History of Svalbard

The polar archipelago of Svalbard was first discovered by Willem Barentsz in 1596, although there is disputed evidence of use by Pomors or Norsemen. Whaling for bowhead whales started in 1611, dominated by English and Dutch companies, though other countries participated. At that time there was no agreement about sovereignty. Whaling stations, the largest being Smeerenburg, were built during the 17th century, but gradually whaling decreased. Hunting was carried out from the 17th century by Pomors, but from the 19th century it became more dominated by Norwegians.

Exploration was initially conducted to find new whaling grounds, but from the 18th century some scientific expeditions took place. These were initially large scale, but from the late 19th century they became smaller and increasingly focused on the interior. The most important scientific explorers were

First verified discovery of Svalbard as a terra nullius

There is no conclusive evidence of the first human activity on Svalbard. Swedish archeologist Hans Christiansson found flint and slate objects he identified as

The first hunting expedition, to Bjørnøya, was organized by the

In 1614, the English and Dutch partitioned the island, as the aggression was hampering the profitability of both groups. That year, the Netherlands created Noordsche Compagnie as a whaling cartel. After the Muscovy Company fell into financial difficulties some years later, the Noordsche Compagnie got the upper hand and was able to dominate the whaling and fend off the English.^[12] They established themselves in the northwestern corner of Spitsbergen (around Albert I Land) and only permitted a limited Danish presence. The English whaled further south, while the French were allocated to the north coast and the open sea. From the 1630s, the situation stabilized and there were only a limited number of aggressive incidents.^[13]

Initially, all nations hired Basque whalers,^[14] although they gradually disappeared after their knowledge was learned by their companions. The whaling method was based on landing the whale, where it would be partitioned and the blubber boiled. With a high concentration of whales close to land, the method was efficient, as the companies would split the crew between the land station and hunting.^[15] The most famous land station was the Dutch Smeerenburg on Amsterdam Island which had up to 200 people employed. Because of the high costs involved, only larger companies conducted whaling. By the late 17th century there were between 200 and 300 ships and in excess of 10,000 whalers around Spitsbergen.^[16] The first overwintering was accidentally experienced by an English group in Bellsund in 1630–31. The first planned overwintering was achieved by the Noordsche Compagnie in 1633–34.^[17]

A limited amount of open-sea whaling was performed by interlopers—independent entrepreneurs. The Noordsche Compagnie was disbanded by the government in 1642. The decade also saw an increase in whaling outside the main bays and fjords.

It is not known when Pomors first came to Svalbard, although permanent activity had been established by the mid-16th century.[21] Hunters were sent by merchants, and monasteries, such as Solovetsky Monastery, and settled in smaller stations along the coast. They would hunt reindeer, Arctic fox, seals, walrus and polar bears. The activity was most extensive at the end of the 18th century, when an estimated 100 to 150 overwintered.^[22] Unlike the whaling, Pomor activity was sustainable, they alternated stations between seasons and did not deplete the natural resources.^[23]

Scientific exploration increased through the 18th century, with the most extensive surveys being carried out by

The first attempt at creating a permanent settlement was carried out by Sweden's Alfred Gabriel Nathorst. He established Kapp Thordsen on Isfjorden in 1872, but the planned phosphorite mining was not carried out and the settlement abandoned.^[36] Coal had always been mined and gathered by whalers and hunters, but industrial mining did not start until 1899. Søren Zachariassen of Tromsø was the first to establish a mining company to exploit Svalbard minerals. He claimed several places in Isfjorden and exported coal to the mainland, but lack of capital stopped further growth.^[37]

The first commercially viable mining company was

Although Denmark–Norway never formally gave up its claim to Svalbard, the archipelago continued to be a terra nullius—a land without a government. The work to establish an administration was initiated by Nordenskiöld in 1871, in which he established that only Russia and Norway would object to an annexation of the island.^[41] Fridtjof Nansen's endeavors raised the Norwegian public's consciousness of the Arctic, which again brought forth public support for annexation of Svalbard.^[42] Yet the need for jurisdiction came from the mining community. Firstly, there was no means to make a mining claim legal. Secondly, there was a need for conflict resolution, particularly regarding labor conflicts, which often saw the mining company and the workers have different nationalities.^[43]

The Government of Norway took initiative in 1907 for negotiations between the involved states.

After significant political debate, a proposal to establish Svalbard as a dependency and administer it from Tromsø was rejected. Instead the Svalbard Act specified that the islands would be administered by the Governor of Svalbard and was considered "part of the Kingdom of Norway", although not regarded as a county. The islands had until then been known as the Spitsbergen Archipelago, and it was at this time the term Svalbard was introduced. The legislation took effect on 14 August 1925.^[46] A mining code was passed in 1925 and by 1927 all mining claims, some of which conflicted, were resolved.^[47] All unclaimed land was taken over by the Norwegian Government.^[48] Although the Soviet Union was initially skeptical to the treaty, they were willing to trade a signing of it in exchange for a Norwegian recognition of the Soviet regime.^[49]

During the 1920s, mining fell into an economic slump, with several of the mining communities being closed. By the 1930s, only Store Norske and the Soviet state-owned

In 1944, the Soviet Union proposed that Svalbard become a

Grumant was closed in 1961.^[61] The following year, 21 miners were killed in an accident in Ny-Ålesund, which led to the Kings Bay Affair, ultimately resulting in the withdrawal of Gerhardsen's Third Cabinet. Oil drilling was started by Caltex in 1961. They were granted claims based on indications, rather than samples, of oil, which was not granted to Arktikugol, leading to strained relations with the Soviet Union.^[60] No commercially viable wells were found. A new round of searching in the 1980s was also fruitless.^[62]

Both the Kings Bay Affair and the Caltex Affair initiated public debate about the administration of Svalbard, and in particular the lack of resources and control of Soviet settlements. Funding for local and central administration was increased heavily

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Bibliography

• Arlov, Thor B. (1994). A short history of Svalbard. Oslo:
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• Hisdal, Vidar (1998). Svalbard: nature and history. Oslo:
  ISBN 82-7666-152-1
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• Holm, Kari (1999). Longyearbyen – Svalbard: historisk veiviser (in Norwegian).
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• Carlheim-Gyllensköld, V. (1900). På åttionda breddgraden. En bok om den svensk-ryska gradmätningen på Spetsbergen; den förberedande expeitionen sommaren 1898, dess färd rundt spetsbergens kuster, äfventyr i båtar och på isen; ryssars och skandinavers forna färder; m.m., m.m. Stockholm: Albert Bonniers förlag.