Cassell's History of England, Vol. 6 (of 8) / From the Death of Sir Robert Peel to the Illness of the Prince of Wales

by Anonymous

AMALIENBORG PALACE, COPENHAGEN.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE REIGN OF VICTORIA (continued).

The Schleswig-Holstein Question—The Nationalities of Denmark—The Connection between Schleswig and Denmark—The Declaration of 1846—Incorporation of Schleswig with Denmark—The Rebellion and its Suppression—The Protocol of London—Defects of the Arrangement—Danification of the Duchies—A Common Constitution decreed and revoked—The King's Proclamation—Schleswig incorporated in Denmark—Federal Execution voted—Russell's high-handed Diplomacy—Death of Frederick VII.—The Augustenburg Candidate—Austria and Prussia override the Diet—Russell's abortive Conference—The Austrian and Prussian Troops advance—Collapse of the Danes—Russell proposes an Armistice—Russell and M. Bille—France declines to interfere—Possibilities of Swedish and Russian Intervention—The Cabinet divided—An Armistice—A futile Conference—The War resumed—Fate of Denmark is sealed—To whom do the Spoils belong?—Summary of Events in Mexico and North America—Southern Filibusters in Canada—Their Acquittal at Montreal—Excitement in America—The Sentence reversed.

THE series of transactions on which we have now to enter is one in regard to which few Englishmen, even of those most wedded to the principle of non-intervention, can look back to the part played by their country without pain and some degree of misgiving. In 1864, Schleswig and Holstein, provinces that had been dependent on the crown of Denmark (though under different titles), the first since 1027, the second since 1386, were invaded and overrun by the armed hosts of Austria and Prussia, and forcibly severed from the Danish crown. This was done in disregard of the remonstrances and in defiance of the menaces of England, and in spite of the known disapproval of France. But first for the sake of clearness, a few geographical details may properly be given. Continental Denmark consisted, before the war of 1864, of four provinces—Jutland, in the extreme north; Schleswig to the south of Jutland, bounded on the south by the river Eider; Holstein between the Eider and the Elbe; and Lauenburg, a small province to the east of Holstein, lying between it and Mecklenburg. The language and nationality of Denmark proper are wholly Danish; in Schleswig the population is pretty nearly divided between those who speak Danish and those who speak German, the former occupying the northern, the latter the southern districts of the duchy. Holstein and Lauenburg are wholly German. In religious profession there was no difference of any moment throughout the Danish monarchy; Lutheranism was the prevailing creed of Danes and Germans alike.

Let us now trace back to its origin the connection of the Duchies with Denmark. In the fourteenth century Schleswig, which had previously been conquered by Denmark, was ceded to a Count of Holstein, on the condition that it should never be united to Denmark. Thus the Count-Duke, while still owing allegiance to the German Empire in respect of Holstein, did homage to the Sovereign of Denmark for the Duchy of Schleswig. His line expired in 1375, when it was succeeded by a branch of the House of Oldenburg. In 1448 Duke Adolf's eldest nephew, Count Christian of Oldenburg, had been raised to the throne of Denmark, and soon afterwards, probably not without pressure from his uncle, he confirmed the Constitution, first made in 1326, to the effect that Schleswig should never be united to the Danish Crown. Moreover, when, by Adolf's death, the ducal throne was vacant, the Landrath, or Estates, of Schleswig-Holstein, with whom by ancient constitutional right the choice of a new ruler rested, met in 1460, and elected their late Duke's nephew, Christian I., King of Denmark, to be their Duke, "not as a King of Denmark, but out of affection towards his person." A personal union was thus established between Denmark and Schleswig, which was tolerably well respected during the next two centuries. The incoming King of Denmark was elected, as a matter of course, Duke of Schleswig (and also Count of Holstein), provided that he first swore to ratify the ancient rights and privileges of the united lands. But the union between Denmark and Schleswig became gradually closer, and was extended, in 1533, to offensive as well as defensive alliance. The arrangement was confirmed in 1773, when Schleswig-Holstein reverted to Denmark under the same conditions as had held good under Christian I.

