THE ROYAL DANISH NAVY

Nearly all the ships of the Danish navy were taken by the British in 1807 and after the Napoleonic Wars the economy was so bad that in 1820 the navy consisted of only two ships of the line, five frigates, one corvette and two brigs. More men-of-war were built in the following years; in 1850 four ships of the line, eight frigates, five corvettes and four brigs were available, as well as a handful of paddle steamers.

In the years 1848–1850 Denmark was at war against insurgents in the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein who were for a time supported by Prussia. At that time no German state possessed a navy, so Denmark was superior at sea and could blockade Hamburg as well as the Prussian harbours in the Baltic. The Danish navy still held its own in the second war in 1864, although as a result of that war the duchies were lost to Prussia and Austria. At that time several of the wooden frigates were provided with steam boilers and auxiliary propellers. On the eve of the First World War the Danish navy had four cruisers, five smaller armour-plated warships, thirty torpedo boats, four submarines and a lot of smaller vessels. In most years during the 19th century a brig was sent to the Danish Caribbean islands of St Thomas, St Jan and St Croix.