The first overseas destination after the pandemic – Iceland

Finally entering the last month of 2022, there have been positive changes in domestic epidemic prevention policies, and after 3 years of the epidemic, the sweet horned beast has had to interrupt its world tour for many years. In the fall of 2019, the last destination for the sweet horned animal before the epidemic was enthusiastic Spain, and after returning home, the epidemic began for 3 years. I believe that China will win the final victory against the epidemic next year, so I am now preparing for next year's travel plans, and the first foreign destination is Iceland, which set foot in Northern Europe in 2017 but did not set foot in Iceland due to travel reasons.

I like the cool style of Northern Europe, the simple lines, and the distance between people. I remember arriving at Copenhagen Airport on the first day, waiting on the train platform for the train to Copenhagen Central Station, I asked a middle school student on the platform about the train stop, the young man's deliberately maintained social distance and shy face, somewhat "social fear" feeling, after answering my question, deliberately took out the mobile phone to help me check some useful information, the inner heat and cold appearance formed an extremely strong contrast.

Start your trip to Iceland today, starting with Icelandic history.

Icelandic history - from Viking settlement legends to the post-financial crisis era

What are we talking about when we talk about Iceland. Is it the island under the Arctic Circle that is named the end of the world, the land of ice and fire, etc.? The people who created the world's first democratic parliament and wrote the canon of medieval literature such as Sakya Edda? Or the country that has frequently made a splash in the world news media with its volcanic eruptions, financial crisis, football, literature, music? In fact, Iceland's geological history, national history and national history do not completely coincide. In summary, Iceland's geological history is much longer than national history, and national history is much longer than the history of nationhood. In this article, we will introduce Icelandic history from ancient times to the present, all the several historical turns that Iceland has undergone, and get a glimpse of Iceland's creative national identity.

History never ends. Iceland is still writing and rewriting its history today. For example, every tourist who travels to Iceland will notice the changes that the capital city of Reykjavik is undergoing; The main shopping streets, Laugavegur and Lækjargata, will soon be transformed into hotels, shops and shopping malls. In this way, the rows of modern architecture and simple Nordic houses stand side by side in the center of Reykjavik, but they do not disturb each other; Just as the No. 1 Ring Road runs through the island, it does not disturb the tranquility and serenity of Iceland's nature, but only connects visitors with Iceland's scenic spots. The interweaving of the past and the modern may be a modern myth created by Icelandic history.

Geological history of Iceland

The formation of Iceland

Iceland was formed about 70 million years ago, when the Earth's violent volcanic seismic movements gave birth to the island. Underneath Iceland lies a giant magma sac that connects deep into the mantle, which scientists call the Icelandic Hot Column. Long before the birth of humans, hot columns released a large amount of magma, causing a series of submarine volcanic eruptions that laid the foundation for the formation of islands.

The active movement of the earth's crust has spawned numerous volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, and the face of Iceland is constantly being reshaped. Between 1963~1967, an undersea volcanic eruption occurred in the waters of Vestmannaeyjar off the south coast of Iceland, creating a new volcanic island: Surtsey (also known as Surtsey). The island attracted the attention of scientists after its birth and now marks the southernmost point of Iceland. The island has been eroded by wind and waves, and the ecology is relatively fragile, and only scientists have the opportunity to study on the island.

In addition, Iceland is located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge separating the North American and Eurasian plates, and the heat from the mantle continues to rise to the surface, and Iceland's more than 200 volcanoes, geothermal formations and volcanic fissures are the product of abundant geothermal energy. In the famous Golden Circle scenic spot, Geysir geothermal area (Geysir) is full of magical steam holes and boiling mire, and the Strokkur, which erupts regularly every 10~15 minutes, will directly spray the boiling hot spring heated by geothermal heat into the air tens of meters high, which is extremely spectacular. In Þingvellir National Park, visitors can witness the magnificent rift valley between the North American and Eurasian plates and observe the geological textures carved by plate movements.

The intense activity of volcanoes has changed Iceland's landscape and history several times, bringing both energy and danger and threat to Iceland. For example, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano on the south coast of Iceland, after more than two hundred years of silence, ushered in a violent eruption in 2010, spewing huge amounts of volcanic ash that once blocked air traffic on the European continent and caused great losses to Icelandic farmers who mainly engaged in animal husbandry. However, in the eyes of foreign tourists, volcanic eruptions and awkward volcano names have added to the appeal of this polar island nation; After 2010, the number of tourists visiting Iceland also increased significantly.