After 1773 there is nothing in the relations between Denmark and Schleswig that need detain us until we come down to the nineteenth century. During the disruption of the German Empire in 1806 the Duchies were formally incorporated into his kingdom by Christian VII., and even after 1815 the German Diet declined to interfere at the request of the Holsteiners. The old Estates having long before come to an end by desuetude, Frederic VI., in 1831 and 1834, granted separate constitutional Chambers to Schleswig and Holstein, by which they were accepted and worked till February, 1848. After 1835, the probability of the extinction of the male line of the House of Oldenburg, through the eventual death without issue of Frederic, only surviving son of Christian VIII., became stronger with each succeeding year. To keep the Danish monarchy together became, therefore, the one paramount object of Danish statesmanship. At first the Danish Court thought of persuading or bribing the Duke of Sonderburg-Augustenburg, representing the younger branch of the elder or royal line of the House of Oldenburg, to whom, if females were excluded, both Schleswig and Holstein would descend at the failure of male heirs in the royal line, to resign his right to the succession. This plan was abandoned by Christian VIII., who appointed a special commission to examine the ancient laws, treaties, and other historic documents in the Danish archives. The result of the commission appeared in the King's letters patent of 8th July, 1846, in which Christian VIII. stated it as his firm conviction that, so far as Schleswig was concerned, in consequence of the letters patent of 1721, and the homage then done, the succession in Schleswig was now the same as in Denmark, and that he should exercise and maintain his right accordingly; while, in regard to Holstein, or certain parts of it, there existed facts militating against an equally positive opinion.

In the ferment that arose in every capital of Europe after the Revolution in Paris of February, 1848, a violent Danish national feeling manifested itself at Copenhagen, and forced the King, Frederic VII., to issue a proclamation declaring that Denmark and Schleswig were thenceforth to form an inseparable union under a common free constitution. The Duchies, incited by a strong democratic and national feeling that had arisen in Germany, regarded this proclamation as a breach of their Constitution, and broke out into rebellion. They were aided, but in a hesitating, irresolute way, by the King of Prussia, and carried on the war with Denmark with various success to the end of the summer of 1850. By the end of 1849 Austria had subdued both Hungary and Sardinia, and had now leisure to look after her interests in Germany. She disapproved of the advances which Frederic William had made to the German democracy, and of his making war on Denmark, and convened a meeting of the Diet at Frankfort with the view of counteracting Prussian schemes. The weak King immediately yielded, especially as Russia was giving urgently and imperiously the same advice, abandoned the Duchies, made peace with Denmark (July 2nd, 1850), and actually assisted her in the task of subjugation. The Duchies resolved to continue the war, but they were defeated in a great battle and soon afterwards compelled to submit. Schleswig was thus recovered; but the Danish troops halted on the frontier of Holstein, in obedience to an article in the Treaty of the 2nd of July, 1850, requiring Denmark to apply for the intervention of the Bund before resorting to hostilities against Holstein. This application was made; and, in reply to it, an Austro-Prussian army, acting in the name of the Bund, marched into Holstein and required the de facto Government to lay down its arms. Thus was the whole of Schleswig-Holstein pacified (January 11, 1851); but military occupation of Holstein was still retained by the German Powers, pending the attainment of a definitive arrangement for the affairs of the Duchies. Negotiations were at once opened between the King of Denmark, on the one part, and Austria and Prussia, representing the Bund, on the other part, and were protracted through the whole of the year 1851. By the Protocol of London of August, 1850, and the Treaty of 1852, the succession to the Kingdom and Duchies was assigned to Prince Christian of Glucksburg; the integrity of the whole Danish monarchy was declared permanent, but the rights of the German Confederation in respect of Holstein and Schleswig were reserved. This arrangement was mainly the work of Lord Palmerston, and was signed by England, France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Denmark. Count Vitzthum, in "St. Petersburg and London," declares that it was imposed upon him by Russia as the price for the Czar's acquiescence in his coercion of Greece; but there is no reason for supposing that he was acting otherwise than proprio motu.