Norway in 1814 - Easing Into A New Arrangement

Easing Into A New Arrangement

In early October, Norwegians again refused to accept a shipment of corn from Bernadotte, and Norwegian merchants instead took up loans to purchase food and other necessities from Denmark. However, by early October, there was emerging support for a union with Sweden. On October 7, an extraordinary session of the Norwegian parliament convened. Delegates from areas occupied by Sweden in Østfold were admitted only after submitting assurances that they had no loyalty to the Swedish authorities. On October 10, Christian Frederik formally abdicated according to the conditions agreed on at Moss and embarked for Denmark. Executive powers were provisionally assigned to the Storting, until the necessary amendments to the Constitution were enacted.

On October 20, with one day to spare before the cease-fire expired, the Norwegian parliament voted 72 to 5 to join Sweden in a personal union, but a motion to acknowledge Charles XIII king of Norway failed to pass. The issue was tabled pending the necessary amendments to the Norwegian constitution. In the following days, the parliament passed several resolutions to assert as much sovereignty as possible within the union. On November 1, they voted 52 to 25 that Norway would not appoint its own consuls, a decision that would have serious consequences in 1905. On November 4, the Storting adopted the constitutional amendments that were required to allow for the union, and unanimously elected Charles XIII king of Norway, rather than acknowledging him as such.