Pan-Scandinavianism, also called Scandinavianism, or Scandinavism, an unsuccessful 19th-century movement for Scandinavian unity that enflamed passions during the Schleswig-Holstein crises. Like similar movements, Scandinavianism received its main impetus from philological and archaeological discoveries of the late 18th and the 19th century, which pointed to an early unity. It was also spurred by the rise of Pan-Germanism and by a general fear of Russian expansion. Generally a middle-class and student movement calling for varying forms of cultural and political unity, Scandinavianism was a significant force from 1845 to 1864. It clashed with Pan-Germanism over the Schleswig-Holstein question, and Swedish and Norwegian volunteers joined the Danes during the Schleswig War (1848–50). When Sweden-Norway refused to join Denmark after hostilities over the duchies again erupted in 1864, however, Scandinavianism became bankrupt. Thereafter it remained strong only among the Swedish minority in Finland. There has been a resurgence of Pan-Scandinavian sentiment in the latter part of the 20th century.
Pan-Scandinavianism
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Sweden: Pan-Scandinavianism
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Denmark: The Schleswig-Holstein question
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A movement known as Pan-Scandinavianism, which called for varying forms of political and cultural Scandinavian unity, produced a good deal of verse: Carl Vilhelm August Strandberg (pseudonym Talis Qualis), the fieriest poet of this type, later made excellent translations from British Romantic poet Lord Byron. Popular reading was provided…
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August SohlmanAugust Sohlman, journalist and publicist who was a leading figure in the mid-19th-century Pan-Scandinavian movement and a champion of the cultural and linguistic integrity of the Swedish minority in Russian-ruled Finland. As a journalist, Sohlman wrote for a number of the leading newspapers ofRead More
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Johan August, Baron GripenstedtJohan August, Baron Gripenstedt, politician who initiated and guided Sweden’s transition to a capitalist economy. He also played a decisive part in turning Sweden away from a Pan-Scandinavian foreign policy in the 1860s. After a career as an artillery officer in the Swedish army, GripenstedtRead More
More About Pan-Scandinavianism
3 references found in Britannica articlesAssorted References
- Danish politics
- Swedish history and literature