Note 21 — Chapter III

This parallel at once proves the vital importance of Schleswig-Holstein to the Danes. England could afford to lose Hanover, and was not sorry to do so, as she thus escaped many German entanglements; but to Denmark the retention of the duchies is a life question, both politically and materially. They contain the sources of her power and prosperity; only so long as she retains Schleswig-Holstein can she hold her ground as a second-class power; but from the moment that she is forced to surrender the duchies, she will hopelessly sink to the rank of a third or fourth rate power. Indeed, it is not improbable that she would soon be absorbed altogether, for ere long, united Sweden and Norway would annex this small isolated fraction of Scandinavian nationality.