Iceland

330 Ultimate Tule

The explorer Pytheas wrote a travel journal that by now is long lost but which has been quoted from in several subsequent works. Among other things, he wrote of an island that he called Thule or Ultima Thule. This island is thought to have been Iceland.

330 BC: An explorer named Pytheas sailed north from Marseilles (France) to discover how far the world would reach in that direction. He navigated the British Isles and the northern seas and upon returning home wrote about an island that he called Thule or Ultima Thule, which either he had learned about from others or discovered himself. This island was six days north of Britain and one day removed from "the end of the world". The island he found is thought to have been Iceland.

874-930 The settlement of Iceland

Iceland was settled mainly by Norwegians, who brought with them a number of Celts. The first geographical document describing the northern seas was written by an Irish monk named Dicuil, early in the 9th century. The book was called "De mensura orbis terrae" and in it he related his interviews with Irish priests, the papas, who claimed they had sailed north to Thule and lived there from February to August.

The papas confirmed Pytheas' story that after a day's journey north of the island they had come upon "frozen sea". Dicuil was the first man to locate Thule as the isolated island that had already been known in Ireland in the latter part of the 8th century. That island later became known as Iceland.

The Irish monks are believed to have left Iceland soon after the Vikings themselves settled there around the year 900. It is possible, however, that they did remain in Iceland, in which case they would have been completely without influence. The Viking settlement of Iceland was precipitated largely by internal struggles in Norway, between the barbarian king Harald the Fairhaired and the former rulers. Harald won a major victory late in the 8th century, after which he drove his enemies all the way to the Scottish Isles, which he then conquered. Many fled to Iceland - which was then already known among Vikings - either directly from Norway or from Britain, thus evading Harald's reign of power.

The main source of information about the settlement of Iceland is the Landnαmabσk (Book of Settlements), written in the 12th century, which gives a detailed account of the first settlers. According to this book, Ingσlfur Arnarson was the first settler. He was a chieftain from Norway, who arrived in Iceland with his family and dependants in 874. He raised his farm in Reykjavik, which today is the country's capital. Over the subsequent 60 years or so Viking settlers, bringing a number of Celts with them, arrived from Scandinavia and raised homesteads throughout the inhabitable areas.

930 Establishment of the Althing

Althing, Iceland's present-day parliament, is the world's oldest existing national assembly. Founded at Thingvellir ("Parliament Plains"), the country's republican system of government was unique in its day. In the year 930, at the closing of what is now known as the Settlement period, a constitutional law code was accepted and the Althing established. The judicial power of the Althing was distributed among four local courts and a form of supreme court which convened annually at the national assembly at Thingvellir.

Leifur Eirνksson.
The statue of Leif the Lucy by Stirling A. Calder in Reykjavνk. A gift from The United States on the 1000 year anniversary of Alώingi in the year 1930

985 Eirikur the Red

Eirikur the Red (Eirνkur Rauπi) discovers and settles Greenland
In the year 985 the Viking Erik the Red moved from Iceland and settled in Greenland, there creating the first known permanent Nordic colony. He returned to Iceland in 986 and gave accounts of a country he called Grζnland ('Greenland'), hoping that the name would make it an attractive option for settlers.

He left Iceland with 25 ships loaded with prospective settlers, of which only 14 made it to Greenland

It was from this colony that Leifur Erikνsson Heppni ('Leif the Lucky') sailed to discover North America in the year 1000. The colony was roughly divided into two parts, Eystri Byggπ ('Eastern settlement') which Erik founded, and Vesturbyggπ ('Western settlement') which was about 200km north of Erik's farm and which is the present-day location of Nuuk. Both colonies were on the west coast of Greenland.

When they were at their most numerous, the farms in the Nordic colonies reached 300 in number. These had some 5000 inhabitants who, among other things, raised cattle, harvested the earth and hunted seals. It may be concluded that the settlers survived in that harsh environment only through the sheer force of will.

1000 Peaceful adoption of Christianity at Thingvellir

Christianity was peacefully adopted at the Althing by the Icelanders in the year 1000 AD The Althing assembled for two weeks every summer and attracted a large proportion of the population. The first bishopric was established at Skαlholt in South Iceland in 1056 and a second at Hσlar in the north in 1106. Both became the country's main centres of learning.

1000 Leifur the Lucky Eirνksson discovers North America and names it Vνnland ("Wineland").

In 985 AD the Viking Erik the Red left Iceland and settled in Greenland, founding there the first known permanent Nordic colony. He returned to Iceland in 986 and gave accounts of a country he called Grζnland ('Greenland'), hoping that the name would make it an attractive option for settlers. It was from this colony that Erik's son Leifur Heppni ('Leif the Lucky') sailed in the year 1000 to discover North America, which he named Vνnland the Good. One of the more reliable Icelandic Sagas, however, suggests that Leif Eriksson learned of Vνnland from another Icelander, Bjarni Herjσlfsson, who had sighted it some 14 years earlier. Whatever the truth is, these voyages of exploration became the source material of one of Europe's great literary flowerings.

13th century: "Golden age" and the writing of the sagas.

