Danish (Civ3)/Napoleonic Europe/Civilopedia

During the 18th century, the Danish-Norwegian merchant fleet rivaled that of the British. This
command of the seas brought Denmark considerable wealth and prestige, and although the Danes tried
desperately to stay neutral in the growing conflict of the French Revolution, they were pulled
kicking and screaming into that morass between the French-Russian alliance on one side, and the
British-Swedish alliance on the other. When she was not willing to submit to British demands to
stop “calling” at French ports, the British shelled Copenhagen in 1801 and again in 1807. These
attacks led to Denmark’s (rather forced) alliance with Napoleon, and as the Little General finally
succumbed to the Fates, so too Denmark. By 1814, its majestic city shelled, its fleet besieged,
and its economy weakened, Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden and Helgoland to England.