ligible to vote and also stand for election to the Folketing.The largest party of Denmark is the Social Democratic party, which was founded in 1871; it has a membership of about 100,000. Other governing parties include Conservative Peoples party, Socialist Peoples party, and Liberal party.Right now the ruler of Denmark is Queen Margaret II. The Prime Minister is Poul Nyrup Rasmussen (Social Democrat).History10,000 years ago, when the ice retreated from Scandinavia, Denmark was already settled. It is said that Danes inhabiting the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula migrated to the Jutland Peninsula and the adjacent islands in the Baltic Sea in the 5th and 6th century.The Danes invaded the British Isles in the 780s. They were actually masters of part of England that became known as the Danelaw. Sweyn I conquered all of England in 1013 and 1014. Sweyns son, Canute II, who ruled England and Denmark, completed the Christianization of Denmark. King Harold Bluetooth (Sweyn Is dad) started the Christianization in the 10th Century.The Danes extended to the east in the late 12th and 13th centuries. There they conquered the greater part of the southern coastal areas of the Baltic Sea. They established a powerful and wealthy realm twice the size of modern Denmark. Feudalism in Denmark attained its highest point in this era of expansion. The kingdom became even more prosperous and powerful then it ever was. In 1282, disagreement grew between the Danish Crown and the nobility. This led to a struggle in which the nobility compelled King Eric V to sign a charter; this charter was sometimes referred as the Danish Magna Carta. The Danish Crown was made secondary to law, and the Danehof (the assembly of lords) was made a complete part of the administrative institutions, by the terms of this charter.In 1332, Christopher II died because of a temporary decline in Danish power. The leading political power on the Baltic Sea was reestablished by Denmar...
