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Danmark og kolonierne
Danmark: en kolonimagt
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 27, 2017
Ideen er jo oplagt og genial: At beskrive Danmark som en kolonimagt, grundigt. Det er også super tænkt, at starte med Danmark og ikke med kolonierne. Det er emnet for dette første bind.
De første 7 kapitler er meget oplysende, omend der nok er en del redundans - sådan føles det i alle fald. Her problematiseres begrebet koloni og man forstår, at Danmark kun på nogle punkter var kolonimagt, samt at Danmark var det meget forskelligt i de forskellige kolonier. Man får også indsigt i bevæggrunde for at være kolonimagt. Afslutningen falder ikke i et hug, men er også uklar og langstrakt.
Vel ok kapitel om de varer, som kom udefra til Danmark. Men det føles tyndt, uvedkommende.
Helt underligt kapitel om handlen. Det er svært at forstå, hvorfor man mener, at det har at gøre med kolonihistorie. Det er snarere historie, som foregår samtidig med, at der også foregår kolonihistorie.
Fint kapitel om den generelle kolonihistorie i alle lande, og interessant kapitel om fortællingerne om kolonialismen i populærkultur mm.
De første 7 kapitler er meget oplysende, omend der nok er en del redundans - sådan føles det i alle fald. Her problematiseres begrebet koloni og man forstår, at Danmark kun på nogle punkter var kolonimagt, samt at Danmark var det meget forskelligt i de forskellige kolonier. Man får også indsigt i bevæggrunde for at være kolonimagt. Afslutningen falder ikke i et hug, men er også uklar og langstrakt.
Vel ok kapitel om de varer, som kom udefra til Danmark. Men det føles tyndt, uvedkommende.
Helt underligt kapitel om handlen. Det er svært at forstå, hvorfor man mener, at det har at gøre med kolonihistorie. Det er snarere historie, som foregår samtidig med, at der også foregår kolonihistorie.
Fint kapitel om den generelle kolonihistorie i alle lande, og interessant kapitel om fortællingerne om kolonialismen i populærkultur mm.
November 13, 2022
"Danmark - en kolonimagt" is one of five volumes in the series "Danmark og kolonierne," the other four books in the series covering the Danish colonies in India, West Africa, the Danish West Indies (today's U.S. Virgin Islands), and Greenland.
Having grown up primarily in Denmark, I barely remember Danish colonialism (aside from Greenland) being covered in folkeskolen or mentioned on TV (except for a couple of times on the Pyrus julekalendre). I can't speak to gymnasium since I moved from Denmark before I could start gymnasium, but it is clear to me that most Danes do not think in terms of themselves as a former (or current) colonizer or colonial power with territories spread around the world. Indeed, traditionally Danish history has been covered in a way that more or less - with the exceptions of territories lost to Germany and (secondarily) to Sweden - covers the history of current Danish territory rather than the history of a Danmark whose territorial reach has been very different from era to era.
A few years ago, I read Lars Hovbakke Sørensen's "En europæisk danmarkshistorie," which shows just how helpful a European perspective and contextualization of Danish history is. This book series goes even further in covering a truly global perspective of not only the history of "Denmark" but of the colonial empire of Denmark-Norway.
This volume of the series covers that empire with a view to the center of the empire, Denmark-Norway, and to the non-colonial (or less colonial) territories of Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands (and to some extent Greenland). It covers the definitions of colonialism and empire and the extent to which these apply to Denmark and its various territories. It covers the establishment and dissolution of the colonies and how the colonies were organized. It also covers the effects of colonial trade within Denmark-Norway itself and comparatively covers the colonialism of Denmark-Norway vis-a-vis other European colonialisms.
"Danmark - en kolonimagt" also helps to explain why Denmark wasn't part of colonialism on steroids (including the scramble for Africa) from the 1870s onwards. Denmark had simply become much too weak of a power to be able to compete at that point - Danish power weakening dramatically with the British destruction of Denmark's navy during the Napoleonic wars, the Danish state bankruptcy of 1813, and the loss of Norway following the Napoleonic wars. Germany's invasions of 1848-1852 and especially 1864, resulting in a further significant loss of territory, cemented the status of Denmark as a miniature state in Europe - a self-conception that remains within Denmark to this day today.
Having grown up primarily in Denmark, I barely remember Danish colonialism (aside from Greenland) being covered in folkeskolen or mentioned on TV (except for a couple of times on the Pyrus julekalendre). I can't speak to gymnasium since I moved from Denmark before I could start gymnasium, but it is clear to me that most Danes do not think in terms of themselves as a former (or current) colonizer or colonial power with territories spread around the world. Indeed, traditionally Danish history has been covered in a way that more or less - with the exceptions of territories lost to Germany and (secondarily) to Sweden - covers the history of current Danish territory rather than the history of a Danmark whose territorial reach has been very different from era to era.
A few years ago, I read Lars Hovbakke Sørensen's "En europæisk danmarkshistorie," which shows just how helpful a European perspective and contextualization of Danish history is. This book series goes even further in covering a truly global perspective of not only the history of "Denmark" but of the colonial empire of Denmark-Norway.
This volume of the series covers that empire with a view to the center of the empire, Denmark-Norway, and to the non-colonial (or less colonial) territories of Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands (and to some extent Greenland). It covers the definitions of colonialism and empire and the extent to which these apply to Denmark and its various territories. It covers the establishment and dissolution of the colonies and how the colonies were organized. It also covers the effects of colonial trade within Denmark-Norway itself and comparatively covers the colonialism of Denmark-Norway vis-a-vis other European colonialisms.
"Danmark - en kolonimagt" also helps to explain why Denmark wasn't part of colonialism on steroids (including the scramble for Africa) from the 1870s onwards. Denmark had simply become much too weak of a power to be able to compete at that point - Danish power weakening dramatically with the British destruction of Denmark's navy during the Napoleonic wars, the Danish state bankruptcy of 1813, and the loss of Norway following the Napoleonic wars. Germany's invasions of 1848-1852 and especially 1864, resulting in a further significant loss of territory, cemented the status of Denmark as a miniature state in Europe - a self-conception that remains within Denmark to this day today.
December 19, 2019
Danmark: en kolonimagt covers the history of Denmark during the colonial times.
The biggest problem of this series is the fact that the many different authors have widely different writing styles. For some of the books, that's not a big problem and barely noticeable. But in this one, and the one about India, it is very obvious and takes away a lot from the enjoyment of the book. Simply because some of the authors are able to make the text more interesting than others, and because some less-than-interesting topics have been selected, too. The chapters written by Michael Bregnsbo were really good, but unfortunately that was only around half of the book. And the book had been fine leaving out the rest. Many of the chapters seemed irrelevant and random. Had Bregnsbo's chapters been the only chapters, this had been a five star book. As it is though, I can't give it more than two stars.
So that's what it gets. 2 stars.
The biggest problem of this series is the fact that the many different authors have widely different writing styles. For some of the books, that's not a big problem and barely noticeable. But in this one, and the one about India, it is very obvious and takes away a lot from the enjoyment of the book. Simply because some of the authors are able to make the text more interesting than others, and because some less-than-interesting topics have been selected, too. The chapters written by Michael Bregnsbo were really good, but unfortunately that was only around half of the book. And the book had been fine leaving out the rest. Many of the chapters seemed irrelevant and random. Had Bregnsbo's chapters been the only chapters, this had been a five star book. As it is though, I can't give it more than two stars.
So that's what it gets. 2 stars.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews