History of Norway

Perhaps the most well-known age of Norway is the Age of the Vikings. Running from roughly 800- 1050 AD, this era marks one of the most widely recognized points in history. Although there is no written documentation of the Viking age, there is plenty of information based on archaeological findings.

The Vikings weren't all bad, however. The belief that they were cruel savages is only partially true. This belief is formed because the looting of a monastery in Lindisfarne, which was located off of England's northeast coast, is commonly accepted as the start of the age of Vikings. Looting was only part of what the Vikings did. They also helped settle other parts of the world, such as the Isle of Man, the Shetlands, and the Orkney Isles. Perhaps their most well-known settlement is Dublin, which was founded in 840 AD and ruled by the Norwegians until the year 1171.

In addition to settling in Dublin, they also traveled as far as Greenland and Iceland, and indeed, many Nordic influences can be seen there today. The language of Iceland, aptly named Icelandic, is the very same as the ancient Nordic that the Vikings spoke. It is now spoken by 290,000 people and is a very rich and alive language. It is also considered one of the most difficult languages to learn. For this reason, our fearless author will endeavor to take the language beginning in the fall. Check back in a year to see his progress!

Around 1130 AD, the viking age wound down and the period known as the middle ages began. With it came the end of slavery (at least in Norway....) and the end of a feudal system which was very prominent in the rest of Europe. Under the new system, farmers would “rent” their land on a lifetime basis, and thusly were more free than their contemporaries in say, England.

The capital of Norway also came about at this time. Before Oslo was the capital, it was a tiny smattering of houses. After the black death reduced the population to less than 2000 people in the year 1350, Oslo became the cultural and financial center of Norway.

Now is the time where we get a little tricky. Norway was under Danish rule for almost 500 years. Don't feel bad if you get confused here, I had to read this about 7 times before I fully understood it. Here goes: King Håkon VI Magnusson, who was the son of the Swedish King Magnus Eriksson and Ingebjørg, the daughter of Håkon V, was the lawful heir to the Kingship of Norway. He married a woman named Margrete, who was the daughter of the Danish King Valdemar Atterdag. Their son, Olav, was named king when Valdemar died in 1375. But, Olav also inherited the throne of Norway when he (Håkon VI) died in 1380. Because he held both thrones, he declared that Denmark and Norway were now “just Denmark.” Though I'm sure he used different words. This was to be until 1814.

Now, the demise of the Danish rule over Norway was not a virus, nor was it a giant bomb. It wasn't even the giant brachiocephalic coprophagic marmots that my friend tried to drunkenly convince me of. It was a short man, about 5 feet tall, who had a voracious appetite for battle. When Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, one of the kingdoms he lost to was that of Sweden. Sweden's allies had promised that it could have Norway as a prize, which was crucial to Sweden, for it now had security on its western border. The deal was made official in January of 1814, when the Danish King Fredrik VI officially surrendered Norway. After 434 years, Norway was now as free as it knew how to be. But not for long.

The agreement that Denmark had made with the other governments contained crucial provisions which affected the freedom of Norway greatly. The Swedish King Carl XIII declared that Norway was to have its own constitution, its own government, the right to collect its own taxes, and its own national representation.

Prince Christian Frederik was named governor of Norway because his uncle was conveniently the King of Denmark. He tried to ensure a revolt against a Swedish takeover by convening an assembly. His intent was to have a constitution forged at said assembly, and forge they did. On May Seventeenth, 1814, Christian Frederik was named King of Norway in the newly adopted constitution.

The Swedes, however, were furious. With family holding the kingship of Norway, the Danes could march in at any given moment and “re-take” Norway for its own. The Swedes decided that political pressure wouldn't be enough, so they mounted a military takeover and forced King Christian Frederik out of the country. On October Tenth, 1814, Norway lost its freedom once more and took part in a union with Sweden.

After Sweden took over, Norway was hit by the worst economic depression that it had ever seen. Timber, one of Norway's biggest exports at the time, was hit the hardest. They were forbidden from selling wood to the British market, and they were no longer allowed to trade with Denmark. Bankruptcy ran rampant. Finally though, in 1830, customs and trade regulations were eased up and the economy began flowing again. Jobs became available in 1854 when the first railroad line opened between Oslo and Eidsvoll. Agricultural developments made use of the excellent farming techniques the Norwegians had, and telegraph lines were constructed.

In 1840, an industrial age hit Norway along with the rest of the world. The first textile factories appeared, as did engineering factories and manufacturing plants. Because of this, the Norwegian military fleet increased significantly, thanks to developments in engineering.

With economic prosperity, however, came discontent. The Norwegians wanted freedom. Farmers were a political majority by 1833, but even as late as 1859 attempts at party creation went unsuccessful. Finally, in 1884, the Liberal Party of Norway was formed, closely followed by its competitor, the Conservative Party. Since all foreign policy was directed from Stockholm, both parties united in their push to allow their prime minister to be allowed to take part in diplomatic issues.

Toward the end of the century, more conflicts arose in more intense ways. The introduction of parliamentarianism in Norway led to the discontent of the Swedish king, but he had seen no choice but to approve it. He tried to insist that the Union's foreign minister be Swedish, but he was not even granted that. In the final years of the century, Norway built up its military, though the Swedish troops maintained their presence to prevent any sort of Norwegian revolt.

Finally, on March eleventh, 1905, a government of the Prime Minister Michelsen to push the issue of consulate, and called for power by stating that according to their own law, the King of Sweden had ceased to be the King of Norway. Sweden demanded a vote to end the Union, since it could not believe that anybody would want it to end. In August of 1905, 368,392 Norwegians voted to end the Union. 184 voted not to. Now, Norway was completely free. Until 1940.

Even though Norway had declared themselves politically neutral, German forces attacked Norway on April ninth, 1940. Norway fought, with assistance from France and England, for almost 2 months until they surrendered. Most of the Norwegian government fled to Great Britain where it conducted all governmental activities in exile. All of Norway's military and merchant fleets were sent to Great Britain to contribute, and it was a sizable contribution. Using underground resistance groups, Norwegian stubbornness, and military assistance from Sweden, Norway and its citizens put enough of a fight up to Germany that by the end of the war, there was one German soldier for every 10 Norwegians. That amounted to roughly 400,000 German soldiers to contain 4 million angry Norwegians. Finally, on May eighth, 1945, Norwegian resistance troops took back parts of Norway. In little less than a month, most of Norway was transitioned back to its pre-occupation governmental state.

Because of the scorched earth policy of the German army, much of occupied Norway was left in ruin. Because of this, the government made a goal of a rebuilt Norway within five years. It helped much that the Labour Party gained the majority and elected Einar Gerhardsen to lead the government in 1945. This was a successful venture, and by 1946 the GDP of Norway and the overall production of Norway exceeded 1938 measures. This was mainly accomplished because they focused very intently on heavy industry. Following World War Two, Norway hoped to keep a low profile. The newly formed United Nations and its first Secretary General, Trygve Lie, gave Norway a hope for years of security.