' long time.
* LifeOfTheParty: Christian Frederik was good at this, and gained some points in popularity over it. As well as chicks. After coming to Trondheim, he partied with the city officials and high ranking burghers for ''five nights in a row'', which is something of a MoralDissonance, considering his trek through rural Norway, where he met a lot of commoners and farmers begging for food (which he couldn`t give them).
* LoopholeAbuse: The entire argument for calling a national assembly can be seen as one. According to international law at the time, Norway just had to comply. The argument presented by Sverdrup made quite correctly a stir in the British political debate.
** The "loophole" is actually to be found in the Treaty of Kiel as written January 14, 1814. The stipulations referring to the Norwegian people and their connection to Sweden gave the Norwegians room to manoevre. And they used it accordingly. This loophole was actually created by Carl Johan himself, stating that Norway should be a "kingdom united with the Swedish". Referring to Norway as a separate kingdom did the trick. The swedish prince did it to secure the Norwegian crown in case of a fallout with the Swedish nobles. Way to go, Carl Johan.
*** It is also a point that the Danish "law of the King" was set aside. The king had "dissolved all bonds of obedience" for the Norwegian people. That, and the rather fresh principle of "popular sovereignty" made the whole thing possible.
** Denmark used another loophole to secure domination over UsefulNotes/{{Iceland}}, the UsefulNotes/FaroeIslands and UsefulNotes/{{Greenland}}, because the Swedish negotiator was in the dark about whether or not those areas had been Norwegian at all. They had, but Sweden didn`t know, so Denmark cheated.
* {{Mediator}}: The factory owner Jacob Aall, who always seemed to soften both sides during the assembly. Later, during the escalating international crisis, Great Britain took this role, to the benefit of Norway.
* TheMole: One delegate sympathized so much with Sweden that he was rumored to send them reports on what happened during negotiations. It is also implied that Christian Frederik the Prince Regent served as a mole for his father, the king of Denmark, with a stated goal in mind: To keep Norway as close to Denmark as possible. This is justified by the fact that he never rescinded his claim to the Danish throne after taking the Norwegian one. The suggestion that he should rescind his inheritance to Denmark fell.
** To make matters even more interesting, all the people who followed the Prince kept him up to speed on the developments and negotiations, although he was not present there. His party did a good mole work for him.
** After the losses in August, suspicions of possible moles were abundant. One general had his windows thrown in, and accusations of treason were up and running for decades. To drive the point home, the accusations were as bad on the Swedish side, because the Swedish suspected their leaders for treason as well (having been to relenting when facing Norwegian claims).
* MotiveRant: Carl Johan had an epic rant before war was declared, lasting for five hours. Then, after some rest, he ranted for five hours more, making his collected ranting a ten hour speech, filled with swearing, insults and epic boasts. The international ambassadors had a ShutUpHannibal moment when they actually burst into laughter because of this, calming Carl Johan a little.
* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: After the fall of Napoleon, all the greater powers gathered in Paris to establish a "new order": Great Britain, Prussia, Austria, Russia... and - ahem - ''Sweden''. Justified by the fact that Great Britain had a low opinion of the Swedish because of their little unilateral "adventure" in Holstein. The only power who ''really'' put her weight behind Sweden was Russia.
** The only thing the Swedish ever talked about, seemed to be international support for securing Norway. The British regarded them, in spite of their treaty with Sweden, as something of a pain in the ass. And Carl Johan, being French of birth, was reluctant to wage war on his original countrymen.
** This resentment is partly a reason why Great Britain never asked for Swedish (let alone Russian) assistance when calling for external help prior to the Battle of Waterloo one year later. Britain and Prussia managed it all by themselves.
* NeverLearnedToRead: Only one of them, the midshipman Even Thorsen from Mandal. All the others were literate. Thorsen "did not do the fleet any shame", Creator/HenrikWergeland later reported.
