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By Tim Lambert
ANCIENT NORWAY
VIKING NORWAY
During the 9th century Vikings from Norway raided Scotland, England,
Ireland and France. They even raided as far south as Spain, which at
that time was in Muslim hands. But the Norwegians were not just
raiders. They settled in the Hebrides (islands west of Scotland). And
the Shetland and Orkney islands. Norwegians also settled the Isle of
Man (between England and Ireland).
Olaf who ruled from 995-1000 converted the coastal area of Norway to
Christianity. Olaf Haraldson 1015-1030 was the first effective king of
all Norway and he converted the inland areas to Christianity.
After Olaf's death his son Magnus was elected king of Norway. He
was followed by Harald Hardrada in 1047. In 1066 Harald Hardrada
tried to make himself king of England. However he was killed at the
battle of Stamford Bridge in Yorkshire. Harald's army was routed. That
ended any Norwegian political involvement with England.
Norwegian society was divided into 3 classes. At the bottom were the
thralls or slaves. Being a slave was, no doubt, horrid as they were
made to do the hardest and most unpleasant work. Above the thralls
were the freemen. A freeman could be quite wealthy or he could be
very poor depending on how much land he owned. Above them were
the nobles or jarls.
Despite Harald Hardradas death in 1066 his family ruled Norway until
1130. However after the death of Sigurd the Crusader Norway
suffered a long series of civil wars.
NORWAY 1500-1800
During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries trade and commerce in
Norway grew. In the early 17th century Norwegian towns grew. In
1624 Oslo was destroyed by a fire but the Danish king Christian rebuilt
it and renamed it after himself, Christiania. (The old name of Oslo was
restored in 1924).
In the 17th century Norway exported fish, timber, iron ore and copper.
In the 18th century iron works were founded in southern Norway and
they made all kinds of iron goods. The Norwegian merchant navy also
grew substantially.
Yet things improved from the 1840s onward. In the late 19th century
Norwegian agriculture and its timber industry flourished. The
Norwegian merchant fleet grew rapidly and by the end of the century it
was the third largest in the world after the American and the British.
The population of Norway also grew rapidly in the 19th century. At the
beginning of the century it was only 883,000 but by the end of the
century it had reached 2,240,000. That was despite the fact that many
Norwegians emigrated to the USA in the late 19th century.
Norwegian Independence
Negotiations were held with the Swedes and agreement was reached
on 23 September 1905. The Swedish king formally gave up all claim
to the Norwegian throne on 26 October 1905. The question of who
should be head of state in Norway was answered by a referendum on
12-13 November 1905. The Norwegians voted for a monarchy. Prince
Carl of Denmark became King Haakon VII.
Women were given the vote in local elections in 1907 and in national
elections in 1913.
After 1945 Norway gave up the policy of neutrality and in 1949 she
joined NATO.
Norway soon recovered from the war and the 1950s, 1960s and
1970s were years of prosperity. There was full employment. However
unemployment rose in the late 1980s.
In the 1970s Norway began to exploit vast reserves of oil and gas
found in the North Sea. Meanwhile the number of jobs in traditional
industries like agriculture and timber declined while the number of
people employed in service industries increased.
In 1972 the Norwegians voted by 53% to 47% not to join the Common
Market (forerunner of the EU). In 1994 the Norwegian voted against
joining the EU in another referendum.