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319:, two deputies and nine regular policemen, with twenty volunteer auxiliaries also available. This small complement was normally sufficient for a town of Christiania's size, but was inadequate for the developing situation. Faced with the gathering in Stortorvet, the police summoned the auxiliaries and requested the crowd to disperse, but people were curious and refused to leave. A drunken man, wearing a hat with the inscription "Long live 17 May" was brought in for questioning, but was eventually released because he was unable to explain himself.
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hero and figurehead of
Norwegian nationalism. He hinted that the Baron had not been entirely sober that day; the quotation was omitted from the record but remembered by Wergeland's cousin, who was present. Most famously, when asked to state his age, Wergeland replied, "I am six years older than the Norwegian Constitution. I hope the present gentlemen remember when that constitution was written." This line in particular gave Wergeland the honour of "initiating the day".
341:, sought a legal justification to disperse the crowd. They settled on the Riot Act of 1685, which prohibited revolt. Gjerdrum was sent to the square to read the relevant clauses of the Riot Act and order the crowd to disperse, but he had inadequate stature and was largely ignored. Wedel-Jarlsberg then ordered cavalry into the square; some people were ridden down and a stampede ensued. The cavalry were joined by
365:
Gjerdrum and Major-General Wedel-Jarlsberg complaining about damage done to his student uniform during the scuffle, leading to a long-running exchange of letters which the politically savvy
Wergeland was able to spin to his advantage. Wergeland's subsequent questioning by the police made him a public
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Around Norway there was great anger toward the Swedes and the governor in particular. It became a matter of heated discussion in
Norwegian newspapers for a year afterwards. To defuse the tensions, King Charles XIV John agreed to lift the prohibition on constitutional celebrations on 17 May. It has
203:
in summer 1814, Swedish troops invaded Norway and expelled
Christian Frederick (who later became King Christian VIII of Denmark). The peace terms offered by the Swedes were relatively generous - the Norwegian constitution was retained on condition that the clauses preventing a personal union with
234:
were usually made to the royal family as well as to the constitution itself - the
Swedish authorities were concerned that such events had a separatist subtext and served as a covert outlet for political agitation against the Swedish-Norwegian union; they instead tried to promote 'Union Day' on 4
265:. The arriving steamer was met by the crowd that customarily gathered to see vessels arrive at the quayside. However, as feared by the authorities, the gathering also served as an outlet for nationalistic fervour. As the ship docked, several men and boys began to cheer it; 20-year-old student
252:
Despite the ban, illegal flyers, national anthems and slogans began circulating weeks before 17 May 1829. The day itself was a bright cloudless Sunday in
Christiania. Initially the city was quiet, and for much of the day the police faced no problems other than some minor drunkenness.
357:
In the wake of the 'battle', six men were arrested - Frederik
Christian Blehrs, Ole Eilertsen, Andreas Hansen, Hans Myhre, Christian Mortensen and Andreas Høyer - for public drunkenness and/or disorder, though they were all soon released.
164:, signed in January 1814. The idea of union with the old enemy Sweden was very unpopular in Norway, and so when news of the treaty reached the country, it prompted a groundswell of support for independence.
269:
shouted "Long live the
Constitution!" This instigated a larger response from the crowd, who spontaneously began singing the anthems from the previously circulated flyers. The crowd then moved to
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November as an alternative focus for patriotic feeling. However, celebrations on 17 May continued. In May 1828, King
Charles John obliquely criticised such events during a speech before the
230:
Public celebrations of the anniversary of the constitution's initial promulgation began to be held in Norway from the mid-1820s. Although the celebrations were outwardly loyalist -
136:, King of Sweden and Norway, the previous year. The intervention by police and troops provoked outrage in Norway, and forced Charles XIV to lift the prohibition.
239:(Norwegian Parliament), which on 13 May voted not to hold any official celebrations that year. Later this became a full ban on any celebrations whatsoever.
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349:. Fortunately, nobody was killed or seriously wounded, but in all around thirty civilians suffered significant injuries in the melee.
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who began beating demonstrators with rifles. Among those injured was
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Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte) succeeded him as Charles XIV John of Sweden and Charles III John of Norway.
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Contemporary depiction. The officer on horseback on the left of the picture is Major-General
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However, Christian Frederick was unable to secure international support, as the
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The catalyst for the unrest was the arrival at 6 PM of the symbolically-named
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Torgslaget 1829: Myter och minnen om ett norsk-svenskt drama
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Charles XIII died on 5 February 1818 and his adopted son
495:(in Norwegian). Vol. 4. Cappelen. pp. 107–124.
491:(1923). "Hovedstaden og 17. mai til og med Torvslaget".
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513:(in Norwegian) (2 ed.). Oslo: Aschehoug.
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532:17 January
505:Just, Carl
482:References
474:, pp.156–7
461:, pp.154–5
448:, pp.122-8
394:, pp.110–8
335:commandant
296:Phantasmer
271:Stortorvet
221:Karl Johan
210:Charles II
208:(known as
140:Background
103:Torgslaget
99:Torvslaget
82:Assailants
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288:for his
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324:Viceroy
248:Prelude
185:Britain
158:Kingdom
128:of the
74:Injured
243:Events
232:toasts
197:Russia
119:Norway
66:Deaths
378:Notes
534:2012
293:play
111:Oslo
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58:Date
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