Sport in The Faroe Islands - History

History

Despite speculation that Irish monks may have migrated north to the Faroe Islands long before the Vikings arrived, no certain evidence has been found that people lived on the Faroe Islands before around 800AD. In a Latin account of a voyage made by Saint Brendan, an Irish monastic saint who lived around 484–578, there is a description of “insulae” (islands) resembling the Faroe Islands. This, however, is far from conclusive.

More pertinent is the account by Dicuil, an Irish monk of the early 8th century. In his geographical work De menura orbis terrae he wrote that he had been reliable informed of "heremitae ex nostra Scotia" ("hermits from our land of Ireland") who had lived on the northerly islands of Britain for almost a hundred years until the arrival of Norse pirates.

The reliability of this account has been disputed. Scientists from Aberdeen University, however, have now found early cereal pollen from domesticated plants, which suggests people may have lived on the islands before the Vikings arrived.

It is known that Norsemen settled the islands c. 800, bringing the Old Norse language that evolved into the modern Faroese language. According to Icelandic Sagas such as Færeyjar Saga one of the best known men in the island was Tróndur í Gøtu, a descendant of Scandinavian chiefs who settled in Dublin, Ireland. Tróndur led the battle against Sigmund Brestursson, the Norwegian monarchy and the Norwegian church.

These settlers are not thought to have come directly from Scandinavia, but rather from Norse communities surrounding the Irish Sea, Northern Isles and Western Isles of Scotland, including the Shetland and Orkney islands, and Norse-Gaels. A traditional name for the islands in the Irish language, Na Scigirí, means the Skeggjar and possibly refers to the Eyja-Skeggjar (Island-Beards), a nickname given to the island dwellers.

According to Færeyinga Saga, emigrants left Norway who did not approve of the monarchy of Harald I of Norway. These people settled the Faroes around the end of the 9th century. It is thus officially held that the islands' Nordic language and culture are derived from the early Norwegians. Early in the 11th century, Sigmundur Brestirson – whose clan had flourished in the southern islands but had been almost exterminated by invaders from the northern islands – escaped to Norway. He was sent back to take possession of the islands for Olaf Tryggvason, King of Norway. Sigmundur introduced Christianity, forcing Tróndur í Gøtu to convert or face beheading and, though he was subsequently murdered, Norwegian taxation was upheld. Norwegian control of the Faroes continued until 1814, although, when Norway entered the Kalmar Union with Denmark, it gradually resulted in Danish control of the islands. The Reformation reached the Faroes in 1538. When the union between Denmark and Norway was dissolved as a result of the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, Denmark retained possession of the Faroe Islands.

The trade monopoly in the Faroe Islands was abolished in 1856, after which the area developed as a modern fishing nation with its own fleet. The national awakening since 1888 was initially based on a struggle to maintain the Faroese language and was thus culturally oriented, but after 1906 it became politically oriented, with the foundation of political parties of the Faroe Islands.

On 12 April 1940, the Faroes were occupied by British troops. The move followed the invasion of Denmark by Nazi Germany and had the objective of strengthening British control of the North Atlantic (see Battle of the Atlantic). In 1942–1943 the British Royal Engineers built the only airport in the Faroes, Vágar Airport. Control of the islands reverted to Denmark following the war, but in 1948 home-rule was introduced, with a high degree of local autonomy. In 1973 the Faroe Islands declined to join Denmark in entering the European Community (now European Union). The islands experienced considerable economic difficulties following the collapse of the fishing industry in the early 1990s, but have since made efforts to diversify the economy. Support for independence has grown and is the objective of the Republican Party.