Denmark

Primary culture

Danish (Nordic)

Capital province

Sjælland (12)

Government

Kalmar Union

State religion

Catholic

Technology group

Western

Danish ideas

Notes:

Can be selected only if the following are true:

Is Denmark

Traditions:

+1 Yearly navy tradition

+20% National manpower modifier

The Kalmar Union

−10% Liberty desire in same continent subjects

−10% Diplomatic annexation cost

Sound Dues

+20% Domestic trade power

+5% Trade efficiency

The King's Sea

+50% Naval forcelimit modifier

Royal Mercenaries

+10% Shock damage

+5% Mercenary discipline

Naval Heroes

+1 Naval leader shock

+15% Morale of navies

Colonial Ventures

+15 Global settler increase

−10% Construction cost

Danish Absolutism

−0.05 Monthly autonomy change

+10 Maximum absolutism

Ambition:

+15% Global naval engagement

For the area, see Denmark (area).

As of the treaty of Kalmar in 1397 the Nordic Crowns of

Norway,

Sweden and Denmark are intended to be borne by one monarch. Since its inception this Kalmar Union has been lead by the Danes, the strongest and richest of the Nordic powers, close to the continent with an ambition to control and dominate the Baltic Sea area.

The Danish monarchy has many enemies however, in particular among the cities of the Hanseatic League, an alliance of free cities in control of the Baltic trade that Denmark now threatens. This recently culminated in a series of wars ending in the loss of Slesvig followed by the deposition of the Danish king Erik, now a mere pirate chief on the island of Gotland.

Denmark has just elected a new king from the Bavarian Wittelsbach family. Cristopher has no ties to the Danish or Swedish nobility but it seems he has grand plans for the three Nordic kingdoms, styling himself the first Arch-King of the North.

Time will tell what Christopher's legacy will be. The Danish crown has pawned away many of its assets to its leading families while neither the Swedish or Norwegian nobles seem to care much for their new German king. The Norwegians still favor the deposed Erik, while the Swedish nobility was recently united under their regent, Karl Knutsson.

In 1444, Denmark starts as the leader of the Kalmar Union, the senior member of two personal unions; Sweden and Norway. Holstein is Denmark's vassal; these circumstances give the player the chance to expand rapidly and peacefully early on. It is a good idea to annex Holstein first, as Denmark will need 15 provinces to integrate Norway and at the start it only has 10, so the 2 additional provinces will be very welcome. Further on Denmark's goals are mainly keeping the two unions stable and eventually integrate their lands. Afterwards, the possibilities for Denmark are plenty, including colonization, fighting Muscovy/ Russia or dominating the North in general.

Missions[edit | edit source]

Main article: Danish missions

Denmark's missions are focused on controlling the Baltic and Scandinavia.

Events[edit | edit source]

Main article: Danish events

Denmark's historical events revolve around the regencies during Christian VII's reign, various reforms, and a few other flavor events.

Decisions[edit | edit source]

It is not that hard to form Scandinavia as Denmark, since Denmark indirectly controls all needed provinces starting in 1444. To get the Swedish and Norwegian ones, Denmark only needs to integrate the two lesser partners in the Kalmar Union, Sweden and Norway.

id

Form Scandinavian Nation

For untold centuries the Kingdoms of the North have been divided and locked in internecine power struggles. Previous attempts at Union have ultimately failed, to the delight of their European neighbors. Even so, the vision of a lasting union remains a tantalizing possibility...

Potential requirements

Scandinavia does not exist.
The country:

was never an end-game nation.
is not the Papal State or the Holy Roman Empire
has not enacted this decision before.
is not a colonial nation.
is in the Scandinavian culture group

If the country is AI-controlled, it:

is not a custom nation.
is not a former colonial nation.
owns at least 10 cities.
has an administrative technology of at least 20.

Playing with normal or historical nations.

Allow

The country:

has an administrative technology of at least 20.
is not a subject nation other than a tributary state.
is not at war.
is not a nomad nation.
owns core provinces:
- Stockholm
- Lund
- Skaraborg
- Sjælland
- Vestjylland
- Akershus.

