1 DENMARK: THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY AND THE FORMATION OF MODERN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS Lars K. Christensen Seen from a global point of view, Denmark has always been a minor player in the field of textile production. However, from the perspective of industrial relations, the Danish case has relevance in an international comparison. The textile industry provides a good example of how industrial relations based on strong unions and nationwide collective bargaining were formed in Denmark. These industrial relations, created from below, later became the foundation of the modern welfare state. 1 This article will give a short presentation of the history of textile production in Denmark as its first part, while the second part will focus specifically on the issue of i ndustrial relations. TEXTILE PRODUCTION FROM PRE-INDUSTRY TO THE PRESENT Geographically Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland and approximately 100 inhabited islands, including Zealand with the capital of Copenhagen. In the late eighteenth century, the population was a little smaller than one million. Presently it is 5.4 million. The country is fertile, and for centuries agriculture was the main source of income, supplemented by trade, fishing and shipping. From anci ent times, wool and f lax were spun and woven into fabrics in peasants homes. This domestic manufacturing of textiles was undoubtedly of great importance in [142] 1 For a discussion of the concept of modernity, especially in relation to labour movement and industrial relations, see Lars K. Christensen, Det moderne arbejde – kulturelle og institutionelle forandringer af arbejdet i den danske tekstilindustri 1895-1940 (Ph.D., University of Copenhagen, 1998), pp. 283 ff.