* NoIndoorVoice: Georg Sverdrup was known for his strong voice. That does not mean the others didn`t bellow considerably when they got the chance.
* NothingCanStopUsNow: The attitude of the Swedish. They had it all planned, and then came the Constituent Assembly. Parts of the Swedish establishment never got over it.
* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: Denmark had a serious change in self confidence, [[Webcomic/ScandinaviaAndTheWorld evolving into the easygoing and affable character we know and love]].
* OldSoldier: Carl Johan was actually 51 years old in 1814. That was ''old'' for a man at the start of the nineteenth century. Heck, he was six years older than ''Napoleon''! He outlived that man with 23 years!
* ParentingTheHusband: Queen Charlotta of Sweden. When king Carl XIII, 66 years old, decided he wished to be close to the battlefields in the upcoming war with Norway, she wisely decided to travel with him, giving effectual orders behind his back to protect him from harm.
* PoorCommunicationKills: For all practical reasons, this is 1814. No telecommunication, and every letter sent will take at least two days to reach destination, if at all. And for Norway the matters were even worse - the country was cut off from all information for most of January, leaving only rumors to do the job. Full winter with icy waters and storms did not make it easier for anyone. And there was a war going on, of course.
** When Sweden declared war, they immidiately set sail for Norway. The Norwegian fleet spotted them, and the seacaptain asked for orders from the King. Christian Frederik hadn`t ratified any declaration of war, and ordered the Norwegians to get out of the way. The Norwegians complied, leaving the seas open for the Swedish fleet, who sailed straight for Fredrikstad. The town was under siege for a week, and not a shot was given from the Norwegian side. The King got the Swedish declaration of war two days after this. Bad timing indeed.
* PretextForWar: Great Britain made it pretty damn clear that they would wage war on Norway if Norway insisted on keeping Christian Frederik as King elect. As it happened, Christian Frederik made a HeelRealization in the nick of time.
* PrinceCharming: Christian Frederik again. [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Christian_Frederik_J._L._Lund.jpg He was quite a charmer in his youth]].
* TheQuietOne: Hornemann, a city official who almost never said anything during the course of the assembly.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Norwegian army, put together in no time, with a lack of rifles and ammunition, and being vastly outnumbered by the Swedish. They held their own at Matrand, incredible as it sounds.
** The Constituent Assembly likewise. One wonders how they managed to come to terms at all...
* {{Realpolitik}}: The whole story from beginning to end. The British parliamentary under-secretary of state lamented the moral problem on January 5. 1814: "The morals are all on the side of Denmark. We have accepted a violation just to save Europe." The "violation" mentioned was the Swedish forceful smashing of the weak Danish defences January 6 and 7.
* RebelLeader: Christian Frederik. In that case, the Norwegians would have had to rebel ''against him'' in time, rather than rally for him.
** When rumors were leaked that the prince vouched for a totalitarian rule, the army was close to rebellion against him, and the bailiff in Follo, Falsen, later present at Eidsvold, considered raising his own armed men against the prince. Ironically, he became one of Christian`s most loyal supporters later on.
** The sheer irony of the matter is, nobody was close to take leadership in Christian`s place. He had an easy match.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: Due to the standard of the times, all of them (with a possible exception for the farmers).
* SirSwearsALot: Carl Johan gave a long rant the day before war was declared, insulting Christian Frederik in the most fabulous ways, ''in french''!
* {{Sleepyhead}}: Some of the constituents, most prominently Tvedten, a bailiff who supported the prince both asleep and awake.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Christian Frederik himself, because of overconfidence. And, of course, lousy military planning.
** He was also prone to be a spanner in the democratic process, leading to a constitution originally handing more power to the king. The parliamentary session in october corrected this.
* StockholmSyndrome: Norway towards Denmark in many respects. Four centuries of union and suppression had, of course made it`s way into the Norwegian collective unconsciousness. Nicolai Wergeland felt it particularly hard, because he had the audacity to point out all the atrocities made by Denmark over the years. A good lot of officials never forgave him.