Many volcanoes in Iceland are still quite active, and in 2014~2015, Bárðarbunga, Iceland's second highest peak, erupted violently; In 2011, the Gríms Vötn also erupted. Scientists predict that both Hekla and Katla on Iceland's south coast could erupt.

Iceland's national history

Icelandic settlement era

Although Iceland is a volcanic island with tens of thousands of years of geological history, the birth of the Icelandic nation was in the ninth and tenth centuries AD, and the precious medieval manuscript "Landnámabók" records the magnificent history of Vikings from Norway and other places who migrated to Iceland, and these settlers from Northern Europe, Ireland, Scotland and other places are the ancestors of the Icelandic nation. The Book of Settlements, which details the names, anecdotes and pedigree of more than 3,000 settlers, and lists more than 1,400 settlements chosen by the settlers, is one of the earliest historical works in Iceland and even Northern Europe.

The first settlers of Vikings and Celts, in addition to introducing the material civilization of the Northern Europe region to Iceland, also brought a flourishing writing culture to this border island, laying the foundation for the creation of medieval narrative and poetry literary classics such as Sakya and Edda. In the Middle Ages, Norse language, spoken in Scandinavia, also became the original language of Iceland, but the languages of Norway, Denmark and Sweden changed dramatically in their interactions with the European continent. Only Iceland, which is isolated in a corner, has preserved this ancient and complex language, so Icelanders today can still easily read written works from thousands of years ago, which is a miracle in the history of human language.

The common names of Icelanders are all of ancient Norse origin, and many Icelanders can even trace their lineage back to the original settlers, and history and legends are in the blood of every Icelander. There are actually many historical legends and academic research about the settlement of Iceland. It is recorded in the Book of Settlements that people settled in Iceland before the Vikings: the Irish monk, Papar, is also documented in another historical work, the Book of the Icelanders.

At that time, the general belief in Northern Europe was not Christianity, but the main god Odin, thunder god Thor and other Nordic gods. In Norse mythology, the raven symbolizes wisdom. The first Viking to sail to Iceland for exploration was named Hrafna-Flóki, or "Raven" Floki, who is also the name of "Iceland": in the extreme cold, he saw giant ice floes in the fjords of northern Iceland and named the island Ice Island.

Ingólfur Arnarson was the first Viking to officially settle in Iceland. Legend has it that during the voyage, he threw two pillars from his seat into the sea, and the place where the pillars landed would become his settlement. The pillar docked in a smoking bay where Ingloff and his family settled, while his brother Hjörleifur Hróðmarsson settled in the Hjörleifshöfði mountain area east of the town of Vík. The bay discovered by Ingelf was named Reykjavik: Bay of Smoke; The year that Inglf officially settled, 874 AD, marked the beginning of Icelandic national history.

Inglf was from Norway, where King Harald of Norway wanted to unify the country and suppress disobedient leaders with an iron fist. As a result, many Norwegian chiefs chose to follow in Inglff's footsteps and settled in Iceland. In the six decades since, large numbers of migrants have flocked to this small Arctic island; Around 930 AD, Icelandic settlement officially ended and all reclaimable land was already inhabited.

A country cannot be impossible. As the size of the population increases, the regulation of social order also needs to be necessary. In 930 AD, the Icelanders established the world's first democratic parliament, the Alting Althingi, in the Þingvellir.

The Age of the Free State, the Age of Christianity

With the establishment of the Parliament, Iceland gradually established a special set of national institutions. The chiefs of the regions went to Thingvellir at fixed times to discuss state affairs and adjudicate cases, and Iceland became an independent state with a modern democratic structure, a period that historians call the "Icelandic Free State" era.

