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IdentificationSince the introduction of absolutism (1660), censorship had been practised in Denmark-Norway, but the ideas of then Age of Enlightenment introduced a degree of relaxation. The result was a period (1770-1799), in which the social debate had much freer conditions than ever before. And freer conditions than the next decades would see, until freedom of expression and political freedom were guaranteed by the 1849 Constitution. In Danish history, the first attempt at introducing freedom of expression was made by the physician of King Christian VII, Johan Friedrich Struensee (1737-1772), who was the country’s real ruler due to the king’s mental disease. As a child of the Age of Enlightenment,he initiated a number of freedom-related reforms: In 1770, censorship was abolished and complete freedom of the press was introduced in practice; the following year saw reduced state aid for industry, the liberalisation of trade, a more humane administration of justice, and a ban on the use of torture. Similarly, steps were taken to open up for the appointment to positions based on ability, and certain improve - ments were introduced for copyhold tenants. Struensee – who had by then become the queen’s lover – soon experienced the use to which writers put freedom of the press, and in both 1771 and 1773 certain restrictions were again imposed on the press. In practice, however, the restrictions were not applied systematically, and throughout the 1780s there was a flourishing publication of pamphlets and journals discussing public matters. Under the impression of among others the French Revolution and its Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, the 1773 provisions were again repealed in 1790. It meant comprehensive freedom of the press, with the citizens enjoying freedom subject only to the consequences of the law. Freedom of the press did not give rise to an actual, organised opposition, but groups of intellectuals met in “clubs” to discuss magazines, for example Knud Lyhne Rahbek’s (1760-1830) Minerva and The Spectator. Among those who contributed to these were the vicar, Michael Gottlieb Birckner (1756- 1798), who wrote the first philosophical defences of freedom of expression; the lawyer, Peter Collett (1767-1823); and more radical, almost revolutionary writers such as the authors and poets, Conrad Malthe Bruun (1775-1826) and Peter Andreas Heiberg (1758-1841). The lastmentioned were influenced by among others Rousseau Rousseau (1712-1778) og Kant (1724-1804), and expressed sympathy with the French Revolution and with its more radical aspects.
The totalitarian turn of the French Revolution from 1793 made the regent of the country, Crown Prince Frederik (later Frederik VI (ruled 1808- 1839)), fear the potential consequences of comprehensive freedom of the press – which also in Denmark had led to harsh attacks on absolutism, the nobility, the clergy and religion. Therefore, the government set up a commission in 1797 to consider the extent of freedom of the press as “a certain class of writers constantly strives to produce distrust in the government, deride public measures instead of, with restraint, indicating ways in which one matter or another might be improved”. Birckner defended the principle of freedom of the press, but underlined at the same time that it must not be abused for the purpose of “attacks on absolutism” or “open calls for sedition and disobedience”. Collett went one step further in a review of Birckner’s book On the Freedom of the Press and its Laws, in which he argued that civil servants have a right and a duty to criticise the government, and that it is in certain circumstances legitimate to urge rebellion, namely when it comes from the majority or the entire people. This resulted in strong reactions on the part of the government: In September 1797, Collett was summarily dismissed from his office of court and city judge. Heiberg and Bruun rushed to his defence. They went one step further, arguing that a state that limits freedom of expression makes it justifiable for citizens to rebel. In August 1799, Crown Prince Frederik found that the use of freedom of the press had gone too far. “I am in complete agreement with the chancellery’s decision to deal with these gentlemen”, he wrote about the writers who criticised the government. On 27 September the same year, the Print Freedom Regulation was issued, which effectively turned the clock back by silencing the critics of society and the govern - ment. It was no longer possible to write anony - mously, practically every piece of writing had to be submitted to the chief constable before publication, and violations were, with retroactive effect, subject to lifelong censorship. The consequence came swiftly. In 1799, both Heiberg and Bruun were retroactively sentenced to lifelong exile, and both ended up in Paris in 1800. Collett had to abandon his activities as a writer and the same year accepted a position as attorney in the Danish West Indies. “Section 2: If any person, in writing, blames, mocks
or endeavours to spread hatred and dissatisfaction
against the Constitution of these Realms, or against
the King’s Government either in general or through
individual acts, he shall be punishable by banishment;
and if he after having been deported again takes up
residence in the King’s Realms and Lands, without
having obtained permission, he shall work in irons
for the rest of his days.”
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This page is part of the electronic publication "The Danish Democracy Canon"