Norwegian History
A History
of Norway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Settled since
the end of the last ice age, modern-day Norway became famous
in the Middle Ages for its fearless warriors, explorers and traders,
the Vikings, who controlled most of Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland
and parts of France, Britain, and Ireland between AD 800 and
AD 1100, and were also known to travel as far as Constantinople,
Greece, Northern Africa and Newfoundland. A number of small Norwegian
communities were gradually organized into larger regions in the
9th century, and in 872 King Harald Fairhair (Harald Hårfagre)
unified the realm and became its first supreme ruler.
The
Viking Kings
King Harald had many children, and his heirs ruled Norway with short
interruptions until 1319. By utilising their excellent boats and organisation
they became master traders and warriors. Around 1200 the Norwegian king
ruled over land from Man in the Irish Sea to the Kola Peninsula in the
east. Religious influence from Europe (especially Ireland) led to the
adoption of Christianity. Central in this was King Olav Haraldsson [Den
Hellige] who died in the battle of Stiklestad. He was later canonised
into Saint Olav.
Kalmar
Union
After being united under a single king and christened, Norway united
with Denmark and Sweden in the Kalmar Union (1397-1523), which ended
when Sweden seceded and Norway and its possessions quickly sank to the
status of provinces under Denmark. Norway's power were further weakened
by the fact that one third of the population died during the Black Death
pandemic of 1349-1351. Many towns lost all their population and still
remain empty today. Norway's provincial status lasted until 1814; this
period is called "the-400-year-night".
Control
by Sweden
In 1814 Denmark was defeated in the Napoleonic wars and ceded Norway
to Sweden in the Treaty of Kiel (January 14). Owing to an omission in
the treaty, the Norwegian crown colonies of Iceland, Greenland and the
Faeroe Islands were kept by Denmark. In an attempt to retain control
over Norway despite the treaty, the Crown Prince of Denmark encouraged
representatives of various social and political factions to gather at
Eidsvoll to declare independence, draft a constitution and elect a king
(who coincidentally happened to be the Crown Prince of Denmark). Sweden
responded later the same year by waging war on Norway, which forced King
Christian to renounce his claim and return to Denmark. Sweden then acknowledged
the newly drafted constitution. May 17 is celebrated as the day of the
new constitution, under which Norway has its own parliament (Stortinget),
but continued to be ruled by the king of Sweden, which means Norway was
in a union with Sweden. The union was dissolved in 1905 after several
years of political unrest. Prince Carl of Denmark was elected King of
Norway by referendum and assumed the throne under the Norwegian name
of Haakon VII.
World Wars
Norway remained neutral during World War I, however 1156 Norwegian sailors
were lost during the U-boat war.
As World War II erupted, Norway insisted on remaining neutral despite
warnings from some political factions that the country's strategic importance
was too great for Germany to leave it alone, and attempts from the same
factions to obtain political consensus to build up sufficient defences
to withstand an invasion long enough for Allied reinforcements to arrive.
In a surprise dawn attack on April 9th, 1940, German forces
attacked Oslo and the major Norwegian ports (Bergen, Trondheim
and Narvik) and quickly gained footholds in those cities and
the surrounding areas. The Norwegian army, manning an ancient
fort in the Oslofjord, sank a German troop vessel (Blücher)
using cannons that had been preserved as an historic exhibit.
This delayed the German invasion long enough for King Haakon,
the parliament, and government to escape the city with much
of the treasury, eventually forming a government in exile in
London.
The Norwegian politician Vidkun Quisling attempted a coup
the same day, but was met with such strong resistance from
the people that the Germans deposed him within a week and installed
a bureaucratic administration in lieu of a government. However,
in 1942 this administration was replaced with an occupation
government with the ineffective Quisling being named minister
president by German commander Josef Terboven. Quisling's name
has come to mean "traitor" in several languages.
Despite the strength of the German position and the lack of
air support, the Norwegian armed forces kept up an organized
military resistance for more than two months, longer than any
other country except the Soviet Union.
King Haakon VII and his government fled to Britain on June
7th, the same day the French forces that had retaken Narvik
abandoned it to return to a quickly disintegrating France.
The continued existence of a legitimate Norwegian government
gave the exiles considerably more room for action than the
French. The worldwide operations of the large Norwegian merchant
fleet was a material aid to the allies.
The Norwegian resistance movement (both civilian resistance
and some pockets of military resistance that did not surrender
in 1940) remained very active throughout the war. Norwegian
resistance kept many German divisions tied down in occupation
duty and Norwegian spotters led to the destruction of numerous
German warships. The Norwegian resistance also smuggled people
in and out of Norway during the war and also managed to snatch
the world's supply of heavy water and also destroy a heavy
water plant, thus perhaps preventing the Germans from developing
an atomic bomb. (For an anecdote of the Norwegian resistance,
see paper clip).
Following the 1941 raid by British Commandos on the minor
port of Vaagso, Hitler further reinforced Norway, mistakenly
thinking that the British may invade northern Norway to put
pressure on Sweden and Finland. By the end of the war the German
garrison was 372,000 strong (the Norwegian population at the
time numbering a little over 3 million)[1].
The Norwegian merchant ships that were in Allied waters at
the time of invasion were requisitioned by the exiled Norwegian
Government in London. The Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission
was established in London shortly thereafter, and the name
abbreviated to Nortraship, following a suggestion from the
British Postal Services. Main duties were that of war transports,
supply services etc. including the supply of food, ammunition
and reinforcements to the front lines, besides evacuating the
wounded. Nortraship had 1081 ships with 33,000 sailors. 570
ships were lost (these numbers vary according to source), along
with 3734 sailors.
By the end of the war, Norwegian naval vessels were also fighting
alongside the British and unlike most occupied countries, Norway
was counted as a victor in World War 2. However with a large
German garrison, many children born to mixed parents under
the German Lebensborn plan suffered recriminations.
Post War
Following the failure of neutrality in World War 2 in 1949, neutrality
was abandoned and Norway became a member of NATO and was a founding
member of the United Nations. The first UN General Secretary, Trygve
Lie, was a Norwegian. The discovery of oil and gas in adjacent waters
in the late 1960s boosted Norway's economic fortunes. The current focus
is on containing spending on the extensive welfare system and planning
for the time when petroleum reserves are depleted. In referenda held
in 1972 and 1994, Norway rejected joining the EU.
Norway resumed allowing whaling with low quotas in 1993, in spite of
protests from environmental organizations. Norway is a firm believer
in sustainable development of its natural resources, and firmly believes
that a quota of approximately 500 whales a year out of about 120,000
whales is reasonable.
Under the terms of the will of Alfred Nobel, the Storting
(Parliament) elects the five members of the Norwegian Nobel
Committee who award the Nobel Peace Prize to champions of peace.
This article is licensed under
the GNU Free
Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia
article "History of Norway".
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