The inhabitants of the Free State are not self-sufficient, and Iceland's trade with the outside world is quite frequent. For example, Iceland imports walrus ivory and fur from Greenland, jewelry, silverware and wine from Byzantium, and wheat, barley and other crops from England. Political and religious movements on the European continent also always affect Iceland. In 995, Olaf I succeeded to the Norwegian throne and vigorously promoted Christianity, even at the cost of violent means to force the people to convert. He sent missionaries to Iceland, but with little success, he decided in 999 to cut off all trade between Norway and Iceland and ban Icelandic merchant ships from entering Norwegian ports, thereby coercing Icelanders to abandon the Norse pagan faith and convert to Christianity.

In 1000 AD, in order to avoid the scourge of war, Þorgeir Þorkelsson, a preacher of the laws of parliament, was entrusted with the task of deciding whether Iceland should accept Christianity. Þorgeir lay under the blanket and pondered for a day and a night, and finally decided that Iceland should convert; He threw idols of the Norse gods into a waterfall to inform the whole country of his decision, hence the name Goðafoss (Gods Falls), which is now a popular attraction in the Diamond Circle in northern Iceland.

Although Þorgeir decided that Iceland should convert, he also maintained three old Icelandic customs that were not tolerated by Christian churches: Icelanders could practice paganism in private, they could abandon their children in the wild, and they could continue to eat horse meat. When the Christian church expanded in power and eventually became the Icelandic state religion, all pagan practices disappeared.

Sturon Civil War era, Norwegian rule era

In the thirteenth century, the growing power of the Norwegian king in Iceland and his collusion with the Icelandic church and power families led to a brutal civil war. The Icelandic families had different interests, one side supporting the submission of King Haakon IV of Norway, and the other opposed Iceland's surrender of independence to Norway, so they fought endlessly. The era of civil war since 1220, known as the "Sturlungaöld" (Sturlungaöld); Sturon was the name of a powerful family at the time.

The famous medieval writer and historian Snorri Sturluson was a member of the Sturlons, and his nephew Sturla Sighvatsson, a courtier of the King of Norway, was also a violent warrior who fought fiercely against the Icelandic family who opposed the submission to Norway, and was eventually killed at the Battle of Örlygsstaðir; It was also the largest war in Icelandic history.

After the war in Iceland, Gissur Þorvaldsson, who defeated the Sturon family, became the most powerful leader in Iceland. After the King of Norway knighted him, he eventually facilitated the signing of the "old treaty" between Iceland and Norway in 1262, which also marked the end of the Icelandic Free State era and Iceland officially became a vassal state of Norway.

Danish rule, the eruption of Laki and the "fog disaster"

A century later, in 1380, after Norway was incorporated into Denmark, Iceland also became a subsidiary colony of Denmark. In 1550, under the impetus of King Christian III of Denmark, Iceland also carried out the Reformation, converting from Catholicism to Christian Lutheranism.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, Iceland was part of Denmark. In the 18th century, Iceland experienced harsh dark ages, with natural and man-made disasters. In early June 1783, Mount Laki on the south coast of Iceland erupted violently and did not stop until February 1784, killing about one-fifth (9,000) of Iceland's inhabitants. The largest volcanic eruption in Icelandic history is also known as Skaftáeldar: the Fire of the Skafta River. Magma and volcanic ash slaughtered 80% of Iceland's livestock and crops, and the ensuing famine killed a quarter of Iceland's population; The Danish government has even considered relocating all the surviving Icelanders to Denmark.

This history of the Dark Ages is known as Móðuharðindin, which refers to poisonous gases floating in the air. The huge amount of volcanic ash from the Laki volcano has also been scattered to the European continent, North America and even Africa, causing large-scale crop failures worldwide. Historians believe that the Icelandic volcanic eruption directly led to famine in Egypt and France, which further intensified social contradictions within France, thus promoting the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789.

National history of Iceland

Icelandic independence movement

At the end of the nineteenth century, national independence movements were surging in Europe and the Americas, and Icelanders began to pursue independence. Iceland's ancient Free State era was the heart of the leaders of the independence movement, and ancient literature such as Sakya Eda gave them endless cultural confidence. They believed in, and demanded, that Iceland be given a unique status as a free people as no longer subordinate to any country.

In 1874, Iceland was granted partial autonomy after negotiations; In 1918, Iceland gained full independence, gaining sovereignty over all independent countries except diplomatic rights. It was not until June 17, 1944, during World War II, that Iceland was officially established; June 17 is also Iceland's National Day.

