According to the Landnmabk, Iceland was discovered by Naddodd, one of the first settlers in the Faroe Islands, who was sailing from Norway to the Faroes but lost his way and drifted to the east coast of Iceland. In 1602, Iceland was forbidden to trade with countries other than Denmark, by order of the Danish government, which at this time pursued mercantilist policies. The First King was a legendary figure who lived during the Dawn Age. Iceland was still uninhabited long after the rest of Western Europe had been settled. "University of Michigan Law School Faculty & Staff", Bloodtaking and Peacemaking: Feud, Law, and Society in Saga Iceland, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_Iceland&oldid=1148977914, Short description with empty Wikidata description, Articles needing additional references from July 2014, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2009, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, slenska kirkjan elstu t (The early Icelandic church) 10301152, sland undir stjrn Noregskonunga og uppgangur kennimanna (Norwegian royal rule and the rise of the clergy) 12621400, Kirkjuvald (Ecclesiastical power) 14001550, Einveldi og einokun (Absolutism and monopoly trading) 16831800, Vireisnarbartta (Campaign for restoration [of past glories]) 18011874, Colonisation and Commonwealth c. 8701262, A primitive society builds a state 18091918. While the Icelandic government did follow through on its threat to break off diplomatic relations with the UK during the Third Cod War, it never went through on its threats to close the U.S. base or to withdraw from NATO. [17] The trade has been credited with raising Icelandic living standards. In July 1941, responsibility for Iceland's occupation and defence passed to the United States under a U.S.-Icelandic agreement which included a provision that the U.S. recognize Iceland's absolute independence. [18][17], The 16th century has been referred to as the "German Age" by Icelandic historians due to the prominence of German traders. abc.net.au/news/exhibition-tells-story-of-convict-iceland-king-jorgen-jorgenson/11582422 Jorgen Jorgenson arrived in Tasmania as a convict in 1826, but it was not his first visit to Van Diemen's Land. In the 13th century, a civil war known as the Age of the Sturlungs gripped Iceland. ", "A Theory of Shelter: Iceland's American Period (19412006)", "Small States and Shelter Theory: Iceland's External Affairs", "Former Prime Minister Dav Oddsson retires from politics", "Government set to lose majority in Iceland", "Iceland's Government Collapses Over Financial Crisis | DW Learn German", "Iceland Picks the World's First Openly Homosexual PM", "The Icesave dispute: A Case Study into the Crisis of Diplomacy during the Credit Crunch", "Iceland lost almost 5000 people in 2009", "Iceland Recession Ends as Economy Returns to Growth", "Iceland vote: Centre-right opposition wins election", "Iceland prime minister resigns; new election expected on Nov. 4", "Iceland election: centre-right parties lose majority", "Iceland's Left-Green leader Jakobsdttir becomes new PM", "Guni Th. To face the challenges of the future, residents here will have to look back on this countrys fascinating history, from its early settlement to its declaration of independence after World War II, as well as the contentious and influencing years that followed. Disrupting the monsoon cycles of Africa and India, the eruption caused widespread famine in Egypt (resulting in a loss of of the population). 860 set out on a voyage from Denmark, where he had made his home, to the Hebrides, to claim some land his wife had inherited. It appears that heathen worship was organized around a distinct class of chieftains called godar (singular godi), of which there were about 40. However, this is merely a guess. Upon arriving at the German consulate, British forces were relieved to find no resistance. The last glacial period, commonly referred to as The Ice Age is thought to have begun about 110,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago. Archeological evidence strongly suggests that the timing is roughly accurate; "that the whole country was occupied within a couple of decades towards the end of the 9th century. The airport was eventually returned to the Iceland Defense Force in 1951, though the U.S. Navy maintained Keflavik Naval Air Station until 2006. How do Icelanders treat the LGBTQ community? The Kingdom of Denmark (1814-1979) The Home Rule of Greenland (since 1979) Part of the Kingdom of Norway, from 1261 to 1814 [ edit] Greenland as an integral part of Norway under the Monarchy of Norway From the 1260s, the Norse colony on Greenland recognised the King of Norway as their overlord. To sustain life in Iceland, the early inhabitants needed to trade with the outside world. (Anne-Sophie Ofrim / Public Domain ) The vast armies clashed in a great naval battle in the fjord that was part of Rogaland. [67] In September 2017, the 9-month-old center-right coalition of Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson, leader of the Independence Party, collapsed after one party, a small centrist Bright Future, left the government. [48][50], The Cod Wars were a series of militarized interstate disputes between Iceland and the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the mid-1970s. There was no resistance, but the government protested against what it called a "flagrant violation" of Icelandic neutrality, though Prime Minister Hermann Jnasson called on Icelanders to treat the British troops with politeness, as if they were guests. [7], Iceland remained, for a long time, one of the world's last uninhabited larger islands (the others being New Zealand and Madagascar). [29], The war had a lasting impact on Icelandic society and Iceland's external relations. I have first-hand experience and comprehensive insight into the contemporary challenges of healthcare provision within the UK and overseas (USA, Iceland, Denmark and Haiti). This percentage was quickly depleted by the new arrivals, who were quick to use the material for constructing ships, homes, and farmsteads. [36], Iceland turned down British offers of protection after the occupation of Denmark, because that would violate Iceland's neutrality. Sixty-two unarmed German sailors were also arrested after being rescued from the Bahia Blanca, a German freighter that had recently struck an iceberg in the Denmark Strait. According to stipulations in the 1918 DanishIcelandic Act of Union, the two countries would maintain strong ties, with Iceland still falling under the territorial dominion of the Danish Monarchy. From the time of Harald Fairhair until the present day, Norway has had more than 60 named sovereigns. In 1949, Iceland joined as one of the founding members of NATO, while only a year before, the country had begun to receive Marshall