The exact year that William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet is unknown, but scholars place it sometime between 1599 and 1601. In the years 1594 to 1603, England was enmeshed in the Nine Years' War, a military campaign to enforce English rule in Ireland. To be concise, England wanted to increase its control over a small area to encompass the whole island. It was the largest conflict England was involved in during the Elizabethan era.
In Hamlet, a similar situation exists as Denmark and Norway are fighting over territory; specifically, a piece of land Denmark has won but Norway wanted to win back.
Hamlet observes young Fortinbras' ability to lead men to their deaths over a disputed piece of land and contrasts it with his own reluctance to act in avenging his father.
It may be that the loyalty that Fortinbras' troops displayed was meant to observe and inspire the continued loyalty of English soldiers over controlling a piece of land and build, or at least maintain, public support for the Nine Years' War's aim of taking over Ireland.
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