The Faroese house of Parliament, arguably the oldest one on earth!
Torshavn, Friday,
Torshavn, Friday,
Far to the north of the British Isles lie the Faroe Islands, a ruggedly beautiful archipelago home to a fiercely independent people.
The BuffPo has looked into the crystal ball to try to work out what will happen next to this archipelago of 18 mountainous islands located between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Norwegian Sea. Will the islands ever become independent - or are they more likely to slowly decline as the younger generation choose both jobs and better weather elsewhere?
History offers mixed messages. The name of the Faroes is derived from old Norse and means Sheep Islands, this dates back to the Vikings who arrived from Norway in the 9th century and settled there. The medieval culture and organization of the islands was clearly Norse both in origin and form, with the Althing or “All-council” in Tórshavn, the capital city of the Islands, probably the oldest parliament in the world! Naturally, when a thousand years later (this is in 1816) with the islands now under the administration of the Danes, the parliament was abolished, along with the local judiciary, it caused great resentment. Anger was fuelled by the introduction of Danish as the main language, whilst Faroese was discouraged.
In response, the Danish government poured resources into the islands with the result that, up to the 1980s the islanders enjoyed one of the world's highest standards of living. Yet, just a decade later, the economy was in tatters and one in every fifteen inhabitants had emigrated! The bottom line is that today, the mood on the islands is tense, with the community divided not so much between pro and anti-independence parties but between two kinds of nationalists: those who support independence no matter how, and those who WOULD want their sovereignty – but not at the price of losing the Danish cash that supports some of the most generous public services in the European Union.
To make sense of politics on the islands, you have to appreciate that the economy revolves around one thing: fishing. When, in 1973, Denmark joined the European Community (now European Union), the Faroes, although nominally a Danish possession, refused to join, mainly over the issue of fishing limits. The issue continued through the 1980s to fuel calls for Faroese independence. The early 1990s saw a dramatic slump in fish stocks, which were being overfished with new high-tech equipment.
At the same time, the island's government was also engaged in massive overspending. In October 1992, the Faroese national bank (Sjóvinnurbankin) even had to call in receivers and the government was forced to ask Denmark for a huge financial bailout of nearly two billion Danish Krona, twice the annual grant of 1 billion DKK.
If being in debt took the wind from the sails of the independence movement, the austerity measures that were introduced quickly changed that. Spending was cut, there was a tax and VAT increase and public employees were given a swingeing across the board 10% wage cut. And then came a final existential threat: much of the fishing industry was put into receivership, with plans drawn up to slash the number of fish-farms and ships.
It was during this period that many Faroese (6%) decided to emigrate, mainly to Denmark. Unemployment rose, up to as much as 20% in Tórshavn, with it being higher in the outlying islands. The country’s two largest banks were forced to merge, while the third largest went bankrupt. Meanwhile, there was a growing international boycott of Faroese produce because of the whaling issue.
It was very fortunate for the islands that around this time, oil was discovered nearby. By the early 21st century weaknesses in the Faroese economy had been eliminated and once again many minds turned to the possibility of independence from Denmark. So will the islands go independent? Our guess is yes, but definitely not right now.
A Brief Overview of Faroese history…
The Faroe Islands are a self-governing Danish archipelago in the Norwegian Sea. Its fascinating history helps understand its current status as a part of Denmark.
The first known settlers in the Faroe Islands were Irish monks, who in the 6th century AD named the territory “Islands of the Sheep and the Paradise of Birds”. The name of the islands is first recorded on the Hereford Mappa Mundi (1280), where they are labeled “Farei”. The name has long been understood as based on Old Norse fár "livestock", thus fær-øer "sheep islands".
The earliest text which has been claimed to be a description of the Faroe Islands was written by the Irish monk Dicuil c.825 in his work ‘A description of the Sphere of the Earth... The monk described how he had landed on islands in the far north after sailing "two days and a summer night in a little vessel with two banks of oars".
Viking age Norwegian kings long aspired to gain control over the Faroe Islands, but for many years the Faroese managed to fight them off. However, in the 11th century, the Faroe Islands eventually became firmly attached to the Kingdom of Norway. Sigmund Brestisson was sent from Norway to take possession of the islands for the king and introduced Christianity, although he was subsequently murdered!
Denmark and Norway then united and became just one country. Yet this union broke up after the Napoleonic wars and was succeeded by a Norwegian-Swedish union in 1814. It was then that the territory of the Faroe Islands ended up under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark, along with other colonies like Greenland and Iceland. In 1849 a new constitution came into use in Denmark and was extended to the Faroes in 1850, giving the Faroese two seats in the Danish parliament. The Faroese, however, managed in 1852 to re-establish their own Løgting as a county council with an advisory role, and the late 19th century saw increasing support for the home rule/independence movement.
Following the liberation of Denmark and the end of World War II, a referendum on full independence was held in 1946, which produced a majority in favor! The vote, however, was not recognized by the Danish Government due to only two-thirds of the population participating and instead, the Danish king abolished the government of the Faroes! However, a high degree of self-governance was granted in 1948 with the passing of the Act of Faroese Home Rule. Faroese became an official language, although Danish was still taught as the second language in schools. And the Faroese flag started to be officially flown by Danish authorities!