Aid from the United States. [26], 1,245 Icelanders, Icelandic Americans, and Icelandic Canadians were registered as soldiers during World War I. A layer of tephra (volcanic ash) that in many places coincides with the earliest remains of human habitation in Iceland has been identified in Greenland ice and dated to about 870. Iceland remained under Norwegian kingship until 1380, when the death of Olaf II of Denmark extinguished the Norwegian male royal line. Photo fromWikimedia,Creative Commons, byHaukurth. The exact date that humans first reached the island is uncertain. Trees that were not used for building were burnt for warmth. Book your complete trip with the best companies only. Britain, in particular, felt that this threatened their control of the North Atlantic and quickly telegraphed the Icelandic capital, asking them for their support as a belligerent and ally. So too did Britain want to build bases in Iceland to strengthen their North Patrol. The history of Iceland is rich with legend and lore, ranging from the first settlement that was established here over a thousand years ago to the prosperous, liberal, and modern Scandinavian nation that it is today. This refers to Sturla rarson and his sons, Sighvatr Sturluson, and Snorri Sturluson, who were one of two main clans fighting for power over Iceland, causing havoc in a land inhabited almost entirely by farmers who could ill-afford to travel far from their farms, across the island to fight for their leaders. There he settled with his family around 874, in a place he named Reykjavk "Smoke Cove", probably from the geothermal steam rising from the earth. Viking incursions into Britain were also expelled thoroughly during this time, potentially leading to a need for peaceful settlement in other lands. This writing dates to around 330 B.C. The Process of State-Formation in Medieval Iceland, Viator. As hunger set in and the weather patterns began to take a life of their own, social order in Iceland broke down, and looting became frequent. Luckily for both parties, Icelanders spotted a British reconnaissance plane surveying Reykjavik, giving them advanced notice that the British would arrive immediately. For the latter half of the 20th century, unemployment was low, industries were prospering, and life in Iceland was good, particularly for the most part, save for years when the annual harvest proved insufficient. The first Viking to visit Iceland was Gardar the Swede, who in c . Although Iceland was neutral in the Second World War, the United Kingdom invaded and peacefully occupied it in 1940 to forestall a Nazi occupation, after Denmark was overrun by the German Wehrmacht. The period from around 1200 to 1262 is generally known as the Age of the Sturlungs. Weve got you covered! Photo byWikimedia,Creative Commons, by Olaus Magnus. In A.D. 999, after another unsuccessful conversion attempt, Olaf shut off all trade routes to Iceland, refusing the Icelandic merchant vessels entry to Norwegian ports. The coalition government remained in power through elections in 1999 and 2003. Today, Surtsey is classified as a protected reserve, with only the academics studying it allowed to set foot on the island. The Icelandic constitutional referendum was held in 1944 as the closing chapters of the war began to materialize. [25][26][27] In their attempts to stop the Icelanders from trading with the Germans indirectly, the British imposed costly and time-consuming constraints on Icelandic exports going to the Nordic countries. In 2016, it was reported that the United States was considering re-opening the base.[58]. Vigdis Finnbogadottir assumed Iceland's presidency on August 1, 1980, the third elected female head of state in the world.[2]. Civil war and the end of the commonwealth, Iceland under Norwegian and Danish kings (12621944), NATO membership, US defense agreement, and the Cold War, "Iceland was therefore peacefully occupied by Britain on 10 May 1940," says, The 9th-century Irish monk and geographer, Solrun B. Jensdottir Hardarson, "The 'Republic of Iceland' 194044: Anglo-American Attitudes and Influences,", Learn how and when to remove this template message, United Kingdom invaded and peacefully occupied it, Denmark was overrun by the German Wehrmacht, Iceland severed its remaining ties with Denmark, Iceland's strategic importance during the Cold War, "Vigdis Finnbogadottir, the world's first elected female president", "Jrgen Schieber, University of Indiana. They would have to look elsewhere if they were ever going to recoup the losses accumulated over the years of the financial crash. While Iceland was abundant with specific resources such as poultry, cattle, sheep, horses, pigs, and fish, the people still lacked many of lifes essentials and luxuries. At the local level, three godar usually held a joint assembly in late spring at which a local court operated, again with judges nominated by the godar. In contrast to the northern legend of the First King, some legends from the Reach claim that Garth . [30][31] It has been argued that the thirst for news of the war helped Morgunblai to gain a dominant position among Icelandic newspapers. England provided early Icelanders with wheat, tin, honey, and barley, while Russia and the East Baltic region offered up amber and slaves in equal measure. As a dependency of Norway, Iceland came under the Danish-Norwegian Crown in 1380 and was in reality a Danish dependency from 1660. Iceland's history has also been marked by a number of natural disasters. Literate Christian culture also transformed lay life. These actions were aimed at keeping Icelanders' standard of living as high as it had become during the prosperous war years.[46]. Although the island was not populated until the Viking Age, Iceland probably had been known to people long before that time. The country proved to be well suited for sheep and cattle, and both were raised for meat and milk. Generally considered the first European to set foot on the North American continent, Leif got there nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus. Archaeological finds also support the documentary evidence and place Iceland among Norse Viking Age settlements of the late 9th or early 10th century. The twelfth-century scholar Ari orgilsson's slendingabk reasserts that items including bells corresponding to those used by Irish monks were found by the settlers. The first people to settle in Iceland were probably Irish monks who came in the 8th century. Icelandic patrol ships and British trawlers clashed in all four Cod Wars. Harald Fairhair is portrayed in both Icelandic and Norwegian sagas, mostly dating from the 12 and 13th centuries CE, as the first King of Norway. In the late 14th century Norway and Denmark entered into a union.List of rulers of Iceland. 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