General Notes

Frederick IV (1671-1730), king of Denmark and Norway (1699-1730), son of
Christian V. In 1700 Frederick allied himself with Russia and Poland in the
Great Northern War against Sweden, but he was soon compelled by Charles XII,
king of Sweden, to withdraw from the conflict and to promise not to reenter
it. After the defeat of Charles at Poltava (now in Ukraine) in 1709, however,
Frederick again declared war on Sweden, subsequently taking the German duchy
of Schleswig and participating with the Poles in the invasion of the Swedish
portion of Pomerania. By treaty in 1720 Frederick agreed to return to Sweden
all conquests made in the war, except for Schleswig. Among the accomplishments
of his reign was the freeing of the peasants from serfdom in 1702.