History of Norway

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History of Norway
Ancient history Prehistory ∞ Stone Age Pre 1700 BC Bronze Age 1700–500 BC Iron Age 500 BC–800 AD Migration Age 21–700
Early Middle Ages Petty kingdoms Unknown–11thC Viking Age 8th–11thC Unification 860–1029 Establishment 872 Hereditary kingdom 9thC–1397 Imperial realm 9thC–1814 Military Establishment 9thC Migration settlement 9th–12thC Oversea colonization 9th–14thC Christianization 975–1000
High Middle Ages Middle Ages 1000–16th Civil War 1130–1240
Late Middle Ages Black Death 1349–1353 Kalmar Union 1397–1523 Treaty of Bergen 1450
Early modern period Denmark–Norway 1524–1814 Reformation 1537 Council abolishment 1537 Absolute monarchy 1661
Late modern period Re-established state 1814 Constitution 1814 Union with Sweden 1814–1905 Emigration 19th–20th Language conflict 19th– Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration 19th–1922 Polar exploration 1892–2008 Union dissolution 1905 Interwar independence 1905–1940 Possession annexations 1920–1939 German occupation 1940–1945 Reichskommissariat 1940–1945 Quisling regime 1942–1945 Cold War 1945–1991
Contemporary history Oil industry 1966–
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The history of Norway has been influenced to an extraordinary degree by the terrain and the climate of the region. About 10,000 BC, following the retreat inland of the great ice sheets, the earliest inhabitants migrated north into the territory which is now Norway. They traveled steadily northwards along the coastal areas, warmed by the Gulf Stream. They were hunter-gatherers whose diet included seafood and game, particularly reindeer as staple foods. Between 5,000 BC and 4,000 BC the earliest agricultural settlements appeared around the Oslofjord. Gradually, between 1,500 BC and 500 BC, agricultural settlements spread to the entire south Norway, while the inhabitants of the regions north of Trøndelag continued to hunt and fish.

The

By the 21st century, Norway became one of the world's most prosperous countries with oil and gas production accounting for 20 percent of its economy.[1] By reinvesting its oil revenues, Norway had the world's largest sovereign wealth fund in 2017.^[2]

Prehistory

Norway's coastline rose from glaciation with the end of the

The first farming, and thus the start of the Neolithic period, began ca. 4000 BC around the

The Bronze Age began around 1800 BC and involved innovations such as ploughing fields with

A climate shift with colder weather started about 500 BC. The forests, which had previously consisted of elm, lime, ash and oak, were replaced with birch, pine and spruce. The climate changes also meant that farmers started building more solid structures for shelter. Knowledge of ironworking was introduced from the Celts, resulting in better weapons and tools.^[9]

Nordic Iron Age (500 BC–800 AD)

Iron Age tools allowed for more extensive clearing and farming, and thus more areas were cultivated as the population grew with the increased harvests. A new social structure evolved: when sons married, they would remain in the same house; such an extended family was a clan. They would offer protection from other clans; if conflicts arose, the issue would be decided at a thing, a sacred place where all free men from the surrounding area would assemble and could settle disputes and determine sanctions for crimes, such as paying fines in food.^[11]

The last century BC saw a widespread cultural development. The Norse adapted letters and created their own alphabet,

The chieftains' power increased during the Migration Period between 400 and 550 as other Germanic tribes migrated northwards and local farmers wanted protection. This also resulted in the construction of simple fortifications. A plague hit southern Norway in the 6th century, with hundreds of farms being depopulated. Most were repopulated in the 7th century, which also saw the construction of several fishing hamlets and a boom in trade of iron and soapstone across the North Sea.^[12] Some chieftains were able to control most of the trade and grew in power throughout the 8th century.^[13]

Archaeological findings

In February 2020, Secrets of the Ice Program researchers discovered a 1,500-year-old Viking arrowhead dating back to the Germanic Iron Age and locked in a glacier in southern Norway caused by the climate change in the Jotunheimen Mountains. The arrowhead made of iron was revealed with its cracked wooden shaft and a feather, is 17 cm long and weighs just 28 grams.^[14][15][16]

Viking Age

The Viking Age was a period of Scandinavian expansion through trade, raids and colonization. One of the first raids was against Lindisfarne in 793 and is considered the beginning of the Viking Age.^[17] This was possible because of the development of the longship, suitable for travel across the sea, and advanced navigation techniques.^[18]

Vikings were well equipped, had chain mail armor, and were well trained. In addition to gold and silver, an important purpose from the raids was the capture and trading of thralls, which were brought to the Norwegian farms as a slave workforce. Whenever the men were engaged in warfare and voyages, the homestead was run by those remaining at home, supervised by the wife.^[19]

The lack of suitable farming land in Western Norway caused Norwegians to travel to and colonize sparsely populated areas of Shetland, Orkney, the Faroe Islands and the Hebrides, the latter of which became the Kingdom of the Isles.^[18] Norwegian Vikings settled on the east coast of Ireland circa 800 and founded the island's first cities, including Dublin. Their arrival caused the petty Gaelic kings to ally, and by 900 they had driven out the Norwegians.^[20]

The mid-9th century saw the largest chieftains of the petty kingdoms engaged in major power struggle. Harald Fairhair began the process of unifying Norway when he entered an alliance with the Earls of Lade and was able to unify the country after the decisive Battle of Hafrsfjord (circa 870–900).^[21] He set up the basics of a state administration with stewards seated at the most important estates of vanquished or exiled chieftains.