The Sagas include some of the classics of world medieval literature and are written in the ancient Viking language, which is still spoken in Iceland today. 1120 -1230 The old Scandinavian Sagas were written down in Iceland. The first literary tradition to emerge was poetry, which tended to be heroic in theme. Poetry was displaced during the Saga Age of the late 12th to late 13th centuries, when epic and dramatic tales of early settlement, romance, dispute and the development of Iceland were recorded. These provided both a sense of cultural heritage for Icelandic commoners and entertaining yarns on bitterly cold winter nights. Snorri Sturluson, a nobleman, historian and poet, wrote (or is believed to have written) the Prose Edda, the Heimskringla and the Sagas of the Norwegian

1262 Iceland becomes a Norwegian colony

The first naval battle in Iceland took place in 1244 at Hϊnaflσi, and has subsequently been called The Bay Battle. This particular battle occurred near the end of a series of battles and bloody clashes, which raged more or less continuously between 1208 and 1258. By the early 13th century, the enlightened period of peace that had lasted 200 years had come to an end. The country then entered the infamous Sturlung Age, a turbulent era of political treachery and violence. The opportunistic Norwegian King Hαkon Hαkonarson promptly stepped in, and Iceland became a Norwegian province to be plundered mercilessly.

1380 Iceland and Norway, become Danish colonies.

The volcano Mt. Hekla erupted in 1300, 1341 and 1389, causing widespread death and destruction. Recurring epidemics also plagued the country, and the Black Death that struck Norway in 1349 effectively cut off trade and supplies.

At the end of the 14th century, Iceland was brought under Danish rule. Disputes between church and state resulted in the Reformation of 1550, and the imposing of Lutheranism as the country's religious doctrine. Throughout the next two centuries, Iceland was crippled by rampant Danish profiteering, beset by international pirates and subject to an increasing number of natural disasters. The eighteenth century marked the most tragic age in Iceland's history. In 1703, when the first complete census was taken, the population was approximately 50,000, of whom about 20% were beggars and dependants. From 1707 to 1709 the population sank to about 35,000 because of a devastating smallpox epidemic. Twice more the population declined below 40,000, both during the years 1752-57 and 1783-85, owing to a series of famines and natural disasters.

Emigration to America

In the last quarter of the 19th century the Icelandic nation was beset by problems: hardship, overpopulation, diseases and famine. Icelanders had been emigrating west to North America since 1855, but the first organized journey was undertaken in 1873 when a large group sailed from Akureyri.

The greatest exodus to the west took place shortly after 1880. At that time the nation was faced with great hardship, which was blamed upon the Danish ruling class. The situation lasted until 1890, when living conditions began to improve.

The majority of those who emigrated settled in Manitoba, Canada. An Icelandic "colony" was formed there in 1875 and was called Nύja Νsland ('New Iceland'). The colony was located on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg, about 60 miles north of the city of Winnipeg, and encompassed about 300 square miles of territory.

Many of those who first left after 1855 converted to Mormonism and moved to Utah in the United States, settling in Spanish Fork.

From 1855 to 1914 about 15,000 Icelanders emigrated to North America. Many never returned and were sadly missed; some returned with new insights and technological knowledge.

Today it is estimated that about 60,000 North Americans can trace their roots to Icelandic origin. About 18,000 are believed to be in the British Columbia, Canada, and Washington State, USA area. Some 25,000 more are located in the Manitoba and North Dakota areas. The remainders are to be found in groups of several thousands in and around large urban centres like Toronto, New York and Los Angeles. There are also notable settlements in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
These people and their descendants are often called 'Vestur-Νslendingar' among Icelanders, and Icelandic Canadians or Icelandic Americans with non-Icelanders.

Stepping-stones toward independence

By the end of the 18th century the Althing had been dissolved and the old diocese replaced by a bishop residing in Reykjavνk. Due to the plight of the populace the trade monopoly was modified in 1783 and all subjects of the Danish king given the right to trade in Iceland.

Denmark's grip on Iceland was broken in 1874 when Iceland drafted a constitution which gave it permission to handle its own domestic affairs.

1904 Home rule. Appointment of the first Icelandic government minister.

1918 Act of Crown Union with Denmark, Iceland assumes full control of virtually all its domestic affairs, with the Danish King as head of state.

Iceland was released from Danish rule in 1918, making it an independent state within the Kingdom of Denmark, with Copenhagen retaining responsibility for defence and foreign affairs.

1930 Millennium of the establishment of the Althing parliament, celebrated at Thingvellir.

17 June 1944, the Republic of Iceland formally proclaimed at Thingvellir.

After the occupation of Denmark and Iceland's declaration of sovereignty, the island's vulnerability became a matter of concern for the Allied powers. In response, British and US troops were moved in. The Americans still remain. The British incurred Icelandic wrath when they refused to recognize Iceland's expanded territorial fishing rights in the 1970s. For a few years, clashes between Icelandic gunships and British warships during the so-called Cod Wars became a regular feature of the fishing season.

In recent years, Iceland's economy has looked shaky: fishing quotas have been cut back, unemployment has risen and the crone devalued. Clashes between environmental organisations and the Icelandic whaling industry, which split from the International Whaling Commission in 1992, also haven't helped matters. However, the economy now seems to be taking a turn for the better.

UP