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Danish Immigration to America Timeline |
793 |
The Vikings from the Scandinavian countries begin their raids. |
958 |
The Christianization of the Danish people by King Harold I (c. 935 - 986), also known as Harald Bluetooth, ends the culture of the Vikings. |
1101 |
The martyr King Canute IV (1042 - 1086) was canonized as the patron saint of Denmark. |
1517 |
Protestant reformation in Norway, initiated by Martin Luther (1483 - 1546), establishes the state religion as Protestantism. |
1619 |
The explorer Jens Munk (1579 – 1628) reached Hudson Bay but his future plans to establish the Danish colonies of Nova Dania (New Denmark) failed. |
1600's |
There were strong political and trade links between Denmark and Holland and the first Danish migrants came across in Dutch ships and settled in New Netherland. |
1639 |
Merchant trader Jonas Bronck was granted land in New Netherland which becomes known as the Bronx. Jonas Bronck and Captain Jochem Pietersen Kuyter took Danish immigrants to America on the Fire of Troy ship ("De Brandt van Troyen"). |
1741 |
Famous navigator Vitus Bering (1681–1741) explored the northern Pacific Ocean and discovered the Bering Strait. |
1742 |
Pious, radical wings of Protestants suffered religious persecution. Christian Werner (1696—1783) led Moravians to America. The number of immigrants fleeing religious persecution resulted in over 20,000 people setting in the US by the end of the 1700's. |
1775 |
The American War of Independence began and Danish-Americans supported the revolutionaries. |
1845 |
Crop failures and the potato blight, which had spread across Europe, led to hunger, desease and poverty and a massive increase in immigration from Denmark. |
1848 |
Danish revolutionaries in the North Schleswig area of Jutland emigrated to avoid political persecution. |
1849 |
The Danish Constitution granted religious freedom in Denmark although many Mormons were denied this right. |
1850's |
Danish Mormons settle in Utah. |
1864 |
Denmark was forced to surrender Schleswig to Prussia and inhabitants fled from political persecution. |
1866 |
The Famine of 1866 - 1868 hit all the countries of Scandanavia leading to the death of 150,000 people, dire poverty and disease and a Major Wave of Danish Immigration. |
1872 |
The 1872 Baltic Sea flood in which the Danish island of Lolland was seriously hit causing deaths, damage and homelessness. |
1873 |
The financial panic of 1873 hit the US lasting for 6 years and slowed the rate of migrants to the US. |
1880's |
The Great Migration from Denmark was prompted by the opportunities offered by the industrialization of America. The peak year for migration from Denmark was 1882, when 11,618 Danes entered the United States. |
1882 |
Immigration levels to the US reached massive levels. Between 1881 - 1890 5,246,613 immigrants arrived in the United States. The government were forced to take action and a law called the 1882 Immigration Act was passed to restrict immigration. |
1892 |
The Ellis Island immigration center (1892 - 1954) opened where immigrants from Europe, including Denmark, were subjected to medical and legal examinations. The Ellis Island immigration center was a scary ordeal although less than 2% of immigrants from Denmark were turned away. |
1902 |
The Christmas Hurricane of 1902 (Julestormen) hit Denmark on Christmas Day 1902. |
1924 |
The Immigration Law of 1924 restricted immigration still further. 87% of entry permits went to immigrants from Ireland, Britain, Germany, and Scandinavia. |
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Danish Immigration to America has declined from this time |
Danish Immigration to America Timeline |
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