How the Danes discovered Britain: the international integration of the Danish dairy industry before 1880

The success of Danish agricultural exports at the end of the nineteenth century is often attributed to the establishment of a direct trade with Britain after the loss of Schleswig-Holstein to Prussia in 1864, and with it the connection to the port of Hamburg. We show that Danish–English butter markets were actually integrated already in the eighteenth century, but through the Hamburg hub, which provided advantages such as density of information, trade connections, and credit availability. These eroded gradually, and movements to establish a direct trade were underway from the 1850s. Defeat in war only speeded up the process.