* TemptingFate: Christian Frederik all the time. Somewhat less blatant after the Assembly, but during the winter months... hoo boy.
* TakeAThirdOption: All the greater powers, plus Sweden and Norway, by accepting the legal rights of the new Norwegian constitution, and at the same time make Norway comply to the treaty of Kiel by accepting a union with Sweden.
** And, of course a rather obvious one at Eidsvoll. The constituents knew they actually were choosing between a Danish prince and a Swedish one. In a heated discussion between the prince regent and chamberlain Løvenskjold (who did not agree with him), the words covered the trope to a T:
---> '''Christian Frederik''': "But you have to admit that the choice stands between being Danish or Swedish!"
---> '''Løvenskjold''': "I admit this, but there is a third option you should be aware of".
---> '''Christian Frederik''': "And what is that, I pray?"
---> '''Løvenskjold''': "[[CaptainObvious Being]] [[DeadpanSnarker Norwegian]], your royal highness. Good day."
* TacticalWithdrawal: The entire Norwegian battle plan was built on this trope, initially trying to trick Swedish troops into difficult areas where Norway could use Guerilla Warfare. Sadly, Carl Johan knew this, and planned invasion on the flattest countryside he could find. At one point, this resulted in an actual AttackAttackRetreatRetreat situation because of conflicting orders (between the Norwegian King and his generals).
* TookALevelInKindness: Carl Johan, showing his true magnificence, and earning thanks and praises from official Norway (and Creator/HenrikWergeland) for a hundred years and more.
* TorchesAndPitchforks: The commoners of Norway resorted to this when they got to know the terms of armistice in august. They went up against their own generals, and when a Swedish general visited the capital... hoo boy. The Swedish emissary got so angry over it, he swore he would "drown Christiania in fire and blood", [[DisproportionateRetribution if any Swede was harmed]].
** This arguably happened in Sweden as well...
* UpperClassTwit: All things considered, and regarding some of his more stupid decisions, Christian Frederik fits the tropes. History shows he may have been ''too'' sheltered to embrace all the facts.
* WarriorPrince: Christian August, later Carl Johan.
* WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife: The two week war waged by Sweden against Norway seems utterly senseless, when considering the proposal for peace given in July, before the war, was exactly the same as was negotiated in August, after the campaign. Thus, a good half thousand men, Swedes and Norwegians alike, died for nothing.
* WhileRomeBurns: When Kråkerøy and Fredrikstad came under fire, the elderly Swedish king Carl XIII oversaw it personally from a safe distance. Arguably, he had been looking forward to this all year.
* WideEyedIdealist: Either the prince regent, or at least some of his followers, who declined to listen to reason.
* WorfHadTheFlu: Christian Frederik had to "excuse himself" from being in power, after a secret agreement with the Swedes in august. Thus, he invoked this trope, sitting quietly on the sideline until parliament was assembled in October. Then, he officially gave ruling power over to parliament, and finally left Norway for good, sheltered by darkness - never to set foot in Norway again.
* WorldOfHam: When the debaters raged at their worst.
* WorthyOpponent: Count Wedel towards the Prince and likewise. The fractions also saw eachother as such. As everybody worked for the same basic cause, none of the delegates present were interested in obstructing it.
** The defence of Halden made a show for it. When the Swedish were allowed inside after armistice were declared, the Norwegian troops marched out under full salutation from the Swedes. The Swedes were actually impressed by the fact that the fortress of Halden was held against bombardment for ''two weeks'', and never surrendered.
* YesMan: The counsellors of the Prince Regent. His advisory council was naturally sycophantic, being trained to treat Danish royals with utter respect. This caused some problems when reality ensued.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Naval lieutenant Konow, being 19 years of age, was the youngest representative present. Another Loophole was used, as the representatives was meant to be 25 and older.

