Frederic IV of Denmark

Frederic IV of Denmark , born with Copenhagen the October 11th 1671 and died in Odense the October 12th 1730, wire of Christian V and Charlotte-Amélie de Hesse-Cassel, is king of Denmark and Norway of August 25th 1699 at October 12th 1730.

Partial revenge on Sweden

The reign of Frederic IV is mainly devoted in the search of a revenge on Sweden, for the control of the straits of the the Baltic. It nourishes the intention destroying the treaties of Roskilde (1658) and of Copenhagen (1660) by which Denmark had been constrained to give up its possessions in the south of Sweden, the Scanie and the Halland. It takes part in the Great War of North (1709 - 1720), at the sides of the Russia, against Charles XII of Sweden. It is quickly constrained to sign the peace of Travendhal (1700), disastrous for Denmark. Benefitting the defeat from Charles XII in Poltava in 1709, it takes again the war. The peace of Frederiksborg (1720) gets some territorial profits to him on Sweden (place-strong of Stralsund). It attaches moreover to Denmark the southernmost Schleswig, annexed with the detriment of duchy of Holstein, combined of Sweden. It however forms an entity separate of the crown of Denmark, in personal union with the latter.

Interior work

Frederic IV is a convinced Lutheran. He sticks to the development of the teaching, covered of a strong religious connotation. September 19th, 1716, it publishes a Ordonnance on the Danish schools and the teachers of Copenhagen ( Forording anlangende danske skoler og skoleholdere I staden Kjöbenhavn ). It supplemented on March 28th, 1721 by l'" Instruction for skolemestrene I rytterdistrikterne" : twenty schools must be created in each of the twelve districts concerned with the crown. The teacher must devote himself to the teaching of the reading and the religion.

Its greater reform was the abolition of serfdom in 1702, the vomedskab , a kind of constraint imposed to the peasants of Zeeland since the Middle Ages.

After the war, the trade and the culture were flourishing. The Danish theater was created and the large playwright Ludwig Holberg began his career. The evangelization of the Greenland was done thanks to the missionary Hans Egede.

During the reign of Frederic IV of Denmark, the kingdom was struck by two catastrophes: the plague in 1711 and the large fire of the medieval capital. Although Frederic IV of Denmark was convinced by Ole Rømer to introduce the Gregorian calendar in Denmark and in Norway in 1700, calculations and the observations of the astronomer appeared among the treasures destroyed at the time of the fire.

After two voyages in Italy, Frederic IV of Denmark made build in a style Italian baroque the castle of Fredericksborg (1700 with 1735) and the castle of Fredensborg (1720 with 1726), both were regarded as the symbol of the conclusion of the Great War of North.

Sources

The ordinances of Frederic IV are published in collection: Kong Frederich den Fierdes allernaadigste forordninger og aabne breve, FRA den 26 Augusti aar 1699 (til 1730) : Kongl. Boogtrykkery, D., 35 share. in 8 vol. This collection is consultable with the National library of France.

family

He marries: The December 16th 1695 Louise de Mecklembourg Gustrow (1667+1721), girl duke Gustave-Adolphe de Mecklembourg-Güstrow and of Madeleine Sybille de Holstein-Gottorp. It had:

Christian (1697+1698)
Christian VI of Denmark (1699+1746) wife 1721 Sophie Madeleine de Brandebourg Kulmbach (+1770)
Frederic Charles (1701+1702)
Georges (1703+1704)
Charlotte Amélie (1723+1724)

1721 Anne Sophie de Reventlow Duchess of Von Schleswig (1693+1763), girl Count Conrad de Reventlow and Sophie Amalie Haha Til Seekamp. It had:

Christiane Amelie (1723+1724)
Frederic Christian (1726+1727)
Charles (1728+1729)

Genealogy

Frederic IV of Denmark belongs to the first branch of the Maison of Oldenbourg. This line gave kings to the Norway, the Sweden, the Denmark, it died out in 1863 with the death of Frederic VII of Denmark.

Internal bonds

Frederic III of Denmark (paternal grandfather)

Guillaume VI of Hesse-Cassel (maternal grandfather)

Sources: Dictionary of universal biographies

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