Iceland is a Nordic island country between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between Europe and North America. It is Europe's westernmost and most sparsely populated country. Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which is home to about 35% of the country's roughly 395,000 residents (excluding nearby towns/suburbs, which are separate municipalities and contribute a further substantial percentage). The official language of the country is Icelandic. Iceland is on a rift between tectonic plates, and its geologic activity includes geysers and frequent volcanic eruptions.Rae, Alison. Earthquakes and Volcanoes. Page 9. 2008. "Iceland is the only part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly."Philippon, Mélody; Von Hagke, Christoph; E. Reber, Jacqueline. Cutting-Edge Analogue Modeling Techniques Applied to Study Earth Systems. Page 99. 2020. "Iceland is the only place on Earth where a mid-ocean ridge is exposed above sea level, atop the extensional plate boundary separating the North American plate and the Eurasian plate." The interior consists of a volcanic plateau with sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite being at a latitude just south of the Arctic Circle. Its latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate.
According to the , an ancient manuscript, the settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD, when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the island's first permanent settler. In following centuries, Norwegians and to a lesser extent other Scandinavians, migrated to Iceland, bringing with them thralls (i.e., slaves or serfs) of Gaelic origin. The island was governed as an independent commonwealth under the native parliament, the Althing, one of the world's oldest functioning legislative assemblies. After a period of civil strife, Iceland acceded to Norwegian rule in the 13th century. In 1397, Iceland followed Norway's integration into the Kalmar Union along with the kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden, coming under de facto Danish rule upon its dissolution in 1523. The Danish kingdom introduced Lutheranism by force in 1550, and the Treaty of Kiel formally ceded Iceland to Denmark in 1814.
Influenced by ideals of nationalism after the French Revolution, Iceland's struggle for independence took shape, culminating with the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union in 1918, and the establishment of the Kingdom of Iceland, sharing through a personal union the incumbent monarch of Denmark. During the occupation of Denmark in World War II, Iceland voted overwhelmingly to become a republic in 1944, ending its remaining formal ties to Denmark. Although the Althing was suspended from 1799 to 1845, Iceland nevertheless has a claim to sustaining one of the world's longest-running parliaments. Until the 20th century, Iceland relied largely on subsistence fishing and agriculture. Industrialisation of the fisheries and Marshall Plan aid after World War II brought prosperity, and Iceland became one of the world's wealthiest and most developed nations. In 1950, Iceland joined the Council of Europe. In 1994 it became a part of the European Economic Area, further diversifying its economy into sectors such as finance, biotechnology, and manufacturing.
Iceland has a market economy with relatively low taxes, compared to other OECD countries, as well as the highest trade union membership in the world. It maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education. Iceland ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as quality of life, education, protection of civil liberties, government transparency, and economic freedom. It has the smallest population of any NATO member and is the only one with no standing army, possessing only a lightly armed coast guard.
Etymology
The Landnámabók names Naddodd () as the first Norseman to reach Iceland in the ninth century, having gotten lost while sailing from Norway to the Faroe Islands. He gave the island its first name of Snæland (). The second explorer to arrive was the Swedish Garðar Svavarsson, who circumnavigated the island and named it Garðarshólmur () after himself.
The island's present name originated from Flóki Vilgerðarson, the first Norseman to intentionally travel to Iceland. According to the Sagas of Icelanders, Flóki coined the name after he climbed a mountain, despondent after a harsh winter in present-day Vatnsfjörður, and saw an ice cap.Evans, Andrew. "Is Iceland Really Green and Greenland Really Icy?", National Geographic (30 June 2016). The notion that Iceland's settlers chose that name to discourage competing settlements is most likely a myth.
History
874–1262: settlement and Commonwealth
According to both and , monks known as the Papar lived in Iceland before Scandinavian settlers arrived, possibly members of a Hiberno-Scottish mission. An archaeological excavation has revealed the ruins of a cabin in Hafnir on the Reykjanes peninsula. Carbon dating indicates that it was abandoned sometime between 770 and 880.New View on the Origin of First Settlers in Iceland , Iceland Review Online, 4 June 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011. In 2016, archaeologists uncovered a longhouse in Stöðvarfjörður that may date to as early as 800.