* GenreBlindness: Creator/HenrikWergeland at least accuses some parts of the assembly for being too blind on behalf of Christian Frederik. The Prince Regent himself was pretty genre blind at times, especially when underestimating the Swedish army (as was Carsten Anker, as mentioned above. He and the Prince were best friends). Managing to underestimate Sweden after the CurbStompBattle in January really invokes the trope. The trope also involves the Danish king, who staked a lot on the belief that Sweden would ''not'' attack.
** Even Carl Johan has some shades, when he actually believed that a Swedish army could march straight into Norway, expecting to be hailed as friends on arrival, when the Norwegians had been attacked by the Swedes only five years before. Somebody should alert the Swedish prince on the lack of savviness.

* WorthyOpponent: Count Wedel towards the Prince and likewise. The fractions also saw eachother as such, rather than {{Evil Counterpart}}s. As everybody worked for the same basic cause, none of the delegates present were interested in obstructing it.

** The "loophole" is actually to be found in the Treaty of Kiel as written January 14, 1814. The stipulations referring to the Norwegian people and their connection to Sweden gave the Norwegians room to manoevre. And they used it accordingly. This loophole was actually [[NiceJobBreakingItHero created by Carl Johan himself]], stating that Norway should be a "kingdom united with the Swedish". Referring to Norway as a separate kingdom did the trick. The swedish prince did it to secure the Norwegian crown in case of a fallout with the Swedish nobles. Way to go, Carl Johan.

* DecidedByOneVote: The dramatic votation of April 19, discussing how far the Assembly should have power, or whether or not disassemble after the concluded constitution. The debate ended in a tie, with 55 pro and 55 against. The speaker had to decide. As it happened, much sweat was wasted, a lot of bad blood was instigated, and the case fell flat. The assemble dissolved in may anyway. Much of Nicolai Wergeland`s ButtMonkey status began in those debates.

* BadassBaritone: Georg Sverdrup. According to popular tradition, he ''singlehandedly'' managed to convince the prince regent to get his support from a Norwegian constituent assembly - ''in one sentence'' - as quoted under the WhamLine entry. The prince had been a hardliner on his inherited right to rule Norway, until Sverdrup arrived on the scene and set him straight. True or not, the scene is a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome in Norwegian history.

* AristocratsAreEvil: Johann Caspar Hermann, count of Wedel-Jarlsberg was the only true nobleman present at the assembly. His leanings towards a loose union with Sweden has carried him into history as a mole for the Swedes, although he never was evil per se. Reading the sources closer, reveals a cunning politician, BlessedWithSuck because of his title. New seats for nobility was never erected in Norway after 1814. Wedel inverted the trope himself by supporting and even proposing this for the constitution, effectively making himself the last count in Norway.
** The trope carries even more weight when considering that his main opponent was the Prince Regent, something that apparently has a melodramatic ring to it (the evil aristocrat scheming to take over the kingdom from the rightful heir). As the prince regent/king elect ''himself'' was an aristocrat, closely connected to the king of Demnark, the trope may be used on him as well, DependingOnTheWriter.

* BadassArmy: The Swedish, of course. Coming straight from the European battle field, and led by the most cunning war leader the alliance could muster: Carl Johan.

* BerserkButton: The treaty of Kiel had a clear stipulation on the Danish. No heir of the Danish king should try to pursue power in Norway - ''ever!''. When the British realized that the Danish prince regent still held sway in Norway, they issued several warnings. Also for any Norwegian living close to the Swedish border. The mere suggestion of Sweden taking the fortresses had them up in arms in no time.

* BoomerangBigot: Swedish nobles towards Norwegians in general. The general assumption was that Norwegians were easily persuaded and conquered, and if they resisted conquest, the blame lay on Danish scheming against them. Count von Essen, the designated Governor of Norway, stated rather bluntly that Norwegians were "unenlightened". This prejudice becomes hilarious for ''every other nationality'' around the world, who hardly see any difference at all between the peoples in question.

* TheBully: Russia towards Denmark come the middle of May. Russia bullied Denmark in excess, because Norway didn`t comply fully.

* ButtMonkey: Nicolay Wergeland, the priest from Christiansand. He was slandered after the assembly, never to be elected to politics again. He remains a ButtMonkey to this very day.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: To Norwegians, the spring of 1814 up to and including the actual drafting of the constitution is treated as such in history. The later events, like admitting defeat to Sweden and revising the constitution to fit in a loose union, is usually downplayed, and treated as less interesting history. Thus, the ''fall'' of 1814 is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, and not so thoroughly related - as noted, the "king who left in a hurry" never spoke of his EpicFail again, for the rest of his life.
** Consider this: Sweden actually gave in and ''accepted'' the Norwegian constitution with a few amendments, which even strengthened the popular sovereignty over the power of the king. That was probably even ''more'' awesome than making it in the first place. This tactical move to preserve the union and prevent more bloodshed secured the Norwegian constitution for posterity, ''and it is still in use''.

