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Gallery of the Nations
Iceland
"Iceland was proclaimed a republic on June 17, 1944."
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Iceland was considered uninhabited until about 870 AD, when Norwegian Viking, Ingólfur Arnarson settled and
built a farm at Reykjavík. Other settlers from the British Isles and the Scandinavian countries followed. In
930 AD, a central government, called the Althing, was established in Iceland.
The Althing was a republican commonwealth without executive authority or a head of state. For 300 years
Iceland prospered under this system. Icelandic farmers and fishermen traded with continental Europe and the
British Isles. In the late 10th century, Icelanders colonized Greenland and in the early 11th century another
Icelander, Lief Eriksson, attempted settlement in North America (Vinland).
Christianity was introduced in Iceland in 1000. The first bishop of Iceland, Ísleifr Gizurarson, was
consecrated by bishop Adalbert of Bremen in 1056. With the introduction of Christianity, political stability
in Iceland declined. The struggle for power by some leading families began to undermine the institutions of
the commonwealth. Two of the chiefs of one of the leading families, the Sturlungs -- Snorri Sturluson, in
1220; and his nephew, Sturla Sighvatsson, in 1235 -- became vassals of Haakon IV, King of Norway. They made
war on the other clans in Iceland and after decades of warfare, the leading clans, in 1262, signed the Old
Covenant (Gamli sáttmáli) accepting the sovereignty of Norway and recognizing Haakon IV as king of Iceland.
Morwegian control came with economic exploitation that, coupled with adverse changes in the weather, disease
epidemic and natural disaster, increased the poverty of Icelanders. Such exploitation increased considerably
after 1380 when both Norway and Iceland came under the control of Denmark in the Kalmar Union. Trade with
other nations such as England and Germany declined. In 1602 the Danish crown introduced trade monopoly and
for nearly 200 years only Denmark could trade with Iceland. The country was reduced to destitution as a
result.
In 1662 the Althing’s legislative powers were abrogated and the judiciary, sidelined when King Frederick III
of Denmark took over all political power in Iceland. In 1627 Ottoman pirates abducted almost 300 Icelanders
into slavery, in the episode known as the Turkish Abductions. This episode proved the Danish inability to
protect Iceland.
During the 18th century, poverty brought on by unfavorable foreign rule -- together with bad climatic
conditions, a series of natural disasters -- threatened to wipe out the Icelandic population. This is known
as the Mist Hardship period. By the beginning of the century, Iceland's population was 50,000, down from a
peak of about 80,000 around 1000 AD. By 1783, however, the population had dropped to 35,000.
During the 19th century Iceland's climatic conditions continued to decline. There was mass emigration to the
New World, particularly to the Province of Manitoba in Canada.
Even after Norway and Denmark were separated via the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, Iceland remained a dependency of
Denmark. But a new national consciousness was beginning to rise in Iceland.
Beginning from 1841, Jón Sigurđsson began to publish an annual magazine called Ný félagsrit (New Association
Writings) through which he clamored for Icelandic national rights. An independence movement grew around
Sigurđsson. In 1843, the Althing was revived as consultative assembly. Free trade with all nations was
re-established in 1854, and in 1874 a new constitution was promulgated, granting Iceland home rule with the
Althing having partial control over domestic finances. The 1874 constitution was revised in 1903. It made the
minister for Icelandic affairs responsible to the Althing. The Act of Union, drawn up on December 1, 1918
recognized the full sovereignty of Iceland (Kingdom of Iceland). However, Iceland remained under the Danish
king and its foreign and defense interests continued to be represented by Denmark. The Act would be reviewed
in 25 years and could be revoked three years later with no agreement.
The Treaty of Union ran out in 1943. This was during World War II when Denmark was occupied by Germany (April
9, 1940) and Iceland was occupied by Great Britain (May 10, 1940). Icelanders decided to act unilaterally to
terminate the Union Treaty. A national referendum was held in Iceland and 97.3 percent voted to sever all ties with
Denmark, with 95 percent choosing a republic. Iceland was proclaimed a republic on June 17, 1944. Sveinn
Björnsson was made the republic's first president. The Danish king, Christian X, sent a message of
congratulations to the Icelandic people.
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