1 - The Road to the Crisis

Summary

The kingdom that Christian IV took over in 1588 was in excellent condition. Almost a quarter of the country was covered in forest and there was an abundance of big game – wolves, wild boars, and red deer. Agriculture was flourishing. In 1539 Frederik Fs chancellor, Wolfgang von Utenhof, described Denmark as

a very fertile, useful, splendid and merry kingdom that has fertile fields, lovely forests and groves and endowed moreover with excellent cattle-breeding, a wealth offish, all manner of game in the forests, and poultry and fowl aplenty.

In 1622 the Danish scholar Ole Worm gave his country a testimonial that was in no way inferior:

Had Aristotle known the fertile and splendid islands in the Danish sea he would have been highly justified in calling this kingdom the larder and inexhaustible barn of all Europe and the wet-nurse of all peoples; for, had not foreigners fetched from it, as from the richest of warehouses, all the necessities of life, so many thousand oxen, such myriads of fish of all kinds and such an abundance of crops, many must needs have died of hunger. Then there are the vast numbers of the most noble horses – so much in demand for purposes of war by Germans, Frenchmen, Spaniards and Italians – that are annually despatched hence. No kingdom, no empire, hath supplied a greater quantity of gold and silver pieces than this kingdom's customs office at Kronborg Castle alone. Were I to weigh all things justly, then the Danes have no need of others, but all have need of them.