Velkomenn and Välkomenn to yet another lesson in Scandinavian History (A Kidztalk blog about Scandinavian history) , this is actually the 2nd lesson. You guys really liked the 1st lesson, so here is yet another lesson. This time on the Norway-Sweden Union because that is appearently a meme here on kidztalk. My name is Carly, and I am a self-proclaimed Nordic history enthusiast so yeah. (Also, I was at school doing this. I have more important things to do than talk about Nordic history on a kids social media site)
Now, The year is 1814. in Christiania (Modern-Day Oslo), Norway. Sweden invaided Norway due to the desire to form a large empire, which Sweden lost some of and got some more land (Jämtland, a state in Northern Sweden which was formerly Norwegian, and Skåne, a state in Southern Sweden which was formerly Danish.. Norway also wanted to be free from denmark, as they've been nearly half a Millenium with. Both sides were happy, so the union was founded on 1814… after a fight which ended peacfully.
Now. I do want to clarify that a lot of people believe that Norwegian independence day is May 17, which was when the constitution was declared and that Denmark was given independence. This is all wrong. Norwegian independence day is actually June 7, 1905. But let's talk when we get there.
Now, At This time, A lot of European countries where getting into the modern era, however Norway and Sweden were both behind due to most of the population being rural. the capitals are the same as those of Independent Norway and Sweden today, Christiana (The reason why it wasn’t called Oslo it was because the name changed to fit in with Norway's new Religion during the Kalmar Union era) and Stockholm
now, a lot of interesting things happened in the union. If you lived in this union, then living conditions may vary. here's a chart I created to show what I think what living conditions are
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Urban areas, Norway |
high living conditions, Government already helps middle-class and higher-class. Healthcare is good, little to no affection to rural law |
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Rural Areas, Norway |
Poor or Avarage living conditions. the rural law was made to clear out land and limiting sizes of farms, which affects large families (Most of these families were large) |
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Urban areas, Sweden |
High to Avarage living conditions. Kids get acesss to school, Adults get high-paying jobs, government helps Higher class and Middle Class families |
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Rural areas, Sweden |
Poor (and sometimes even extremely bad) conditions, espiecally in Småland, Kalmar and other southern areas due to constant famines and floods. similar to Norway, Most people lived in houses too small to support their families. As a result about a 1/4 of Swedes and 1/3 of rural Swedes emigrated, mostly to Midwestern USA. |
Despite the very slow time, things got a little better for both countries. In Norway, a building industry was getting a lot of attention. Secretly, Sweden and Denmark formed an union with each other to help with the economy (Norway was not mad, they actually joined a few years later) and by law, boys who are between 16 and 24 must have 2 years of military training, which was ironic knowing that Sweden was barely at war with anyone (except their fake wars with denmark :p)
Now, this was all the good stuff… There’s more bad stuff than good stuff. Most of the population lived in rural areas. if you lived in Norway, the the conditions may be ok or bad, but not the absolute worst. There were laws that affected how you could live, for example there was an population law that said that if you lived on a farm, you couldn’t live in a really large area. Knowing that most farmers had large families, this law made living conditions harsh. but not as harsh as Sweden so there was a bit of potentioal
Sweden is basically the same thing, just much worse. There was a 4-year famine in the 1860s that affected millions of Swedes. If you lived in areas like Dalarna, life could be ok due to the eniviorment of Dalarna (Dalarna is one of the few Swedish areas in which rural lifestyle is still very dominant) but if you lived in southern areas like Småland, Skåne or Kalmar… Well, I feel kinda bad for you, and good luck if you survive. as a result, 1 Million Swedes and an estimated 800,000 Norwegians, among with a lot of Danes and Icelanders immigrated.
Now, The Union came to it’s final days in 1905. Norway was like “I’m so sick and tired of this horrible union.” and Norway magically dissapeared throught the void of being ruled over by 2 diferent countries and having the residents suffering for years. Turns out, on June 7, 1905 Norway secretly left without Sweden’s knowledge. Sweden got mad, but they later got their independence, 90 years after the union’s start (You know it was bad if they didn’t even last a century)
Now. The Norway-Sweden Union was really hyped up, but it turned out to be bad, there were still good things to every negative. that’s todays history lesson, see you on thursday. Ha det fellow people