The BuffPo has looked into the crystal ball to try to work out what will happen next to this archipelago of 18 mountainous islands located between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Norwegian Sea. Will the islands ever become independent - or are they more likely to slowly decline as the younger generation choose both jobs and better weather elsewhere?
History offers mixed messages. The name of the Faroes is derived from old Norse and means Sheep Islands, this dates back to the Vikings who arrived from Norway in the 9th century and settled there. The medieval culture and organization of the islands was clearly Norse both in origin and form, with the Althing or “All-council” in Tórshavn, the capital city of the Islands, probably the oldest parliament in the world! Naturally, when a thousand years later (this is in 1816) with the islands now under the administration of the Danes, the parliament was abolished, along with the local judiciary, it caused great resentment. Anger was fuelled by the introduction of Danish as the main language, whilst Faroese was discouraged.
In response, the Danish government poured resources into the islands with the result that, up to the 1980s the islanders enjoyed one of the world's highest standards of living. Yet, just a decade later, the economy was in tatters and one in every fifteen inhabitants had emigrated! The bottom line is that today, the mood on the islands is tense, with the community divided not so much between pro and anti-independence parties but between two kinds of nationalists: those who support independence no matter how, and those who WOULD want their sovereignty – but not at the price of losing the Danish cash that supports some of the most generous public services in the European Union.
To make sense of politics on the islands, you have to appreciate that the economy revolves around one thing: fishing. When, in 1973, Denmark joined the European Community (now European Union), the Faroes, although nominally a Danish possession, refused to join, mainly over the issue of fishing limits. The issue continued through the 1980s to fuel calls for Faroese independence. The early 1990s saw a dramatic slump in fish stocks, which were being overfished with new high-tech equipment.
At the same time, the island's government was also engaged in massive overspending. In October 1992, the Faroese national bank (Sjóvinnurbankin) even had to call in receivers and the government was forced to ask Denmark for a huge financial bailout of nearly two billion Danish Krona, twice the annual grant of 1 billion DKK.
If being in debt took the wind from the sails of the independence movement, the austerity measures that were introduced quickly changed that. Spending was cut, there was a tax and VAT increase and public employees were given a swingeing across the board 10% wage cut. And then came a final existential threat: much of the fishing industry was put into receivership, with plans drawn up to slash the number of fish-farms and ships.
It was during this period that many Faroese (6%) decided to emigrate, mainly to Denmark. Unemployment rose, up to as much as 20% in Tórshavn, with it being higher in the outlying islands. The country’s two largest banks were forced to merge, while the third largest went bankrupt. Meanwhile, there was a growing international boycott of Faroese produce because of the whaling issue.
It was very fortunate for the islands that around this time, oil was discovered nearby. By the early 21st century weaknesses in the Faroese economy had been eliminated and once again many minds turned to the possibility of independence from Denmark. So will the islands go independent? Our guess is yes, but definitely not right now.
A Brief Overview of Faroese history…
The Faroe Islands are a self-governing Danish archipelago in the Norwegian Sea. Its fascinating history helps understand its current status as a part of Denmark.
The first known settlers in the Faroe Islands were Irish monks, who in the 6th century AD named the territory “Islands of the Sheep and the Paradise of Birds”. The name of the islands is first recorded on the Hereford Mappa Mundi (1280), where they are labeled “Farei”. The name has long been understood as based on Old Norse fár "livestock", thus fær-øer "sheep islands".
The earliest text which has been claimed to be a description of the Faroe Islands was written by the Irish monk Dicuil c.825 in his work ‘A description of the Sphere of the Earth... The monk described how he had landed on islands in the far north after sailing "two days and a summer night in a little vessel with two banks of oars".
Viking age Norwegian kings long aspired to gain control over the Faroe Islands, but for many years the Faroese managed to fight them off. However, in the 11th century, the Faroe Islands eventually became firmly attached to the Kingdom of Norway. Sigmund Brestisson was sent from Norway to take possession of the islands for the king and introduced Christianity, although he was subsequently murdered!
Denmark and Norway then united and became just one country. Yet this union broke up after the Napoleonic wars and was succeeded by a Norwegian-Swedish union in 1814. It was then that the territory of the Faroe Islands ended up under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark, along with other colonies like Greenland and Iceland. In 1849 a new constitution came into use in Denmark and was extended to the Faroes in 1850, giving the Faroese two seats in the Danish parliament. The Faroese, however, managed in 1852 to re-establish their own Løgting as a county council with an advisory role, and the late 19th century saw increasing support for the home rule/independence movement.
Following the liberation of Denmark and the end of World War II, a referendum on full independence was held in 1946, which produced a majority in favor! The vote, however, was not recognized by the Danish Government due to only two-thirds of the population participating and instead, the Danish king abolished the government of the Faroes! However, a high degree of self-governance was granted in 1948 with the passing of the Act of Faroese Home Rule. Faroese became an official language, although Danish was still taught as the second language in schools. And the Faroese flag started to be officially flown by Danish authorities!
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