Muhler
Imperial Majesty
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2010
- Messages
- 18,453
- City
- Eastern Jutland
- Country
- Denmark
From memory. I don't know when the islands were first settled. Presumably, just like the Orkney Islands fishermen may have stayed there for periods. But around the Viking Age, the islands, just like Iceland was settled for real. The Faeroe Islands quickly came under the Norwegian kings, in contrast to Iceland. But the islands in the North Atlantic, were not isolated entities, they were pit stops for traders, raiders and couriers and fishing vessels. And climate wise it was very much a nice place to live. No problem if you are used to live in a Norwegian fjord.
Originally there was little in the way of nationality in the Scandinavian countries back then. You owed your allegiance, if you even did that (in more isolated places), to a local chieftain or earl/jarl who had an overlord somewhere in the shape of a king. And while there was some distinction between the countries, an ethnic Dane could easily serve a Swedish earl. Often that was for a limited time, say a campaign or a trading expedition to Constantinople. At other times it could be for several years. Or for life if you decided to settle in Ireland for example.
The Faeroese and Icelanders speak what is closets to the original Nordic language. (Which explains why I'm able to understand the gist of written Faeroese.) We all spoke pretty much the same language with minor variation/dialects here and there. It was only some 500 years later that Norwegian, Swedish and Danish became distinct but still close related languages and also more central European. We are still in the process of devolving our languages. But in more isolated places (in medieval times that is) like the Faeroe Islands, Iceland and the Orkney Islands (They only came under the English throne, because James I married Christian IV's sister. They incidentally became quite good friends.) retained their Nordic dialects.
After the Viking Age, ships no longer had to hug the coasts or make short travels across the ocean. They were big enough to be true ocean going, so while the Faeroe Islands still remained a convenient pit-stop if need be, but were by now more often bypassed. So their place in the golden age of a North Atlantic trading network pretty much ended. Norway de facto became a province in the Danish realm, and so did Norwegian possessions in Greenland, Iceland, Orkneys and the Faeroe Islands. And over the centuries these possessions became more and more Danish. The administrative language being Danish and they were run by Danish or at least Danish-educated administrators.
They still maintained their distinct culture, probably as a way of dealing with the Danish sovereignty. They were not considered important in Denmark though, which was oriented more to the south, towards Europe than the North Atlantic. During the Viking and medieval times Denmark was the most advanced of the Nordic countries and as such were heavily influenced and did orient itself more towards Europe and England. Hence why there was a Danelaw (Danelagen) in England and a mostly Danish colonization of Normandy, while Norwegians settled in Dublin and Isle of Man and in places along the Scottish coast. Here in the sense that they de facto eventually became subject to the Norwegian and Danish kings. (Sweden moved to the east, but that's another story.)
Time passed. During the late 1600s to the early 1700s, the Faeroese Islands were often raided by North African pirates looking for slaves. (Just as Iceland and the British isles.) Then in 1940 DK was occupied by the Germans. The British soon occupied the Faeroe Islands and also Iceland, which soon became a protectorate of USA instead.. In 1944 Iceland declared independence. There was a seed of something similar on the Faeroe Islands, but then as now the population is way below critical mass for that to be realistic.
But after WWII the independence movement became more vocal and it still is. I can't say how much it means to the Faeroese today, that seems to swing a little according to the political whims on the islands. Just like Greenland the islands are heavily subsidized by Denmark, and just like in Greenland the world tends to end about 50 nautical miles from Torshavn...
Today the islanders are pretty affluent, mainly from fishing, and they cultivate their history and culture, which is great of course.
But it's also a society where you conform or your are out. It is in many ways an isolated community and with that comes a considerable intolerance. - It's not advisable to openly homosexual or trans. Certainly not outside Torshavn. That's the downside of tribal/village mentality. It is also a deeply Christian society. Even down to individual hamlets. Where there may be distinct differences between nearby hamlets. In one they may be mainstream Lutheran in another they may be downright puritan.
The islanders have also, and rightly so IMO, been criticized for their way of beaching and killing pilot whales. Which is done with long knives and according to old traditions. Beforehand it was a necessity to survive and the methods used were what were technically possible. That's not the case any more. The islanders wont starve if they don't kill pilot whales and there are other ways of killing or even rearing pilot whales for food if need be. But here we venture into the realm of cultural identity.
Queen Mary cannot do anything, that's simply not her job. That's a political issue. Even King Frederik's hands are tied due to political concerns. So everybody agree on not raising the issue.
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