* DeadpanSnarker: Georg Sverdrup, university principal, most prominently. Others as well.

* DependingOnTheWriter: Historians have tried to make heroes of every single member of the assembly, and at the same time put one of the parties in a less flattering light. The usual way of telling it makes Christian Magnus Falsen TheHero, and Georg Sverdrup TheLancer, while Count Wedel is the BigBad and Løvenskjold TheDragon. Matters seem to have been more complicated than that, but this version has been standard for several years.
* DistantFinale: In the runup to the bicentennial, the Danish choose to celebrate with Norway, sending their queen. Sweden, however, decided that their king should not attend. Old scores that should be settled have left their scars.

* EvilBrit: The British attitude towards the problem stirred some understandable sentiments in Norway.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: The plans of Christian Frederik failed, as far as his kingship is concerned. He took it pretty hard.

* FatalFlaw: Christian Frederik seems to be a tad too self confident in hindsight. He was also prone to be pushed on by sycophants, which is never good.
** Nicolai Wergeland was a bit too rash for his own good.
** Georg Sverdrup was rather proud, which made him a {{jerkass}} at times.
** Nobody ever saw the big picture. No wonder history has a tendency to make the whole thing seemingly depend on luck.

* GambitPileup: Of course. Christian Frederik had one agenda, the Danish king had another, the Swedes yet another, and then there was the conflicting views of the Norwegian fractions, pro and contra the position of the prince, the Swedes, the Danish. Luckily, they all got together and talked it over.
** At Eidsvoll, people suspected the prince regent to play Sverdrup and Falsen to his own benefit. On the other hand it may not be evident whether Falsen and Sverdrup ''also played the prince'' to their benefit as well.

* GeneralRipper: In July, Carl Johan showed himself more and more from this side, to the point where he had to recall orders for attack ''three times'', gaining scolds from Great Britain, and ''heavy'' chiding from ''Russia''! He got his war eventually, declaring it on July 25. His enemy X was Christian Frederik.

* HairTriggerTemper: Carl Johan was ''notoriously'' known for this. When the international diplomats presented the offering of peace given by Christian Frederik, he had a RageBreakingPoint, where he flatly refused the offer, and threw a forceful tantrum in the face of the ambassador of Russia. ''Russia!'' Let alone [[UpToEleven Great Britain, Prussia, and Austria]]. War was declared within four days.
---> '''Carl Johan''': You just pray I keep my scabbard in my sheath!

* HarsherInHindsight: Count Wedel challenged Christian Frederik: "I will stand beside you at the battle field when the Swedish army attacks. Then, let us see who retreats first". The challenge was given March 3. Five months later, Christian Frederik did exactly what Wedel had warned about - he retreated first, and never dared to go into battle. He never got over it.
* HonorBeforeReason: Sweden actually proposed a more liberal union than Norway ever had with Denmark, up to and including a drafted constitution. The Norwegian majority flatly refused this offer, because they would not, for the sake of honor, go under Swedish rule. Sweden, on the other hand, was honorably bound to her own expansionism, and could not easily conceive that Norway actually wished for another solution than offered. The entire war in august boils down to this trope, for both countries, as well as for [[ItsPersonal Carl Johan personally]].

