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O. Teige

O. Teige
Institute of History, Archaeology and Conservation, University of Oslo
Now or never! The effects of the battle of Poltava in Denmark-Norway

This paper examines both the immediate and more long term effects of the defeat of the Swedish army at Poltava in 1709 in the kingdom of Denmark-Norway. At the time of the battle Denmark-Norway was at peace with Sweden. The state was originally a member of the alliance that attacked Sweden and the young Charles XII in 1700, but it had been knocked out of the war later the same year when Charles invaded Denmark. King Frederik IV of Denmark-Norway wanted revenge. Not only for the defeat in 1700, but also for a number of defeats in the last century, a period in Which Denmark-Norway had lost several provinces to Sweden. The Danish kings had also watched with concern the rise of Sweden as a major power, and wanted to come back on an equal footing with their mighty neighbour.

The short time effects of Poltava was that Denmark-Norway declared war on Sweden and invaded the Swedish mainland, as the king and the main battle was lost at Poltava. As a result of this Denmark-Norway and Russia were allies in the war against Sweden. This causes a much greater degree of contact between the states. A number of Danish ships and envoys visited Russia, the Russian and Danish armies cooperated in the campaign in Northern Germany and at one point even a large Russian army led by tsar Peter camped around Copenhagen, in preparation of a joint invasion of Sweden, which did not materialise.

I will also highlight a few examples on this increased contact and interaction between Denmark-Norway and Russia on other levels than the political. Especially in the periphery of the Dano-Norwegian state: Norway. A number of Norwegians travelled to Russia and a number of Russians ended up in Norway, as a result of the joint fight of Peter I and Frederik IV against Charles XII. War in the Early Modern period led to increased contact between Europeans, and served a whirlwind, bringing people to places far from their homes. This was partly a result of the growing militarization of the Early Modern state, the power of the European states over their citizens and their ability to command and press taxes out of their population increased manifold. But it was also a result of war giving restless and adventurous people the ability to travel and experience new things. In both cases war can be seen as something that, paradoxically, increases cultural transfer and interaction in an otherwise mostly static world.