About Pan-Scandinavianism. Reference points in the 19th century (1815-1864)

Abstract

At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th a sense of solidarity shared by the people of the Northern Europe appeared: Pan-Scandinavianism. First it had a certain impact at cultural and spiritual levels. In a narrower sense the term was used when referring to the possibility of creating a political union between the Nordic kingdoms during the middle decades of the 19th century. Although it seemed that the political side of Pan-Scandianvianism had a good chance of accomplishing itself, especially after the Three Years War (1848-1851), the international context from the period that followed did not favour that plan. The collapse of the political Pan-Scandinavianism was in 1864 – the Second Schleswig-Holstein War. Sweden-Norway failed in helping Denmark against Prussia and Austria, despite the fact that King Karl XV was an advocate of Pan-Scandinavianism. Leaving this aspect aside, there were other internal difficulties of the Nordic states that Pan-Scandinavianism had to face, including the emerging nationalism. On a broader view, Pan-Scandinavianism appeared as an opponent of Panslavism and Pangermanism. Thus the dream of a unified Scandinavia was abandoned in the 19th century and Pan-Scandinavianism focused on cultural, scientific and economic cooperation.