* IdiotBall: The most important ball holder would be Danish king Frederik VI, who trusted his divine role as a totalitarian ruler UpToEleven, and was a bit late when reality knocked at the door. Denmark had also made herself dependent on military forces from Norway over most of the union times. When Denmark found that army unavailable, Denmark was screwed big time, being short of other reserves, which they mustered. When the Swedes attacked over land and invaded Jutland, the Danes managed to have 20 batallions for them - ''on the wrong island'', Funen. Without any naval power to their disposal, that was a drastic misplacement.
** The army placed at Funen was had actually a ''very'' narrow sound between them and Jutland, at the city of Midelfart, to be crossed in hours. This geographical fact makes january 6, 1814 (being the day of invasion) one of the greatest strategic mishaps in Danish history. Because this was January, the strait would be covered with ice, and therefore passable for an army. WhatAnIdiot.
** Even better: King Frederik ordered Christian Frederik to attack Sweden with the entire Norwegian army. Needless to say that even Christian Frederik thought that was a bad idea.
** And then there was the Swedish king, who believed that the Swedish army could march into Norway and be welcomed there. When he got his proclamation printed in Norway by February, it just stirred up sentiments against the Swedes even more. In this case, the WeComeInPeaceShootToKill trope was inverted to "We come in peace - why are you ''shooting'' at us?"
** The Swedes were not completely out of holding it. They had lost in 1809 due to Norwegian guerilla tactics and poor planning. So why would they hire ''the same general'' to attack ''the same area'' five years later? The Norwegians cashed in their only military victory because of this. General Gahn, who led the Swedes at Matrand, seemingly hadn`t learned one single lesson in five years.

* InsaneTrollLogic: Occurred time and again. The most blatant example is Carl Johan. When he understood a rebellion was brooding in Norway, he decided to attack ''Denmark'', reasoning that this was their fault. The Danes, according to Carl Johan, had to persuade the Norwegians to keep quiet. At the time, Denmark had handed Norway over long ago, and the Norwegians couldn`t care less if Denmark was attacked.
* InsufferableGenius: Georg Sverdrup, at least when [[BattleOfWits debating with Nicolai Wergeland]]. In the 1989 TV special, he arguably was portrayed as such, always bearing himself in a way that it seemed he looked down on everybody else, up to and including the Prince, which looked timid next to him. Well, it takes an InsufferableGenius to stare down a prince inherent.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Christian Frederik, the prince regent. Although a decent fellow in many respects, he used a lot of time stressing his own importance in the matters at hand. His famous journey through Norway was a rally for support, and "to tie the knot between the Norwegians and myself".

* KnightKnaveAndSquire: the PowerTrio consisting of Falsen, Sverdrup and the Bergen clerk Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie, with Falsen being the idealistic, Sverdrup the pragmatic. Christie showed his true colors during the summer diplomacy, and while not being inexperienced, he was the shrewd diplomat of the trio.
* KnightTemplar: A couple of the men was quite eager in their cause. The merchants Rosenkilde and Stoltenberg seem to be the worst. The latter was a "raging anti Swede", the other was just "without his wits".
* LargeHam: It is easier to find the few who weren`t. When the debates heatened up in april, the whole area reeked of ham.

** Denmark used another loophole to secure domination over {{Iceland}}, TheFaroeIslands and {{Greenland}}, because the Swedish negotiator was in the dark about whether or not those areas had been Norwegian at all. They had, but Sweden didn`t know, so Denmark cheated.
* {{Mediator}}: The factory owner Jacob Aall, who always seemed to soften {{Knight templar}}s on both sides during the assembly. Later, during the escalating international crisis, Great Britain took this role, to the benefit of Norway.
* MemeticMutation: Over the years, the actual story has fallen victim of this. Christian Frederik has often been cast as a royal hero of sort, on a heroic mission to save Norway from Sweden. In this respect, the "independence party" and their leaders are lancers for him, while Count Wedel is TheMole. For this to work, one has to oversee the fact that Christian was actually heir to the Danish crown and would be king there in time, effectively bringing Norway back to a union with Denmark. In RealLife, the Prince Regent was close to pull a british BerserkButton as well as the Swedish one, and could have made matters worse, had he stayed on. Most of his FairyTale qualities come from the fact that he left as soon as he did (not unlike the Scottish Bonnie Prince Charlie - although Christian Frederik was as far from a WarriorPrince as you could possibly get him).
* MentorArchetype: Carsten Anker to Christian Frederik. The former was mentor to the latter, as Christian was merely 26 years of age when coming to Norway, and Anker was an old, experienced diplomat who knew what was to be learned about Norway and foreign relations. Taken even further because Anker had known Christian since he was a little boy, having him on his lap and telling him stories about how he one day would become king of Norway... This may have passed over in LoverAndBeloved territory, although history keeps quiet about it. It was also Anker who provided the facilities for the Constituent Assembly to use, being the owner of the iron mines at Eidsvold (The Prince had been a house guest there for a year at the time). Anker was arguably TheManBehindTheMan in many respects.
* TheMole: One delegate sympathized so much with Sweden that he was rumored to send them reports on what happened during negotiations. It is also implied that Christian Frederik the Prince Regent served as a mole for his father, the king of Denmark, with a stated goal in mind: To keep Norway as close to Denmark as possible. This is justified by the fact that he never rescinded his claim to the Danish throne after taking the Norwegian one. The suggestion that he should rescind his inheritance to Denmark fell.