Swedish Viking explorer Garðar Svavarsson was the first to circumnavigate Iceland in 870, and established that it was an island.The History of Viking Iceland , Ancient Worlds, 31 May 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2013. He stayed during the winter and built a house in Húsavík. Garðar departed the following summer, but one of his men, Náttfari, decided to stay behind with two slaves. Náttfari settled in what is now known as Náttfaravík, and he and his slaves became the first documented permanent residents of Iceland.Iceland and the history , The Gardarsholm Project, 29 July 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2013.Hvers vegna hefur Náttfara ekki verið hampað sem fyrsta landnámsmanninum? , University of Iceland: The Science Web, 7 July 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
The Norwegian-Norse chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson built his homestead in present-day Reykjavík in 874. Ingólfr was followed by many other emigrant settlers, largely Scandinavians and their thralls, many of whom were Irish or Scottish.Historical Dictionary of the Vikings By Katherine Holman p252 scarecrow press 2003 discusses that both Scottish and Irish slaves were in Iceland By 930, most arable land on the island had been claimed; the Althing, a legislative and judicial assembly, was initiated to regulate the Icelandic Commonwealth. The lack of arable land also served as an impetus to the settlement of Greenland starting in 986.Kudeba, N. (19 April 2014). Chapter 5 – Norse Explorers from Erik the Red to Leif Erikson – Canadian Explorers. Retrieved from The History of Canada: The period of these early settlements coincided with the Medieval Warm Period, when temperatures were similar to those of the early 20th century. At that time, about 25% of Iceland was covered with forest, compared to 1% in the present day.Magnusson, M. (2003) The Vikings. Tempus. . pp. 188–191 Christianity was adopted by consensus around 999–1000, although Norse paganism persisted among segments of the population for some years afterward.
Iceland as a possession Middle Ages
The Icelandic Commonwealth, established in the 10th century, faced internal strife during the Age of the Sturlungs (c. 1220–1264). This period was marked by violent conflicts among chieftains, notably the Sturlung family, leading to the weakening of the Commonwealth's political structure. The culmination of the struggles was the signing of the Old Covenant (Gamli sáttmáli) in 1262–1264, bringing Iceland under Norwegian rule.Coroban, Costel (2018). Ideology and Power in Norway and Iceland, 1150-1250. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 2.
Environmental challenges further impacted medieval Icelandic society. Upon settlement, approximately 25–40% of Iceland was forested. However, extensive deforestation occurred as forests were cleared for timber, firewood, and to create grazing land for livestock. This led to significant soil erosion and a decline in arable land, exacerbating the difficulties of sustaining agriculture in Iceland's harsh climate. Agriculture during this period was predominantly pastoral, focusing on livestock such as sheep, cattle, and horses. While early settlers cultivated barley, the cooling climate from the 12th century onwards made grain cultivation increasingly difficult. The Little Ice Age began around 1300, bringing colder and more unpredictable weather, further shortening growing seasons and making farming more challenging.Miller, Gifford H.; Geirsdóttir, Áslaug; Zhong, Yafang; Larsen, Darren J.; Otto-Bliesner, Bette L.; Holland, Marika M.; Bailey, David A.; Refsnider, Kurt A.; Lehman, Scott J.; Southon, John R.; Anderson, Chance; Björnsson, Helgi; Thordarson, Thorvaldur (30 January 2012). "Abrupt onset of the Little Ice Age triggered by volcanism and sustained by sea-ice/ocean feedbacks". Geophysical Research Letters. 39 (2): n/a. Bibcode:2012GeoRL..39.2708M. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.639.9076. doi:10.1029/2011GL050168. S2CID 15313398
The Black Death reached Iceland in 1402–1404 and again in 1494–1495, with devastating effects.Pulsiano, Phillip and Wolf, Kirsten (1993) Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia . Taylor & Francis. p. 312. The first outbreak is estimated to have killed 50–60% of the population, while the second resulted in a 30–50% mortality rate. These pandemics significantly reduced the population, leading to social and economic disruptions.
In 1380, after the death of Haakon VI, his son Olaf II of Denmark succeeded to the Norwegian throne, uniting the crowns of Denmark and Norway under one monarch. Because Iceland was part of the Norwegian realm, it thereby came under the Danish-Norwegian crown. In 1397, the Kalmar Union brought Denmark, Norway, and Sweden under a single monarch.
Reformation and the Early Modern period
Around the middle of the 16th century, as part of the Protestant Reformation, King Christian III of Denmark began to impose Lutheranism on all his subjects. Jón Arason, the last Icelandic Catholic bishop, and two of his sons were beheaded in 1550. Iceland then became officially Lutheran, and Lutheranism has since remained the dominant religion.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Denmark imposed harsh trade restrictions on Iceland. Natural disasters, including volcanic eruptions and disease, contributed to a decreasing population. In the summer of 1627, Barbary Pirates committed the events known locally as the Turkish Abductions, in which hundreds of residents were taken into slavery in North Africa and dozens killed; this was the only invasion in Icelandic history to have caused casualties. The 1707–08 Iceland smallpox epidemic is estimated to have killed a quarter to a third of the population. In 1783 the Laki volcano erupted, with devastating effects." In the years following the eruption, known as the Mist Hardships (), over half of all livestock in the country died. Around a quarter of the population starved to death in the ensuing famine.
1814–1918: independence movement
After the Napoleonic Wars in 1814, Denmark-Norway broke up into two separate kingdoms under the Treaty of Kiel, but Iceland remained a Danish dependency. Throughout the 19th century, the country's climate continued to grow colder, resulting in mass emigration to the New World, particularly to the region of Gimli, Manitoba in Canada, which was sometimes referred to as New Iceland. About 15,000 people emigrated out of a total population of 70,000.