Iceland, then uninhabited, was discovered by Norwegians during the late 9th century. By 930 the island had been divided among 400 Norse chieftains.^[22]

The population increased from 150,000 in 1000 to 400,000 in 1300, resulting both in more land being cleared and the subdivision of farms. While in the Viking Age all farmers owned their own land, by 1300 seventy percent of the land was owned by the king, the church, or the aristocracy. This was a gradual process where farmers would borrow money in meagre times, often not being able to repay them. However, tenants always remained free men and the large distances and often scattered ownership meant that Norwegian farmers enjoyed much more freedom than continental serfs. In the 13th century about twenty percent of a farmer's yield went to the king, church and landowners.[36]

Decline and the Kalmar Union

The 13th century is described as Norway's Golden Age, with peace and increase in trade, especially with the British islands, although Germany became increasingly important towards the end of the century. Throughout the High Middle Ages the king established Norway as a sovereign state with a central administration and local representatives.^[37]

In 1349, the

The Hanseatic League took control of Norwegian trade in the 14th century and established trading posts in most Norwegian port cities, such as Oslo and Bergen, which had the largest German colony. In 1380, Olaf Haakonsson inherited both the Norwegian and Danish thrones, creating a union between the two countries.^[39] In 1397, under Margaret I, the Kalmar Union was created between the three Scandinavian countries. She waged war against the Hanse, resulting in a trade blockade and higher taxation on Norwegians, which resulted in a rebellion. However, Norway and its Council of State was too weak to secede from the union.^[40]

Margaret pursued a centralising policy which inevitably favoured Denmark, because it had a greater population than Norway and Sweden combined.^[41] Margaret also granted trade privileges to the Hanseatic merchants of Lübeck in Bergen in return for recognition of her right to rule, and these hurt the Norwegian economy. The Hanseatic merchants formed a state within a state in Bergen for generations.^[42] Even worse were the pirates, the "Victual Brothers", who launched three devastating raids on the port (the last in 1427).^[43]

Norway slipped ever more into the background under the Oldenburg dynasty (established 1450). There was a revolt under Knut Alvsson in 1502.^[44] Norwegians had some affection for king Christian II, who resided in the country for several years. Norway did not take any part in the events which led to Swedish independence from Denmark in the 1520s.^[45]

Union with Denmark

Sweden was able to pull out of the Kalmar Union in 1523, thus creating

The Puppet State era (lydriketiden)

When Frederick died and a three-way war of succession broke out between the supporters of his eldest son Christian (III), his younger Catholic brother Hans and the followers of Christian II. Olaf Engelbrektsson again tried to lead a Catholic Norwegian resistance movement. Christian III triumphed and Engelbrektsson went into exile and, in 1537, Christian demoted Norway from an independent kingdom to a puppet state, dissolving the Norwegian Council of State.^[46] The Reformation was also imposed in 1537,^[39] strengthening the king's power. All church valuables were sent to Copenhagen and the forty percent of the land which was owned by the church came under the control of the king. Danish was introduced as a written language, although Norwegian retained distinct dialects. Professional administration was now needed and power shifted from the pincial nobility to the royal administration: district stipendiary magistrates were appointed as judges and the sheriffs became employees of the crown rather than of the local nobility. In 1572 (or 1556), a viceroy was appointed for Norway with a seat at Akershus Fortress in Oslo. In 1628 the Norwegian Army was founded, and professional military officers were employed.^[47][48]

The Norwegian economy improved with the introduction of the water-driven saw in the early 16th century. Norway had huge resources of timber but did not have the means to exploit much of it in the Middle Ages as only hand-tools were available. The new saw mills which sprang up in the fjords changed this. In 1544 a deal was struck with the Netherlands (then part of the Holy Roman Empire) and the Dutch controlled the export of Norwegian timber for the next 150 years. Amsterdam was built on piles from Norway. Tree-felling was done in the winter when farm-work was impossible and it was easy to get the felled trees across the snow to the rivers. In the spring, the logs floated down the rivers to the saw mills by the sea.^[49] By the mid-16th century the power of the Hanseatic League in Bergen was broken; though German craftsmen remained, they had to accept Danish-Norwegian rule.^[50]

The 17th century saw a series of wars between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. The Kalmar War between 1611 and 1613 saw 8,000 Norwegian peasants conscripted. Despite lack of training, Denmark–Norway won and Sweden abandoned its claims to the land between Tysfjord and Varangerfjord. With the Danish participation in the Thirty Years' War in 1618–48, a new conscription system was created in which the country was subdivided into 6,000 legd, each required to support one soldier.^[51] Denmark–Norway lost the war and was forced to cede Jämtland and Härjedalen to Sweden. The Second Northern War in 1657 to 1660 resulted in Bohuslän being ceded to Sweden.