* MoreDakka: A couple of times during the war in August. When the Norwegian held the river at Tistedalen for two hours, the Swedish broke through when they brought forth a ''cannon'' (and sent some men to attack from the side). Later, at Langnes, the Norwegians did the same, and thus hindered the Swedes from crossing the river Glomma.

* NeverMyFault: King Frederik of Denmark. Period. His final letter to the Norwegian people relies heavily on this trope. The blame is England`s, and then all the other powers. Justified in the fact that he was raised a totalitarian king, with a [[EnforcedTrope stipulated law]] that actually ''told him'' he was faultless.
** Christian Frederik, leaving Norway in August, made a statement that fits the trope in ''spades''. He pointed out how the Norwegians had wanted him to be their king, conveniently forgetting how hard he worked for it himself. And pissed off some major powers on the way. NiceJobBreakingItHero.

* OhCrap / HeroicBSOD: Christian Frederik when he realized the fortress in Fredrikstad had fallen to the Swedes in August. He promptly made peace with Sweden, abdicated and left - to avoid more bloodshed. Sources tell he had a fit of depression at the time, and really fell ill for a period. The HeroicBSOD was SeriousBusiness for him.
** When he came close to actual carnage, this was taken UpToEleven. At Langnes, he was close to a Norwegian officer being carried off the battlefield. He immidiately asked "Dear God! Am I to blame for all this?" Then, he effectively ordered the Norwegian soldiers to give up fighting.

* PrettyBoy: Prince Christian Frederik of Denmark. Said to have had his way with more than one woman in his days as regent.

* PunchClockVillain: Great Britain. Although the official British policy was to support Sweden, and to set up a NavalBlockade around Norway, they weren`t very strict about it. It so happened that the British navy, which Sweden expected to block incoming ships, actually helped Norwegian boats passing through, and at one point they actually defended the Norwegian ships from a Swedish caper. Thus, the 1814 blockade was not very thorough.

* {{Realpolitik}}: The whole story from beginning to end. The British parliamentary under-secretary of state lamented the moral problem on january 5. 1814: "The morals are all on the side of Denmark. We have accepted a violation just to save Europe." The "violation" mentioned was the Swedish forceful smashing of the weak Danish defences January 6 and 7.
** FridgeLogic: The British official is mentioning Denmark, not Norway.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: A good lot: Anker, Wedel Jarlsberg, Sverdrup.
* RebelLeader: Christian Frederik, DependingOnTheWriter. Subverted if he is acknowledged as TheMole for Denmark. In that case, the Norwegians would have had to rebel ''against him'' in time, rather than rally for him.

* SpannerInTheWorks: Christian Frederik himself, because of GenreBlindness and overconfidence. And, of course, lousy military planning.

