1814 / 1815    

Denmark-Norway had been on the losing side of the Napoleonic wars from 1807 to 1814, while Sweden under Carl Johan had supported the victors. In 1809, Sweden had lost Finland to Russia. At the Peace of Kiel, with the signing of the Treaty of Kiel on 14 January 1814, Norway was given to Sweden by Denmark as compensation for the loss of Finland five years earlier. Thus the origins of the Swedish-Norwegian union are rooted in the international power games that took place in Europe after the Napoleonic wars. However, in Norway, there were forces that wanted to exploit the situation to gain full independence.

Political manoeuvres in winter and spring 1814 end with the national assembly that was gathered at Eidsvold from 10 April approving an extremely liberal constitution, by the standard of the age, on 17 May. On the same day, the Danish heir presumptive to the throne and governor of Norway, Christian Frederik, is elected King of Norway. This creates friction between Norway and Sweden, which, under the rule of Crown Prince Carl XIV Johan, demands the commitments laid down in the Peace of Kiel be honoured. Despite the fact that the Great Powers in Europe support Sweden's demands, Christian Frederik refuses to abdicate. In summer 1814, there is a short war, where Carl Johan leads a campaign against Christian Frederik and Norway on 29 July. The Swedish troops beat the Norwegian resistance easily. On 14 August, a ceasefire is agreed in the Moss Convention, where Christian Frederik is forced to renounce his authority in Norway. A new parliament is appointed and charged with making the necessary changes to the constitution for a union with Sweden. There are negotiations between Carl Johan's envoys and the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, which end in a union agreement where Norway is allowed to keep many of its liberties and its Constitution. The union between Sweden and Norway is formally established on 4 November 1814, and is formalised through the Act of Union of 1815.

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