Treaty of Roskilde
From Freepedia
The Treaty of Roskilde was signed on February 26, 1658 in the Danish city Roskilde. Its result was the immediate surrender of the east Danish Scanian lands and the Norwegian provinces Trondheim and Bohus County to Sweden. The King of Denmark-Norway was forced to resigned nearly half his territory to save the rest.
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Background
The treaty was the result of the occupation by Charles X Gustav of Sweden of the Zealand island, initiated on February 11, 1658. It was preceded by the Treaty of Taastrup, signed on February 18, 1658.
Contents
According to the 9th paragraph, the inhabitants of the Scanian lands were assured of their privileges, old laws and customs. Yet, the process of Swedification was soon initiatied in a brute way. [1] This old paragraph is still referred to by locals demanding regional independance and recognition.
The entire peace treaty is availabe in its original language (Swedish) on our sister project Wikisource: Freden i Roskilde
Epilogue
The king was not content, and at the Swedish Council held at Gottorp on July 7, Charles X Gustav resolved to wipe his inconvenient rival from the map of Europe. Without any warning, in defiance of international equity, he let loose his troups upon Denmark-Norway a second time.
There followed an attack on the capital [[Copenhagen], who succesfully defended themselves, whereafter Norwegian forces succeeded in reconquering Trondheim. Eventually, the resulting Treaty of Copenhagen in 1660 restored Trondheim to Norway, and also the island of Bornholm to Denmark.
Notes
- See for instance article Skåne in the Swedish Nordisk Familjebok encyclopedia.