* TakeThat: The Danish king had it on good intelligence that insurgency was brooding in Norway. The Swedes never got that information, and the Danish authorities wrote a carefully chosen declaration to Norway. The Danish totalitarian kings had suppressed many rebellions in the past, and knew the Norwegians had rebelled time and again. So, when Frederik of Denmark knew a Norwegian movement towards independency was well under way, he seems to have handed Norway over to Sweden with the statement: "Now you can handle this, Sweden. Not our problem anymore. And good luck."
** When making amendments to the original constitution of Norway, to make it fit for a loose union with Sweden, the parliament managed to fit in a new word in the first paragraph: "Norway is not to be handed over". This was a serious kick to the whole treaty of Kiel, and the phrasing still stands - something that makes every discussion on the matter of EU membership rather ...''interesting''.
* TacticalWithdrawal: The entire Norwegian battle plan was built on this trope, initially trying to trick Swedish troops into difficult areas where Norway could use GuerillaWarfare. Sadly, Carl Johan knew this, and planned invasion on the flattest countryside he could find. At one point, this resulted in an actual AttackAttackRetreatRetreat situation because of conflicting orders (between the Norwegian King and his generals).
* TooDumbToLive: Christian Frederik, being sure of his right to be king of Norway, started to write dispatches for ''every single'' European court, making them ready even before he was officially sworn in or elected. He also sent dispatches to ''Sweden'', [[CrowningMomentOfFunny who sent the letters back unopened]]. This is even more hilarious when considering that Sweden at the time was about to ''attack''!
** Also when regarding the defences at Fredrikstad. Military experts had warned Christian Frederik on the poor condition of the fortress. His solution: to move the cannon batteries ''away from the fortress'', finding better use for them another place, leaving the town more or less defenseless. He reasoned that the Swedes would go around the city. Of course, they went straight for it, and the "summer kingdom" of Christian Frederik was doomed. WhatAnIdiot.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Georg Sverdrup. After heckling Nicolai Wergeland in April, he actually tried to convince the Assembly to force the same Wergeland to withdraw his statements. Sverdrup, already a badass of some renown, really earned the {{jerkass}} label after that one. History shows he resented Wergeland for years afterwards.

* UnderestimatingBadassery: Sweden towards Norway all the way. Even when becoming aware of the growing rebellion, they blamed the Danish. And as far as the constitution is concerned, well, DidntSeeThatComing.
* UpperClassTwit / ShelteredAristocrat: All things considered, and regarding some of his more stupid decisions, Christian Frederik fits the tropes. History shows he may have been ''too'' sheltered to embrace all the facts.
* WarHawk: Most prominently the Swedish count von Essen, who was assigned to lead the attack on Norway, and had to wait patiently for a diplomatic solution, for months without any action. When Carl Johan came up with a usefull strategic plan, he leaped with joy. But he had to wait almost two months more.

* WeAREStrugglingTogether: The Assembly. At odds on many levels, not least over the role of the Prince Regent, and the position of Norway. One wonders if they had been more in agreement without Christian Frederik present (he was in the area, not present in the negotiations. His friends told him everything he needed to know).
* WhamLine: Several. "God Supports (''Gud er attåt'')" is written on a memory tablet close to the Eidsvold building. But the most important WhamLine came later the same day, when the Prince Regent proposed totalitarian rule (which he was used to at home). Georg Sverdrup promptly answered: "Your Royal Highness ''has no more right to the Norwegian Crown than I have''!"

The Battle of Leipzig in november 1813 was crucial. Napoleon was stalled again, and by now, Sweden had gotten their new designated heir to the throne: Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, former general under Napoleon to find himself being in charge of the Swedish army. After the victory of Leipzig, he felt he had support enough for a northward turn, and set his army on the border of Denmark. Denmark negotiated desperately for a month to no avail, trying to convince Sweden to take parts of Norway as a "deposit" until the real peace negotiations were about to take place, thus involving all the greater European powers. Sweden, with Carl Johan as spokesman, rebuffed every Danish attempt with harsh words and more threats. Austria tried to intervene for the sake of good will, and for the Danes, but Russia, interested in keeping Finland, convinced Austria to stay out of the matter, which she did. Denmark was invaded by a force consisting of Swedish, Prussian and Russian soldiers, and gave in quickly. The Danes complied to the treaty, which was signed January 14, 1814. Norway was to be handed over to Sweden in the spring of 1814. So far so good.