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The background here is the battle_of_Copenhagen (1807), where Britain attacked Denmark, fearing that Denmark would ally with Napoleon. Britain stole the Danish fleet in order to avoid that Napoleon should benefit from it. Before the attack, Napoleon was pressuring the neutral states to join a blocade against France. Since Denmark feared that a war against France would lead to a French invasion, Britain was convinced that Denmark would join France. Norway, which was an integral part of the Danish state, had totally different interests. Norway was more dependent on Britain, and Britain controlled the seas. Denmark was close to the continent and was therefore not as dependent on Britain, while Britain could easily blocade the sea contact between Denmark and Norway. Norway also had a long border with Sweden, which allied with Britain. What prevented Norway from declaring independence was probably that the authorities in Norway was an arm of the Danish administration, but would it seem improbable that, given the circumstances, there could be a coup where independence and an alliance with Britain is declared? Influential parts of Norwegian society, like the "timber aristocracy" lost a lot of money on the war and one might even assume that they could get British help to orchestrate a coup. Obviously, they would need allies within the military stationed in Norway.
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