Long memories, the Danes
It looks as though the old saw that the Irish have over long memories and the British over short memories needs to be tweaked a bit, as at least one Danish MP is still smarting over the outcome of the 1658 Treaty of Roskilde.
This is not a representative of a neo-fascist group, but rather Sören Krarup of the mainstream right Danish People's Party. Krarup reckons that Denmark lacks its 'natural borders' (always an unnerving one, that) and that a large chunk of southern Sweden and Schleswick (an AJP Taylor-ism - he reckoned Slesvig too Danish, and Schleswig too German, but Schleswick suitably neutral and a resurrected Anglicising of the name) should by rights return to the doubtless benign rule of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg in the form of Queen Margrethe II.
A bit of rummaging shows that Krarup lacks ambition - in addition to Schleswick and Scane, the Danes also ruled Norway at the time, and continued to until 1814. Further afield, there should be panic in the streets of Accra lest the Danish cavalry is sent to reclaim the Danish Gold Coast as was (present day Ghana), likewise Tranquebar in India, Serampore in Bangladesh and the US Virgin Islands. Naturally, he could got go back much further and reclaim the Danelaw, which would only impact me indirectly here in my Croydon fastness.
Being just a little less parochial, maybe everything since the 1648 Peace of Westphalia should be up grabs. If nothing else, it would sort out Belgium's problems and return it to the loving embrace of Das Heilige Römische Reich Deutscher Nation (insert old joke about not 'holy', not 'Roman' etc) and the tender mercies of the Habsburgs, likewise Kosovo would be ruled from Istanbul, and Salmond would have his heart's desire by way of an independent Scotland. A 1648 Europe looked like this:
This is not a representative of a neo-fascist group, but rather Sören Krarup of the mainstream right Danish People's Party. Krarup reckons that Denmark lacks its 'natural borders' (always an unnerving one, that) and that a large chunk of southern Sweden and Schleswick (an AJP Taylor-ism - he reckoned Slesvig too Danish, and Schleswig too German, but Schleswick suitably neutral and a resurrected Anglicising of the name) should by rights return to the doubtless benign rule of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg in the form of Queen Margrethe II.
A bit of rummaging shows that Krarup lacks ambition - in addition to Schleswick and Scane, the Danes also ruled Norway at the time, and continued to until 1814. Further afield, there should be panic in the streets of Accra lest the Danish cavalry is sent to reclaim the Danish Gold Coast as was (present day Ghana), likewise Tranquebar in India, Serampore in Bangladesh and the US Virgin Islands. Naturally, he could got go back much further and reclaim the Danelaw, which would only impact me indirectly here in my Croydon fastness.
Being just a little less parochial, maybe everything since the 1648 Peace of Westphalia should be up grabs. If nothing else, it would sort out Belgium's problems and return it to the loving embrace of Das Heilige Römische Reich Deutscher Nation (insert old joke about not 'holy', not 'Roman' etc) and the tender mercies of the Habsburgs, likewise Kosovo would be ruled from Istanbul, and Salmond would have his heart's desire by way of an independent Scotland. A 1648 Europe looked like this:
Labels: Borders, Denmark, Sweden
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