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 SCHLESWIG

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SCHLESWIG

besides sharing in the two duchies, also owned the former Diocese of Liibeck. Duke Frederick III of Gottorp, who ruled from 1616 to 1659, put an end to the subdivisions of the Gottorp hue by intro- ducing primogeniture. During the eighteenth cen- tury the ty\-o ruhng d\-nasties were generally hostile to each other because the Gottorp line sought alli- ance with Sweden, the enemy of Denmark. Thus the duchies became involved in the Thirty Years' War and the two wars of the North. In the Treaty of Roeskilde that closed the first war of the North, the Gottorp dynasty received, through the intervention of Sweden," full sovereignt.y by the suppression of Den- mark's suzerainty over its share of the duchies. How- ever, in the Treaty of Stockhohn that in 1720 closed the second war of the North, which had not been for- tunate for Sweden, the Gottorp line was obliged to concede its share of Schleswig to Denmark and only retained its possessions in Holstein. The whole of Schleswig was now obhged to recognize the Danish kmg as its ruler. In the treaties of 1767 and 1773 the Gottorp dATiasty, which had gained the throne of Russia in the person of Peter III, was obliged to re- nounce its possessions in Holstein also, in return for which it received Oldenburg. In this way Denmark became the sole ruler of Schleswig-Holstein.

The union of the two duchies with the German Em- pire grew continually weaker, especially as after the dissolution of the German Empire in 1806 the duchies had no protection against the policy of their ruler; this policy, which was to stamp a Danish character upon them, was not affected by the fact that the Con- gress of Vienna made Holstein a part of the German Empire. The Danes showed plainly more and more their determination to separate the two duchies, which by right should never ha\-e been divided, and to gain at least Schleswig as a part of the Danish nation, because the population of Schleswig was largely Danish in speech. The people, however, accepted all the measures of the Danish government very composedly, as the male line of the royal dynasty would soon be extinct and the female line was, by the Salic law of succession, not capable of succeeding in the duchies, although it could in Denmark. The duchies were satisfied even with the constitution granted in 1834, although it was not one in common for both duchies and did not preserve anj' essential right of the people. King Christian, however, in 1846 pubhshed a letter in which he declared the Danish right of succession to be also valid in the duchies, and his successor Frederick VIII (1848-63) was forced by popular assembUes at Copen- hagen, soon after he came to the throne, to promise the incorporation of Schleswig into the Danish king- dom. These two events were followed by a revolt of thf [)eoi)le r)f the duchies. On 24 March, 1848, a tem- porary i)rovincial government was estal)lisli('(l ;it Kiel, which declared that it assumed for the lime Ix'ing in the name of the ruler, tlie Danish king, the mainte- nance of the rights of both duchies, as the ruler had been forcer! by mob-rule to take a hostile position to the duchies. When, upon this, Denmark sent troops into Scldcswig-HoLstein, not only did the population of the duchies take up arms, but there was also a great national movement in Germany in favour of their en- dangered countrymen in the North. Volunteers from all parts of Germany went to the aid of the people of Schleswig-Holstein. King Frederick William IV of Pru.ssia sent an army into the duchies and even the Diet of the German Conf(deration was carried away by the national enthusiasm. It proclaimed that Schleswig was made a member of the German Con- ffflf-ration and gave to Prussia the direction of the war against Denmark. The Prussian trof)ps and those of the confederation won, it is true, several brilliant vic- t^>ries, r-sfK-cially tin; carrying of the fortifications of Duppel. However, the lack of a (ierman fleet, and the threatened interference of Russia and Great

Britain led Prussia to consent to a truce, which was followed by a treaty in 1850 that was also accepted by the German Confederation. Contrary to the general promise that the rights of the duchies should be re- spected, they were again given to Denmark. After this the five Great Powers declared at a conference held at London in 1852, that the Danish Kingdom was indiAisiblc in all its parts, that the separate position of the duchies should be maintained within this king- dom, and that should the male line of the Danish dynasty become extinct the succession was to fall to the House of Gliicksburg. In this way the right of succession previously valid in the duchies of the Elbe was thrown aside, and the Augustenburg line, that had branched oflf from the Danish roj-al house in the six- teenth century, was excluded from the succession to Schleswig Holstein. Consequently the German Con- federation and Frederick, Crown prince of Augusten- burg, protested against the London protocol, while Prussia and Austria recognized it.

After the duchies were handed over to Denmark there was an energetic attempt, especially in Schles- wig, to make these provinces entirely Danish in char- acter. All connexion with Holstein was set aside, a custom-house was erected on the Eider, Danish preachers, teachers, and troops were sent into Schles- wig, while the German soldiers and officers were brought into Danish garrisons, and lastly Danish was made the language of the Church and schools. When the male line of the Danish royal family became ex- tinct at the death of Frederick VII (15 November, 1863), according to the regulations of the London protocol Christian of Gliicksburg succeeded as Chris- tian IX. Immediately after his accession Christian announced a constitution which included the uncon- ditional incorporation of Scldeswig into Denmark. The proclamation of this Constitution of November was fol- lowed in Germany by unprecendented excitement and manifestations of disapproval, and the demand was made for the complete separation of the duchies from Denmark. Holstein was occupied by the troops of the German Confederation ; even Prussia and Austria now took the part of the duchies. These powers called upon Denmark to withdraw the Constitution of No- vember, and when these demands were rejected they sent Prussian and Austrian troops under the com- mand of the Prussian Field Marshal Wrangel into Schleswig in Feb., 1864. After the fortifications of Duppel, the Island of Alsen, and the entire peninsula of Jutland had been gained by the Germans the Danes saw themselves compelled to yield. In the Peace of Vienna (October, 1864) King Christian re- nounced all rights over Schleswig and Holstein in favour of the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia, and recognized in advance whatever dispo- sition the two monarchs should make of these prov- inces. The po,ssession in common of the duchies only increased the strain of the relations existing between Prussia and Austria. Austria desinMl to form a new state of the German Confederation under tlie govern- ment of the Duke of Augustenburg, while Prussia, on the contrary, preferred to keep the region for itself and only permit the country to have a ruler of its own if all traffic, all customs, and the army of the new state were under the control of Prussia. The Prince of Augustenburg would not consent to such an arrange- ment. In the Treaty of Gastein of 14 Aug., 1865, the duchies were divided between the two powers. Austria took in charge the administration of Holstein, Prussia that of Scldeswig. It was seen from the start that this solution of the question could not l)e of long duration. The tension between the two powers for pre-eminence in Germany led in the next year to a war between them. Austria was (lef(>ated, was obliged to with- draw from the German (confederation and to renounce all rights tf) Schleswig and Holstein in favour of Prussia. From 1867 the two duchies have formed the