Peasant Citizenship In Denmark

Agriculture has been and remains the life of Denmark. The peasantry has been through strange vicissitudes, immense struggles and suffering. It has gone through a period of degradation and exploitation, but out of this it has risen to its full height of strength and self-respect. It therefore holds out a promising chapter to those whose problems are much of the same nature.

In the Middle Ages, the peasants in Denmark practiced communal farming with the rest of Europe. Then came the gradual transference of lands from the peasants into the hands of a ruling aristocracy, and by 1450 there came into existence a system of land tenure, Bornedskab, which bound the peasant to the soil he cultivated and forced him to give the fruits of his toil to his landlord. In 1702 it was succeeded by a still more oppressive legislation, Stavnsbaand. The peasant was forced to enlist in the army of the State, and once enrolled, the peasant could be selected for active service any time the owner chose to do so. And all the while he was of course tied to the estate and had no chance of escape except through the owner's permission. He had to pay rent to the landlord in the shape of money, kind or crop, and personal labour when required to do so. Any evasion or resistance of these duties was punished by further military service, and in addition, flogging and other kinds of barbarous treatment were practiced on this helpless toiler. The only relieving feature in it was that the common lands could not be enclosed by the landlords and the peasant always had access to it. It was not shut out by Enclosure Acts as in England. This just saved him from complete destruction. A few peasants were said to exist in remote regions out of the reach of the nobility but the majority of the peasantry under these ruthless conditions decayed rapidly.

The main form of agriculture was grain growing and in some parts cattle raising as well. Lack of scientific knowledge and the vast illiteracy rendered the peasant still more helpless. 80 % of them could not read or write. Centuries of wars and pestilence had added to these miseries with hardly any hope of redress.

The eighteenth century saw the introduction of agricultural science and the more progressive among the nobility grew keen on tryingthe new methods, but the general level of the peasant being low, he could not be induced into new ways. The various reform movements in the Church starting with the Reformation gave some awakening to life and saw the beginning of the free public school system, although it was not till 75 years later that it made any headway. The same influences which led to the French Revolution stirred the Danish nobility to the dangers apparent in the decline of the peasantry, with the result they succeeded in introducing a series of Acts in 1700. They were more radical than legislation in any other country of Europe, for, by forbidding payment in labour and moving the peasant on to his own land, the nobility could only hire labour. In 1788 the Stavnsbaand was abolished and the peasant was declared free. Then followed other measures allowing the tenant to purchase land, and on comparatively easy terms. Denmark thus laid the foundations for her later economic and social development by strengthening the very basis of her life–the peasantry. Gradually the peasant's holding grew more concentrated and compact. But these reforms at the close of the eighteenth century were only the beginnings in the direction of free-hold, for, as the Danish Economist puts it, "The peasant feels instinctively that the possession of the land is a matter of life and death to him." But not only does the Danish Economist believe this but the nation itself does so as has been proved by the vast strides made to realise this belief as an actual reality. "The land belongs to the people."

These reforms succeeded in reviving peasant life and stimulating agriculture. The Government aided the movement by removing duties on grain and cattle and by improving the public schools and making attendance compulsory between 7 and 14 in 1814. Thus prosperity began to smile on Denmark's peasants again.

In the meantime Denmark had got entangled like the other European countries in the Napoleonic wars and had brought down the wrath of England on herself through her part in the Armed League of Neutrality. Nelson went off to Denmark with his fleet and after a fierce fight of five hours brought it to terms. Finally in 1807 the English naval forces swept down on Copenhagen, bombarded the city and carried off the navy leaving Denmark crushed and bankrupt, and by 1814 she was completely ruined. Thus followed the gloom of stagnation once again. But out of this darkness rose the luminous figures of Denmark, Grundtvig, Bagesen, Ochlenschlager, Ingemann and others to revive the dead life. They sang of the glories of Denmark and its brave heroes, of their love for their country, the beauty of Denmark and its language, and of the rugged peasant life born out of its hardship. There are some soul-stirring songs that to this day sway these stalwart Northerners.

There followed some inspiring hymns that had a deepening and refining influence on the people. A national movement was soon born, a strange mixture of romanticism and realism. For while the Dane grew eloquent over his past glory, he grew severe and stern in facing the future. Love of his country meant to him love of his people, and to make the nation free and happy was his ideal. Thus it was a struggle for freedom in all the fields of activity, religious, social and economic.

Religion was a mere matter of ecclesiastical regulations then. Under the impulse of the national awakening, the people began a fight for religious freedom under the guidance of Grundtvig, and the inspiration of Soren Kirkegaard, the great Danish philosopher of the century, helped to break the narrow and empty formalism by probing deep into life and detaching it from all its outer covers of superstitious beliefs of the Church-imposed dogmas. It culminated when the new Constitution, and the legislation following it, did away with compulsory baptism and left the people free to form their own congregations and choose their own minister.

