History UsefulNotes / NorwegianConstituentAssembly

* WorldOfHam: When the debaters raged at their worst.

* Handwaved in a couple of strips from ScandinaviaAndTheWorld. [[http://satwcomic.com/not-norway This]] shows how Denmark possibly reacted to it all.

* Handwaved in a couple of strips from ScandinaviaAndTheWorld.

It so happened that the Prince had some support, mostly because he was a soft spoken and quite handsome guy, willing to give in on important points. The people following him did so because they meant a union with Sweden could be no good. What they failed to realize, was that they came to vouch for a possible reunion with Denmark. The lesser party at the assembly decided that full independence, or a loose union with Sweden might be a better idea. Much of the assembly had to face {{realpolitik}}al choices more than once, and this had considerable impact on the lines Norwegian politics have followed ever since: Dependancy on the greater powers, dependancy on Denmark or Sweden, and how this dependancy were suppoced to work. Other issues, like the rift between the farmers and the officials, were already visible, and came to haunt the internal policies for over a century or longer.

But Denmark had other plans as well. In lack of a man in charge, the Danish king sent his son, Christian Frederik, to Norway, to act as ruler from the spring of 1813. His job was to oversee that Norway and Denmark should not part ways, but as the summer went on, and winter approached, he found himself in a beehive. When 1814 came, Norwegian leaders already assembled to discuss their situation, and among commoners, rumors of a Swedish invasion had stirred people to action, and they called for arms. During the winter, Christian Frederik found he could have a serious uprising on his hands. How to handle this? First, he travelled around Norway for support, then, he gathered a small group of prominent men at Eidsvold to discuss what to do. Latest arrival was the principal of the new University, who had to travel at night at full speed. History tells that locals, living not that far from the Swedish border, knew what was afott, and the man who carried Georg Sverdrup the last part of the trip, adviced him to be cautious: "Whatever you say, remember God supports".

When arriving, Sverdrup learned that the prince vouched for totalitarian rule, and some of the men gathered there were of the same mind. Sverdrup 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 people". The prince would be wise to choose a popular sovereignty over totalitarianism. And 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 Prince had some support, mostly because he was a soft spoken and quite handsome guy, willing to give in on important points. The people following him did so because they meant a union with Sweden could be no good. What they failed to realize, was that they came to vouch for a possible reunion with Denmark. The lesser party at the assembly decided that full independence, or a loose union with Sweden might be a better idea. Historians have debated this issue ever since. The fallout between certain members of the assembly was so serious they never actually forgave eachother, and some were frozen out of furhther polititical 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 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.

At the meantime, a Norwegian embassy rallied for support in London, trying to get the House of Commons over to the cause. A support from the British would make the Kiel treaty void, and secure independency. Great Britain, however, would not risk a breach of promise to Sweden and Russia, and The Assembly had to comply to this. Sweden invaded in the summer, and through shrewd diplomacy, the constitution was respected, with some amendmends to please the Swedes. Carl Johan, who had been a french general in the army of Napoleon, could not for the sake of shame overrule a constitution that was built on the principles from {{the french revolution}}. This saved the day to some extent, and the union with Sweden became as loose as you could possibly get it.

Denmark had to acknowledge this, and sent a trusted man north to rule in place of the Danish king. Christian August was quite GenreSavvy, and called in a number of Norwegians to help him, and at the same tine, Sweden decided to attack. A mostly Norwegian army managed to beat the Swedes back in 1809, thus bolstering a Norwegian feeling that they actually could manage on their own, while the Swedes, embarrassed by this lack of military training, ousted their own king and elected another one, Charles the XIII. Problem was, the man had no children, so the Swedes had to look elsewhere for a royal heir.

But Denmark had other plans as well. In lack of a man in charge, the Danish king sent his son, Christian Frederik, to Norway, to act as ruler from teh spring of 1813. His job was to see that Norway and Denmark should not part ways, but as the summer went on, and winter approached, he found himself in a beehive. When 1814 came, Norwegian leaders already assembled to discuss their situation, and among commoners, rumors of a Swedish invasion had stirred people to action, and they called for arms. During the winter, Christian Frederik found he could have a serious uprising on his hands. How to handle this? First, he travelled around Norway for support, then, he gathered a small group of prominent men at Eidsvold to discuss what to do. Latest arrival was the principal of the new University, who had to travel at night at full speed. History tells that locals, living not that far from the Swedish border, knew what was afott, and the man who carried Georg Sverdrup the last part of the trip, adviced him to be cautious: "Whatever you say, remember God supports".

Denmark had to acknowledge this, and sent a trusted man north to rule in place of the Danish king. Christian August was quite GenreSavvy, and called in a number of Norwegians to help him, and at the same tine, Sweden decided to attack. A mostly Norwegian army managed to beat the Swedes back in 1809, thus bolstering a Norwegian feeling that they actually could manage on their own, while the Swedes, embarrassed by this lack of military training, ousted their own king and elected another one, Charles the XIII. Problem was, the man had no children, so the Swedes had to look elsewhere.

While the war in Europe went on, Norway hardly managed it. The crops failed in 1809, and without imported grain, starvation was at hand. The Norwegian elite had now begun their own work for independence, and some of them pointed to the sore situation and blamed the Danes for it. Others saw an opportunity for better cooperation with the Swedes, if the Swedes wished to comply. In a way, they did. They asked Christian August to fill in as heir for the Swedish king, and Christian took the opportunity. He left Norway in 1810, held a grand party, entered Sweden and died suddenly and inexplicably. {{Conspiracy Theorist}}s blame the Danish government for this, since the king in Denmark went sour over this. He had betrayed them. Anyway, Sweden had to take another round of looking for their next king.

* 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 this debates.

The premise for this, is clearly foreign politics. UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}} had wavered slightly in support for Napoleon, and GreatBritain would like to see that Denmark would be unable to support the Emperor with ships. Hence, the Royal Navy hijacked and stole the Danish fleet in a surprise attack in 1807, thus crippling Denmark considerably. What was more dramatic from a Norwegian point of view, was that every contact with Denmark was broken. The British instigated a naval blockade of Norway that same autumn, and in spite of still being in a union, Norway was on it`s own.

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

* GenreSavvy: The greater lot of the assembly. The count of Wedel-Jarlsberg may get special attention, as well as the central 12 to make the first proposal for the constitution.

* SequipedalianLoquatiousness: Due to the standard of the times, all of them (with a possible exception for the farmers).

ay.

1812 was the worst of the bad years in Norway. People died of starvation all over the place, unless they had hunting to fall back on, or lived by the coast. At the same time, Napoleon tried to invade Russia and failed splendidly, while a good lot of his soldiers froze to death. Russia used this opportunity to invade UsefulNotes/{{Finland}}, ''in spite of the fact that Sweden was an ally''. Russia decided to make up for it by giving Sweden a compensation. In a meeting the following summer (1813), Russia and Great Britain asked Sweden if Norway was OK with them, and Sweden said yes. The Treaty of Kiel was under way. A problem soon rose when it was clear nobody asked Norway about it.

The Battle of Leipsig 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, who made a FaceHeelTurn or otherwise, to find himself being in charge of the Swedish army. After the victory of Leipsig, he felt he had support enough for a northward turn, and set his army on the border of Denmark. The Danes had actually little choice in the matter, and complied to the treaty - Norway was to be handed over to Sweden in the spring of 1814. So far so good.

* Handwaved in a couple of strips from ScandinaviaAndTheWorld, by the way.

Handwaved in a couple of strips from ScandinaviaAndTheWorld, by the way.

Handwaved in a couple of strips from ScandinaviaAndTheWorld, by the way.