General Notes

Frederick VI (1768-1839), king of Denmark (1808-39) and of Norway (1808-14),
born in Copenhagen, the son and successor of Christian VII. He was made head
of the state council in 1784, when his father became insane, and acted as
regent until Christian's death in 1808. Aided by Count Andreas Peter
Bernstorff, Frederick instituted such reforms as civil rights for Jews, the
abolition of the slave trade, and freedom of the press. In 1800, because of
British failure to respect the rights of free ships during the French
Revolution, Frederick joined the armed neutrality of the northern European
states formed against Great Britain by Russia, Sweden, and Prussia. As a
result, all Danish vessels in British ports were seized; in the next year,
when Frederick refused to withdraw from the neutrality convention, the Danish
fleet was virtually destroyed by the British navy under Lord Horatio Nelson.
Although Denmark remained neutral, Frederick continued to stand firm against
the British during the Napoleonic Wars, and the British bombarded Copenhagen
in 1807. In that year Frederick became an ally of Napoleon. When Napoleon was
defeated in 1814, Frederick was compelled to cede Norway to Sweden under the
Treaty of Kiel. The war left his country bankrupt, and Frederick devoted
several years to the restoration of financial order. Toward the end of his
reign he yielded to the demand for constitutional government and consented to
the establishment of provincial councils.