Abstract

In this article, I discuss the about one hundred Danish translations of French revolutionary texts, looking particularly at a handful of the most relevant monthly reviews. By analysing the contexts in which texts were published and by mapping the networks of Danish translators, I argue that translators were engaged in a project of adapting republicanism to Denmark. This ranged from the more radical to the more moderate attempts of developing a kind of ‘republican monarchism’ (a notion used by one interlocutor) that could lead Denmark on the road from absolutist monarchy towards some kind of a republic. In doing so, I argue that translators were not engaged in a mere passive project of ‘reception’; they should rather be understood as actively intervening politically in their local context. By analysing the Danish translations of French revolutionary texts, this article contributes to research on the spread of revolutionary culture in a region that has received scant attention. It also contributes to the intellectual history of republicanism by looking at how republicanism was adapted and transformed in different spaces and how the project of monarchical republicanism was one model for creating a republic fit for a modern society.