Effects

The country:

becomes Scandinavia.
gains 10 prestige.
increases rank to kingdom, if it is a duchy
gets permanent claims on Scandinavia region.
removes all provinces from the Holy Roman Empire, if it is a member and not an elector or the emperor.
gets “Increased Centralization” for 20 years, giving:
- −0.05 monthly autonomy change,
- +1 national unrest.

AI will always take this decision

Strategy[edit | edit source]

The below is one of many player suggested strategies for Denmark. Bear in mind, due to the dynamic nature of the game, it may unfold differently for other players.

The strategy below worked in the game versions until Patch 1.33. Up from Patch 1.34 the mechanics for Denmark were changed and it is not possible to integrate Sweden and Denmark without following the danish missions anymore.

Opening moves[edit | edit source]

In order to annex the personal unions of Norway and Sweden, Denmark must have at least as many provinces as the country you want to integrate as well as +190 relations with said country. Norway is relatively easy to integrate, however Sweden is not, having significantly more provinces than Denmark and tending to have a larger land force limit and more advanced administrative, diplomatic and military technologies than Denmark, thus usually wanting to declare an independence war against their overlord. It's worth to select Support Loyalists to decrease Sweden's liberty desire by 20%. Denmark will face events that will either increase or decrease relations with each personal union, completely up to the player to choose which one to take. If the player wants to keep both personal unions and integrate them later on, it is highly recommended to choose the option increasing relations with the countries.

Denmark will have the option to set Novgorod as rival, and a good strategy to make sure you have more land and naval units than stronger Sweden is to set Novgorod as your rival and declare a war on them, however not sending your troops to fight and occupy land. The armies of Norway and Sweden will often be larger than the armies of Novgorod and its possible allies, thus making a win inevitable. You can win the war without fighting a single battle yourself. Norway and Sweden will both lose some manpower in the war, which makes them want independence a lot less. Not only will you win a war with a rival with 100% warscore, you will also make sure Sweden will not have as much manpower as you do, thus making the country less likely to declare an independence war.

You should also consider annexing Holstein as soon as possible as it will give you two more provinces and give up space for more diplomatic relations. If you manage to improve relations to enough level (improve, gift, subsidies, pay off debt) / royal marriage / hire statesman advisor (+1 diplomatic reputation) / placate local rulers (-10% liberty desire for -20 prestige) / influence nation, you can seize land (province Slesvig) from Holstein. It already has Danish core providing instant benefit while keeping the liberty desire <50% allowing its annexation.

It is highly recommended to start conquering the Baltic area: Livonian Order and Riga. This is something Denmark did historically as well. You can fabricate claim on the province of Ösel, for example, and thus declare war on the Livonian Order or whichever country owns the province at the moment. Livonian Order is usually allied with Riga, so prepare to fight both countries. With Norway and Sweden fighting on your side, this should be relatively easy. You can also declare war on just Riga in which case often the Livonian Order as well as Lübeck will join the war as allies. This war should also be relatively easy to win and it is highly recommended to make Lübeck a vassal or annexing them, although annexing will often cause significant aggressive expansion and make several countries possibly join a coalition against you. That is why it is recommended to vassalise Lübeck first and diplomatically annex them later on as your relations have improved.

Denmark collects from the Lübeck trade node and transferring as much trade power from the Baltic Sea trade node as possible to Lübeck is important as it will increase your income significantly. That is why conquering land from the Livonian Order and possibly also Riga is important. It will not only increase your income significantly, but it will also increase the amount of your provinces and thus making the integration of Norway and Sweden possible.

Long term strategy[edit | edit source]

Finally, a long term Denmark strategy has to address the inevitable rise of Muscovy and Russia. The best way to pre-empt this is to conquer the city of Novgorod (required for the formation of Russia). Then, either a stable alliance with a strong Poland or a series of wars aimed at full dismantling of Muscovy will do the trick. The latter can be achieved by repeated weakening of Muscovy through wars with Danish vassals and allies. The hordes can be left to swallow the weakened duchy, if the player is saving their states and territories for conquests elsewhere.