In the 18th Century, the doctor to the Danish King seized control of Denmark. Johann Friedrich was the royal physician for King Christian VII of Denmark, who could not truly serve as king due to mental illnesses. Friedrich soon realized the position of power he was in and declared himself the country’s de facto regent. During this time, he changed 1,069 laws, including abolishing torture, press censorship, and slave trading in the Danish colonies, and reformed the nation’s universities, among many other things.