History of the Faroe Islands
The early details of Faroese history are often unclear. It is possible that Saint Brendan, an Irish monk, sailed past the islands during his North Atlantic voyage in the 6th century. He saw an 'Island of Sheep' and a 'Paradise of Birds,' which some say could be the Faroes with it's dense bird population and sheep. In the late 600's to early 700's the islands were visited by monks from Ireland, possibly looking for converts. Little is known about them, except that they used the Faroes (and Iceland) as a hermitage.
Little is known about Faroese history up till the 14th century. The main historical source for this period is the 13th century work Faeringa Saga (Saga of the Faroe Islanders), and it is disputed as to much of this work is historical fact. It appears that about the beginning of the 9th century Grim Kamban, a Norwegian emigrant who had left his country to escape the tyranny of Harald Hårfagre, settled in the islands. He was followed by many others. What few monks were left are thought to have fled. The Faroes then already bore their name of 'Sheep Islands,' as these animals had been found to flourish here. In 805 a government was set up (the Alting, meaning 'people’s assembly'), at Tinganes, a peninsula at the capital Tórshaven.
The islands were converted to Christianity around the year 1000, with a church based at Kirkjubøur, southern Streymoy with 33 bishops. The Faroes made a part of the Kingdom of Norway in 1035.
Early in the 11th century Sigmund or Sigmundur Brestisson, whose family had flourished in the southern islands but had been almost exterminated by invaders from the northern, was sent from Norway, whither he had escaped, to take possession of the islands for Olaf Tryggvason, king of Norway. He introduced Christianity, and, though he was subsequently murdered, Norwegian supremacy was upheld, and continued till 1386, when the islands became part of the double monarchy Denmark/Norway. In 1380 the Alting was renamed the Løgting, though it was by now little more than a royal court.
The 14th century saw the start of what would prove to be a long era of foreign enroachment in the Faroese economy. At this time trading regulations were set up so that all Faroese commerse had to pass through Bergen, Norway in order to collect customs tax. Meanwhile, the Hanseatic League was gaining in power, threatening Scandinavian commerce. Though Norway tried to halt this process it was forced to relent after the Black Death decimated it's population.
English adventurers gave great trouble to the inhabitants in the 16th century, and the name of Magnus Heineson, a native of Streymøy, who was sent by Frederick II to clear the seas, is still celebrated in many songs and stories.
In 1535 Christian III tried to wrest power from King Christian II. Several of the powerful German companies backed Christian II, however he eventually lost. The new King Christian III gave the German trader Thomas Köppen exclusive trading rates in the Faroes. These rights were subject to the following conditions: only good waulity goods were to be supplied by the Faroese and were to be made in numbers proportionate to the rest of the amrket, the goods were to be brought at their market value and the traders were to deal fairly and honestly with the Faroese.
Christian III also introduced Lutheran Protestantism to the Faroes, to replace Catholicism. This process took five years to complete, in which time Danish was used instead of Latin and church property was transferred to the state. The bishopric at Kirkebö, south of Tórshavn, where remains of the cathedral may be seen, was also abolished.
After Köppen, others took over the trading monopoly, though the economy suffered as a result of the war between Denmark and Sweden. During this period of the monopoly most Faroese goods (wool products, fish, meat) were taken to the Netherlands where they were sold at pre-determined prices. However, the guidelines of the trading agreement were often ignored or corrupted. This caused delays and shortages in Faroese supplies. Subsequently they produced poorer qaulity goods, and recived poorer aulity goods themselves. With the trading monoploy nearing collapse smuggling and piracy were rife. Denmark tried to solve the problem by giving the Faroes to Christoffer von Gabel (and later on his son, Frederick) as a personal feudal estate. However, von Gabel was harsh and repressive, breeding much resentment from the Faroese. This caused Denmark, in the 17th century, to take the islands and trading monoploy back themselves. However, they too struggled to keep the economy going, and many merchants were running at a loss. Finally, on the 1st January 1856 the trading monopoly was abolished.
Denmark retained possession of the Faeroes at the Peace of Kiel in 1815.
In 1816 the Løgting (the Faroese parliment) was officially abolished and replaced by a Danish judiciary. Danish was introduced as the main language, whilst Faroese was discouraged. In 1849 the islands were incorporated into Denmark as a county, and was given two seats in the Rigsdag (Danish parliment). However, the Faroese managed to re-establish the Løgting as a county council with an advisory role, with many people hoping to eventually achieve independence. The late 1800's saw increasing support for the home rule/independence movement, though not all people supported it. Meanwhile, the Faroese economy was growing with the introduction of large-scale fishing. The Faroese were allowed access to the large Danish waters in the North Atlantic. Living standards subsequently improved and there was a population increase. Faroese became a standardised written language in 1890.
During the Second World War Denmark was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany. The British subsequently took control of the Faroes to stop the same thing happening to the Faroes and thus losing important shipping lines. The Løgting was set up as a legislative body, with a Danish prefect retaining executive power. The faroese flag was also used as an ensign. Some people tried to declare complete independence at this stage.
A high degree of self-governance was attained in 1948 with the passing of the Act of Faroese Home Rule bill. Faroese was now an official language, though Danish is still taught as a second language in schools. The Faroese flag was also officially recognised.
In 1973 Denmark joined the European Community (now European Union). The Faroes neglected to join as well, mainly over the issue of fishing limits.
The 1980's saw an increase in support for Faroese independence. Unemployment was very low, and the Faroese were enjoying one of the world's highest standards of living. The Faroese economy though was almost entirely reliant on fishing. The early 1990's saw a dramatic slump in fish stocks, which were being overfished with new high-tech equipment. During the same period the government engaged was also enagaged in massive overspending, associated with the Big 80s. National debt was now at 9.4 billion danish krones (DKK). Finally, in October 1992, the Faroese national bank (Sjóvinnurbankin) called in recievers and were forced into asking Denmark for a broad financial bailout. The initial sum was 500 million DKK, though this enetually grew to 1.8 billion DKK (this was in addition to the annual grant of 1 billion DKK). Austerity measures were introduced: public spending was cut, there was a tax and VAT increase and public employees were given a 10% wage-cut. Much of the fishing industry was put into recievership, with talk of cutting down on 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. In 1993 the Sjóvinnurbankin merged with the Faroes second largest bank, Føroya Banki. A third was declared bankrupt and folded. Meanwhile, there was a growing international boycott of Faroese produce over the grindadráp (whaling) issue. The independence movement dissolved on the one hand while Denmark found itself left with the Faroe Islands' unpaid bills on the other.
The measures largely worked. Unemployment peaked in january 1994 at 26%, since which it fell (10% in mid-1996, 5% in April 2000). The fishing industry was not curtailed as much as wa sbeing considered, so it survived largely intact. Fish stocks also rose, with the annual catch being 100,000 in 1994, to 150,000 in 1995. In 1998 it was 375,000. Emigration also fell to 1% in 1995, and there was a small population increase in 1996. Oil has been discovered nearby as well. By the early 2000's, weakness in the Faroese economy had been eliminated and, accordingly, many minds turned once again to the possibility of independence from Denmark. However, a planned independence referendum in 2001 was called off following Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen saying that Danish money grants would be phased out within four years is there was a 'yes' vote.
The Faroese ethnic group is of primarily early Scandinavian or Viking descent.