AFTER the death of Christian IV. some months elapsed before the Council of State would agree to elect his son, Frederick III., to the throne. He was finally elected toward the end of the year 1648, after having given the nobility still greater power, by signing a more humiliating charter than any king had yet granted; but it also became the last one. The conditions were such that he could not exercise any of the powers of a king without the consent of the council.

During the first nine years of Frederick’s reign the country had peace; but the war which then broke out was most fatal in its result. The Swedish king, Charles X. Gustavus, was at war with Poland, and rumor had it that he had suffered serious defeats. Although the country highly needed peace, the army and navy, as well as the finances, being in a miserable condition, King Frederick believed there was an opportunity to recover the lost provinces, and war against Sweden was declared, 1657. But King Charles hastily left Poland and invaded Denmark, and, before the year was closed, he had conquered Holstein, Schleswig and Jutland. The winter being unusually severe, he could march across the ice to the islands of Langeland, Lolland, and Falster, and, in February, he stood with his whole army in Zealand (SjÆlland) and threatened Copenhagen. King Frederick was obliged to sign the peace at Roskilde (February 26, 1658), by which he ceded to Sweden the Norwegian provinces of Bahus-Len and Throndhjem Stift and the Danish provinces of Scania, Halland, Blekinge, and the island of Bornholm. Thus Norway was again deprived of some territory, although the Norwegians, under Iver Krabbe (after whom the war was called the Krabbe War), had repulsed the attacks of the Swedes, while General Jorgen Bjelke had conquered Jemteland, which, however, had to be evacuated when peace was concluded.

Having discovered the great weakness of Denmark, King Charles thought he saw a chance to place the three crowns on his head, and five months later he broke the peace, under some pretext, and again landed with a well-equipped army, with which he besieged Copenhagen. He captured the castle of Kronborg and other points of defence, and arrogantly declared, to the Danish messengers sent to him, that “it could matter little whether the king of the Danes was called Charles or Frederick, and that he would explain the causes of the war after Denmark had been taken.” At Copenhagen, however, King Charles met a stronger resistance than he had expected. A Dutch fleet, under Admiral Opdam, succeeded in forcing its way past Kronborg and the Swedish fleet, and brought provisions and help to the starving citizens. When Charles, during the night of February 10, 1659, tried to take the city by assault, he was repulsed after a desperate conflict, leaving 2,000 dead and wounded in the hands of the Danes. Later in the year King Frederick succeeded in securing the assistance of France, England and Holland. After a conference held at the Hague, a Dutch fleet, under Admiral de Ruyter, was sent to aid the Danes, and in November, 1659, the Swedish army was defeated at Nyborg.

King Charles, after this defeat, turned his principal attention to Norway, where his forces needed reinforcements. The able Major-General Reichwein had proceeded to Throndhjem, shortly after the renewal of the war, with a force of soldiers from the southern part of Norway, and, with the aid of the inhabitants, had driven the Swedes out of Throndhjem Stift. In the south, the citizens of Halden (now Frederickshald) had especially distinguished themselves under the brave Colonel Tonne Hvitfeld, the commandant at the fortress, and the merchant, Peter Olafson Normand. Halden was twice visited by the Swedes, and both attacks were heroically repelled by the citizens. In the beginning of 1660 King Charles sent an army of 5,000 men, under Field-Marshal Kagg, against Halden, and a vigorous siege was commenced. For six weeks one assault after another was repulsed. About half of the able-bodied citizens had fallen, the town was partly destroyed, and the fortifications were badly damaged. But the Swedish army had also suffered great losses, and on February 23d the siege was discontinued and the army returned home, upon learning of the death of Charles X. at Gothenburg (February 13). The Swedes now desired peace, and King Frederick had no reason to wish to continue the war. He readily concluded a peace with the queen-regent of Sweden, which was signed at Copenhagen, May 27, 1660. The Swedes relinquished Throndhjem Stift and the island of Gottland; but otherwise the terms of the Peace of Roskilde were confirmed.