The Absolute Monarchy era (enevoldstiden)

King

The population of Norway increased from 150,000 in 1500 to 900,000 in 1800.^[53] By 1500 most deserted farms were repossessed. The period under absolutism increased the ratio of self-owning farmers from twenty to fifty percent, largely through sales of crown land to finance the lost wars. Crofts became common in the absolutism period, especially in Eastern Norway and Trøndelag, with the smallholder living at the mercy of the farmer.^[55] There were 48,000 smallholders in 1800. Compared to Denmark, taxes were very low in Norway, typically at four to ten percent of the harvest, although the number of farms per legd decreased from four to two in the 1670s. Confirmation was introduced in 1736; as it required people to read, elementary education was introduced.^[56]

The entire period saw

Denmark–Norway entered the

The Napoleonic Wars sent Norway into an economic crisis, as nearly all the merchants had gone bankrupt during the blockade. Recovery was difficult because of export tariffs and the country experienced high inflation. The

The textile industry started in the 1840s, which was followed up with mechanical workshops to build new machinery as the British

The population decrease resulted in a labor shortage in the agriculture, which again resulted in

Annual parliamentary sessions were introduced from 1869 and in 1872 ministers were, though a constitutional amendment, required to meet in Parliament to defend their policies. The king, despite having no constitutional right to do so, vetoed the amendment in three successive parliaments. The

The 1880s and 1890s saw the rise of the labor movement and trade unions became common; the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions was established in 1899 and the Norwegian Employers' Confederation the following year.^[87] The Labor Party had its first parliamentary members elected in 1903. The women's issue became increasingly dominant through the 1880s and they were gradually permitted to take secondary and tertiary education.^[89] Norwegian support of the union decreased towards the end of the 1890s, especially following the 1897 Swedish abolition of the free trade agreement and the lack of a Norwegian foreign minister. Negotiations of independence commenced, but were not effective because of shifting governments and the Swedish threat of war.^[88]

Independence

With the four-party

Norway adopted a policy of

From the start of World War II in 1939, Norway maintained a strict neutrality.^[108] Both Britain and Germany realized the strategic location; both made plans to invade Norway, regardless of Norwegian opposition. The Germans struck first and invaded Norway on 9 April 1940. After furious battles with Norwegian and British forces, Germany prevailed and controlled the country until the end of the war. The German goal was to use Norway to control access to the North Sea and the Atlantic, and to station air and naval forces to stop convoys from Britain to the USSR.

Government in exile

The government in exile, including the royal family, escaped to London. Politics were suspended and the government coordinated action with the Allies, retained control of a worldwide diplomatic and consular service, and operated the huge Norwegian merchant marine. It organized and supervised the resistance within Norway. One long-term impact was the abandonment of a traditional Scandinavian policy of neutrality; Norway became a founding member of NATO in 1949.^[109] Norway at the start of the war had the world's fourth largest merchant fleet, at 4.8 million tons, including a fifth of the world's oil tankers. The Germans captured about 20% of the fleet but the remainder, about 1000 ships, were taken over by the government. Although half the ships were sunk, the earnings paid the expenses of the government.^[110][111]

Quisling regime

Norway joined the Marshall Plan ("ERP") in 1947, receiving US$400 million in American support.^[121] Given the business background of the Marshall Plan's American leaders, their readiness to work with the Norwegian Labor government's ERP Council disappointed the conservative Norwegian business community. It was represented by the major business organizations, the Norges Industriforbund and the Norsk Arbeidsgiverforening. While reluctant to work with the government, Norwegian business leaders also recognized the dangers of appearing to obstruct the implementation of the Marshall Plan. American acceptance of a role for government in economic planning reflected their New Deal reformist orientation. The opportunities for mediation between conservative Norwegian business interests and the government that arose in the course of administering the Marshall Plan helped establish a base for the emergence of Norwegian corporatism in the 1950s.^[131]

1950 to 1972

The sale of cars was deregulated in October 1960, and in the same year the

Norway established its exclusive economic zone in the 1970s, receiving an area of 2,000,000 square kilometers (770,000 sq mi).^[144] A series of border disputes followed; agreements were reached with Denmark and Iceland in the 1990s,^[145] but the border in the Barents Sea was not agreed upon until 2010.^[146] Between 1973 and 1981 the country was ruled by the Labor Party, who carried out a series of reforms such as new school system. Farmers received increased subsidies and from 1974 women were permitted to inherit farms.^[145] Abortion on demand was legalized in 1978.^[147] Loans guaranteed in future oil income allowed Norway to avoid a recession during the mid-1970s. But by 1977 high wages had made Norwegian industry uncompetitive and a soaring forced cut-backs in public and private spending.^[148] Fish farming became a new, profitable industry along the coast.^[149]