Short History

Iceland was one of the last large islands uninhabited by humans until it was discovered and settled by immigrants from Scandinavia, Scotland and Ireland during the 9th and 10th centuries. Íslendingabók(Latin: Libellus Islandorum; English: The Book of Icelanders), written in 1122-33, claims that Norwegian Ingólfur Arnarson was the first man to settle in Iceland, in 870. The families were accompanied by servants and slaves, some of whom were Celts from Scotland and Ireland (known as Westmen to the Norse). Some literary evidence suggests that Papar (Irish monks) may have been living in Iceland before the arrival of Norse settlers, but no archaeological evidence has been found.

Erik the Red, or Eiríkur rauði, was exiled from Iceland for manslaughter in 980, and set sail to explore the lands to the west. He established the first settlements in Greenland around this time, naming the land, according to legend, to attract settlers. Eirikur's son, Leif Ericson (Leifur Eiríksson), finally set foot in the Americas around the year 1000. While some say he was blown off-course, it is most likely that he was deliberately seeking the land spotted by Bjarni Herjólfsson several years earlier. He is believed to have established a colony at L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland in what became Canada, which lasted only a few years. Despite the short stay, a sizable colony with at least eight buildings including a forge and various workshops was built. Two further attempts at colonization by his brother ended in failure.

The Alþingi (English:Althing, literally all-thing (Þing in icelandic means parliament) or general assembly) was founded in 930, marking the beginning of the Icelandic Commonwealth. It was the predecessor to the modern Icelandic legislature. The Althing is the oldest still-standing, parliament in the world that has written documents to prove its age.

Iceland was a free state without a king, until the end of the Sturlungaöld civil war in 1262, when it established a personal union with the Norwegian king with Gamli sáttmáli (English: The Old Covenant). From 1387 on, Iceland was in practice ruled by Denmark, following the union of the two kingdoms. When that union was dissolved in 1814, through the Treaty of Kiel, which saw Norway entering a union with Sweden, Iceland was transferred from the Norwegian throne to the Danish king, and thus became a dominion (or colony) of Denmark. Home rule was granted by the Danish government in 1904, and independence followed in 1918. From 1918 on, Iceland was in a personal union with the Danish king, with foreign relations being carried out by the king, as instructed by the Icelandic government until the World War II military occupation of Denmark by Nazi Germany in 1940. Subsequently, Iceland was occupied by the Allies. The Danish King remained the de jure sovereign of the nation until 1944, when the current republic was founded after the 1918 treaty had lapsed.

The new republic became a charter member of NATO in 1949 and signed a treaty with the United States in 1951 to take responsibility for the defence of Iceland. In September 2006, the U.S. withdrew the Iceland Defence Force from the base in Keflavík. The U.S. has, however, pledged to keep defending Iceland with mobile forces deployed abroad. This has, nonetheless, resulted in a considerable build up and renovation in the Icelandic Coast Guard, which has been neglected since the last Cod War in 1976 and preparations to the forming of security reserve forces under a new Security and Defence authority.

The economy of Iceland remained dependent on fisheries in the post-war decades, and the country has had several clashes with its neighbours over this vital resource, most notably the Cod Wars with the British. The economy has become more diverse recently, owing to large investments in heavy industry, such as aluminium smelting and deregulation and privatization in the financial sector. Iceland is a member of the Common market of the European Union through the EEA agreement but has never applied for membership of the EU itself.