Denmark was in a miserable condition at the end of the war, without fleet, without money, and hopelessly in debt. In his great need the king summoned the nobles, the clergy, and the burgher class to a diet at Copenhagen. The nobles, as usual, asserted their special privilege of exemption from taxation; but the other estates joined in an appeal to the king for the curtailment of the privileges of the nobles, and proposed a disposal of the crown fiefs to the highest bidders without regard to rank. While these propositions were made, the gates of the city were closed by order of the burgomaster, Hans Nansen, and a strong guard was placed at the doors of the hall where the meeting was held. The nobles, being taken by surprise, were obliged to agree to the payment of the taxes demanded of them. Later, by similar means, the nobles were compelled to assent to an important change in the government. The charter signed by the king at the time of his election was declared void, the Council of State was abolished, and Denmark was declared henceforth to be a hereditary kingdom. Thus, by a bloodless and sudden revolution, King Frederick had become perfect master of the situation. He was authorized to draft a new constitution, which might be for the benefit of all classes; but this constitution never appeared. He prepared a charter setting forth the absolute power of the king, and this document was signed by all classes throughout Denmark. Later he published the so-called Royal Law, which confirmed the absolute power of the king. The only unconditional demands upon him were, that he must belong to the Lutheran Church, that he must reside within the country, and that he must not divide his countries.

The effect of the establishment of absolutism in Norway was at first only that the country was placed under one master, the king, instead of the many who had composed the Danish Council of State. Having, since 1537, been ruled principally by Danish nobles, the country gained by having absolutism introduced, as it was placed on an equal footing with Denmark. The king now ruled with the same absolute power in both countries, and the power of the Danish nobles was abolished or greatly reduced. They were obliged to take their share of the burden of taxation, and they suffered a great loss by the abolition of the fiefs. The fiefs were changed into Amts, or counties, to be administered by officers appointed and paid regular salaries by the king. The revenues of the state were increased almost fivefold. In the new government “colleges,” which superseded the Council of State, citizens without rank of nobility might become members. Thus able citizens, who were not noblemen, obtained a chance to rise to power and dignity. Among those who thus rose to high positions were Peter Schumacher and Kort Adeler.

Kort Syvertson Adeler was born in Brevig, Norway, December 26, 1622, learned seamanship in Holland under the famous Admiral Tromp, and distinguished himself as a brave fighter, first in Dutch, and afterward in Venetian service, against the Turks, where he performed great heroic deeds. Once he forced his way, with a single ship, through a line of seventy-seven Turkish galleys, and another time he boarded the Turkish admiral’s ship, fought single-handed with Admiral Ibrahim, and beheaded the admiral with his own sword. Several powers desired to get the experienced naval hero in their service; but Frederick III. called him home and made him admiral in the Danish navy. For twelve years he labored with great zeal in establishing an efficient navy for Denmark and Norway, but died in 1675 without having had a chance to make use of it.

Frederick III., who had not inherited his great father’s affection for Norway, visited this country only once in great haste. He died February 9, 1670, about sixty years old. During his last years he busied himself a great deal with alchemy, and an itinerant Italian, who claimed to know the mystic art, helped him to squander a couple of millions of Danish dollars on this foolishness.

The fortress of Frederickssteen and the city of Frederickshald (formerly Halden) were named after Frederick III.

Frederick III. was married to the proud and ambitious Sophie Amalie of Hesse-Cassel, who, on account of her jealousy and hatred, caused the king’s half-sister, Eleonore Kristine Ulfeld, to be tried on some false and absurd charges, and imprisoned in Blaataarn (the Blue Tower) in Copenhagen, where she remained for twenty-two years. She was liberated on the death of her enemy in 1685. King Frederick’s and Sophie Amalie’s children were, besides Crown Prince Christian, George, who was married to Queen Anna of England; Anne Sophie, who was married to John George III. of Saxony, and became the mother of Augustus II.; Ulrike Eleonore, who was married to the Swedish king Charles XI., and became the mother of the famous Charles XII.; Frederikke Amalie, married to Duke Christian Albrecht of Gottorp, and Wilhelmina, married to Prince Charles of the Palatinate.