Scandinavia

== Reintroduction of the term ''Scandinavia'' in the 18th century ==
{{main|Scandinavism}}
{{see also|Politics of Denmark|Politics of Norway|Politics of Sweden}}
[[File:Skandinavism.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Scandinavism]]—a Norwegian, a Dane and a Swede]]
Although the term ''Scandinavia'' used by Pliny the Elder probably originated in the ancient Germanic languages, the modern form ''Scandinavia'' does not descend directly from the ancient Germanic term. Rather the word was brought into use in Europe by scholars borrowing the term from ancient sources like Pliny, and was used vaguely for Scania and the southern region of the peninsula.<ref name="Ostergard">Østergård, Uffe (1997). "The Geopolitics of Nordic Identity – From Composite States to Nation States". ''The Cultural Construction of Norden''. Øystein Sørensen and Bo Stråth (eds.), Oslo: Scandinavian University Press 1997, 25–71. Also published online at [http://diis.dk/sw13149.asp Danish Institute for International Studies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114212929/http://diis.dk/sw13149.asp |date=14 November 2007 }}. For the history of cultural Scandinavism, see Oresundstid's articles [http://www.oresundstid.dk/dansk/engelsk/oresundstid/1800/side03-02-tekst.htm The Literary Scandinavism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927014412/http://www.oresundstid.dk/dansk/engelsk/oresundstid/1800/side03-02-tekst.htm |date=27 September 2007 }} and [http://www.oresundstid.dk/dansk/engelsk/oresundstid/1800/side03-01-tekst.htm The Roots of Scandinavism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613201143/https://web.archive.org/web/20071114212929/http:/diis.dk/sw13149.asp |date=13 June 2016 }}. Retrieved 19 January 2007.</ref>

The term was popularised by the linguistic and cultural [[Scandinavism|Scandinavist movement]], which asserted the common heritage and cultural unity of the Scandinavian countries and rose to prominence in the 1830s.<ref name="Ostergard" /> The popular usage of the term in Sweden, Denmark and Norway as a unifying concept became established in the 19th century through poems such as [[Hans Christian Andersen]]'s "I am a Scandinavian" of 1839. After a visit to Sweden, Andersen became a supporter of early political Scandinavism. In a letter describing the poem to a friend, he wrote: "All at once I understood how related the Swedes, the Danes and the Norwegians are, and with this feeling I wrote the poem immediately after my return: 'We are one people, we are called Scandinavians!'".

The influence of [[Scandinavism]] as a Scandinavist political movement peaked in the middle of the 19th century, between the [[First Schleswig War]] (1848–1850) and the [[Second Schleswig War]] (1864).

The Swedish king also proposed a unification of Denmark, Norway and Sweden into a single united kingdom. The background for the proposal was the tumultuous events during the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in the beginning of the century. This war resulted in Finland (formerly the eastern third of Sweden) becoming the Russian [[Grand Duchy of Finland]] in 1809 and [[Norway]] (''de jure'' in union with Denmark since 1387, although ''de facto'' treated as a province) becoming independent in 1814, but thereafter swiftly forced to accept a [[personal union]] with Sweden. The dependent territories Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, historically part of Norway, remained with Denmark in accordance with the [[Treaty of Kiel]]. Sweden and Norway were thus united under the Swedish monarch, but Finland's inclusion in the [[Russian Empire]] excluded any possibility for a political union between Finland and any of the other Nordic countries.

The end of the Scandinavian political movement came when Denmark was denied the military support promised from Sweden and Norway to annex the (Danish) [[Duchy]] of [[Duchy of Schleswig|Schleswig]], which together with the (German) Duchy of [[Holstein]] had been in [[personal union]] with Denmark. The Second war of Schleswig followed in 1864, a brief but disastrous war between Denmark and [[Prussia]] (supported by Austria). [[Schleswig-Holstein]] was conquered by Prussia and after Prussia's success in the [[Franco-Prussian War]] a Prussian-led [[German Empire]] was created and a new [[power (international relations)|power]]-balance of the [[Baltic region|Baltic Sea countries]] was established. The [[Scandinavian Monetary Union]], established in 1873, lasted until [[World War I]].