Stanza 4. Fredrikshald. Here, on September 11, 1718, Charles XII met
his death on his second invasion of Norway. The citizens had
earlier burned the City, so that it might not afford shelter to the
Swedes against the cannon of the fortress Fredriksten.
Stanzas 5 and 6. Again a rather long period of peace is passed over.
In 1807 Denmark was induced by Napoleon to join the continental
system. England bombarded Copenhagen and captured it and the Danish
fleet. The war lasted seven years for Norway also, which was
blockaded by the English fleet and suffered sorely for lack of the necessaries of life. But the nations sense of independence grew,
and when the Peace of Kiel in January, 1814, separated Norway from
Denmark, Norway refused to be absorbed by Sweden, and through a
representative assembly at Eidsvold declared its independence,
adopted a Constitution on May 17, 1814, and chose as King, Prince
Christian Frederik, the later King Christian VIII of Denmark. The
Swedish Crown Prince Karl Johan led an invasion of Norway in July,
and there was fighting until the Convention of Moss, August 14, in
which he approved the Norwegian Constitution in return for the
abdication of Christian Frederik. Negotiations then led to the
federation of Norway as an independent kingdom with Sweden in a
union. This was formally concluded on November 4, 1815, by the
adoption of the Act of Union, and the election of the Swedish King
Karl XIII as King of Norway.
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