The goal of the political movement was a new constitution and it was mainly directed by the intellectuals of the cities who had come under the new ideas set afloat by the Second French Revolution, and the ruler of the time, Christian VIII, realising the strength of the movement gracefully conceded the popular demands in 1849. But apart from granting universal suffrage, this Constitution did not bring redress to the peasant. The educated bourgeoisie, the aristocracy of the Church, were one in their contempt and distrust of him.

The battle of the farmer for fair political representation stimulated his economic progress. The Liberal Party which fought against the aristocratic Right consisted chiefly of the middle-class farmers aided by the poor peasant, but it was the independent middle-class farmers who were the leaders in all radical and progressive measures. They were the first to introduce new agricultural methods and they were of course, watched and imitated by others.

The progress of Denmark received another check in 1864, when she sustained a heavy defeat at the hands of the Prussians and the Austrians and lost Schleswig-Holstein which meant a loss of nearly 2/5 of her territory and population. But it did not paralyse her as in 1814, for her life had been pretty well-established by now. On the contrary it served in stimulating the Danes to grow more assertive and gather more strength for an independent national life. This gave a greater impetus to the peasants’ struggle against the domineering ruling classes at home, their fight against privileges, for human rights and for recognition in the political life not only at the ballot-box but in the plough-field, the dairy and the school as well.

The agricultural development continued without break and soon a complete change came about in the whole system of agriculture. One of the chief features was the gradual introduction of dairying. This came as a very fortunate boon to these agriculturists, for they were being hard hit by the importation of cheap grain and live animals from America, which with improved means of transportation were flooding the European markets. In the meantime the life-renting peasant was getting converted into a peasant proprietor. This transformation was greatly aided by the Credit Law of 1850. This was followed by the establishment of two Co-operative Credit Societies in 1851, which was the beginning of the vast Co-operative Credit Associations which have made Denmark so famous all over the world.

Allied to these reforms was the reforestation of Denmark. So far nearly 1/7 of Denmark's surface used to lie waste, covered by the heather and the sand driven in by the heavy sea wind. ColoneL Daglas, a surveyor and engineer, while laying roads came face to face with this problem and out of his keen observation evolved an ingenious method of protection. He noticed that the grass inside a piece of heather, in the form of a cylinder, was three times as high as outside. In 1866 Daglas founded the Danish Heath Society for reclaiming land and so far nearly 3,000 square miles have become cultivable. Sometimes as much as 30 years of scientific treatment of the heath is required to turn it into arable land, but the pioneers of this movement looking far into the future saw 30 years as a speck in the whole life of a nation. Gradually the lost land was won inch by inch and where once a heath, marsh, lake, reigned, today one sees tall swaying pine-forests, and the cottages of the small holders who live and till their fields in the shelter of the pines.

In spite of these changes in agriculture and land tenure, the farmer was not able to get full economic freedom, for he was still at the mercy of the rich. After 30 long years he came to realise the advantages he could reap from the Co-operative Credit Societies which had been laid for his prosperity. Slowly but surely he came to realise that his future lay in trusting his brother and co-operating with him. Thus the movement which recognises the right of the many to prosperity above the profits of a single or a handfull of individuals, moved steadily onwards.

The first Co-operative Creamery was formed by a group of people in Hiedding in 1882 and its example spread so rapidly that creameries were built allover the country. Co-operative Associations in other places followed closely.

During this there had been slowly evolving out of the very soil a new system of rural education which had a very important part in the peasant movement. It was Grundtvig who first realised the absolute necessity of an educated peasantry if popular Government were to be a success. But he also said that this education would have to be of the sort which would strengthen the peasants in their life-work and not lure them away from it. Hence it was not to be of an academic character but a cultural one that would stimulate their patriotism, broaden their intelligence and deepen their spiritual aspirations. It was to be a short planting season, that a rich national harvest might be reaped. The Folk High Schools of Denmark are world-famous today. The first school was established in 1844. Only pupils above 18 were to be admitted, for the education was to begin with adolescence when young men and women are stirred by great ideals, and all the perceptions are alert and the impulses bound forward with enthusiasm, and the school was to give a lasting purpose to them. It was also to be a meeting place where all could assemble, where the blacksmith, the carpenter, the cattle-boy and the farmer for a while could meet on common ground and share common experiences. The term for boys extends from November to March and for girls from May to September. This arrangement is made to suit the occupation of both, for while the women are freer in summer the men have more leisure in winter. The State supports the schools but does not interfere in their work.

These schools are essentially cultural and teach general knowledge, language of the country, history, science, hygiene, hand-work, drawing and gymnastics. The main purpose of this curriculum is to make the Danish pupil acquainted with Danish culture and also get him a wider understanding of the world.

One wonders at the earnestness with which these students attend to their work. Nothing is compulsory and yet no one seems to want to miss anything. It is undoubtedly because they come of their own free will and hungry for knowledge.

The entire struggle of the Danish peasantry for full civic rights and a cultural life free from exploitation, contains important lessons for other people. The problem of the village is the dominating problem in India. Hence the essential features of this Danish movement are of vital significance and benefit to us.