According to historian
Sverre Bagge, prior to the formation of state-like kingdoms, Scandinavia was
culturally and linguistically homogeneous. Pan-Scandinavianism as a modern movement originated in the 19th century, The Pan-Scandinavian movement paralleled the unification movements of
Germany and
Italy. As opposed to the German and Italian counterparts, the Scandinavian state-building project was not successful and is no longer pursued. The movement was a significant force from 1846 to 1864, however the movement eventually dwindled and only had strong support among the
Swedish-speaking population of Finland. The collapse of Pan-Scandinavianism came in 1864 when the
Second Schleswig-Holstein War broke out.
King Charles XV of Sweden (who was also King Charles IV of Norway), who reigned from 1859 until his death in 1872, in spite of championing Pan-Scandinivianism, failed to help
Denmark in the war. Author
Hans Christian Andersen became an adherent of Scandinavism after a visit to Sweden in 1837, and committed himself to writing a poem that would convey the relatedness of Swedes, Danes and
Norwegians. It was in July 1839, during a visit to the island of
Funen in Denmark, that Andersen first wrote the text of his poem,
Jeg er en Skandinav ("I am a Scandinavian"). == See also ==