1814 was perhaps the most pivotal year in Norwegian history. After the dissolution of the Dano-Norwegian Union as a direct result of the Napoleonic Wars, Norway was the closest it had been to being an independent state since Viking times. Unfortunately, Denmark–Norway had sided with the French during the wars, and therefore Norway was ceded to Sweden as part of the peace accords.
Norway wished to be free, however, and declared independence in May of 1814, framing a new constitution and electing a new Monarch. Sweden wasn't having any of that, and invaded that summer. After a ceasefire was signed, Norway agreed to join Sweden as a personal union governed by one king, the King of Sweden Charles XIII.
It wasn't until 1905 that, following a peaceful dissolution of the union, Norway was granted complete freedom.