In 1944, Iceland also elected its first president: Sveinn Björnsson; The story of Jón Sigurðsson, leader of the independence movement in the nineteenth century and "Father of Iceland's nation", will be remembered forever by Icelanders. On Austurvöllur Square in front of the Reykjavik Parliament building, a memorial statue of Jørn is erected.

Iceland in World War II

Iceland's declaration comes at a time when Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1940. Considering the importance of Iceland's strategic position, British and American troops were stationed in Iceland despite Iceland's neutrality in the war, in case the Nazis preemptively seized this important island in the middle of North America and Europe.

During the takeover of Iceland by British and American troops, Iceland also ushered in unprecedented modernization. The army built various infrastructures in Iceland: Keflavík, Reykjavik, ports, hospitals, roads, power stations. The flip side of infrastructure construction is the transformation or even destruction of Icelandic nature; The disregard of Iceland's neutrality by British and American troops also undermined the national dignity of Icelanders.

In addition, the fact that officers in the garrison are mostly men undermines the gender ratio in Iceland; Many Icelandic women were attracted to American soldiers, which also caused deep panic among Icelandic men. The social discourse dominated by male power and patriotism also began to attack these women: the government considered these women, who had been too close to Americans, to be indecent and into a bad "condition" (Ástandið), and their admiration was even considered a bad betrayal of the country.

In 1941, the Icelandic police secretly tracked more than 500 women and sent them to the correctional centre in the Kleppjárnsreykir area of western Iceland. The children they gave birth to are also disparadorily called "condition children" ("condition children". It is in this context that modern women's rights in Iceland have gradually germinated and progressed.

After the end of World War II, the United States signed an agreement with Iceland to become a defense protectorate for Iceland, stationed at Keflavik International Airport. The agreement signed between the US military and Iceland was originally to leave Iceland and return the airport after the war, but after the war, the international situation changed, and the spread of communism and the establishment of NATO all affected Iceland's national policy. Under the background of the Cold War, Iceland joined NATO, and the US military was stationed in Iceland again, responsible for Iceland's defense. In 2006, U.S. troops withdrew from Iceland. Iceland is one of the few countries in the world without an army, and after the departure of American troops, its national defense was changed to Denmark and Norway.

Cod Wars: 1958, 1972, 1975

Iceland and the United Kingdom are two island countries, one is an emerging nation-state and the other is an old powerful empire, who would have thought that there had been a "war" between the two countries? Iceland was not involved in World War I and World War II, and these three wars with Britain are unique in Icelandic history. The cause of the war was the cod fishery, and all three wars are also known as the cod wars.

Fishing is the backbone of Iceland's economy, and Icelanders will defend their economic rights at all costs. In 1958, Iceland extended its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles, requiring all foreign fishing vessels within the range to leave Icelandic waters, but British trawlers refused. The British sent the Royal Navy to escort fishing boats, while Iceland had rudimentary patrol ships and crews with no combat experience. But Icelandic ships bravely or foolishly opened fire on the British ships, and the Cod War broke out.

Although it was a real gun, presumably the Icelandic patrol ship had no intention of causing a real war or causing casualties, so it deliberately avoided the crew at the time of the attack and only attacked the hull. Britain was angry, but helpless: Britain and Iceland were both members of NATO, and Iceland had threatened to withdraw from NATO and expel American troops, so Britain could not attack wantonly, and negotiation was the only solution. In 1961, Britain recognized Iceland's 12-nautical-mile territorial waters, but for the next three years Iceland will still need to allow British fishing boats to catch a fixed amount of cod in a fixed area.

In 1972, Iceland extended its territorial waters to an area 50 nautical miles off the coast of the island, four times more than the area where the dispute first arose, leading directly to the outbreak of the Second Cod War. There were several fierce clashes in the war, with the Icelandic Coast Guard trying to force back British ships by cutting trawls, bombing, etc., while the British government sent more warships to escort its fishing boats. After many negotiations within NATO, it asked Britain to recall the warship, and Britain had no choice but to give in. In 1973, the two sides signed an agreement restricting the UK to fishing activities in specific areas within 50 nautical miles. The agreement expired in 1975, and a third "cod war" broke out between the two countries.

In 1975, Iceland raised its demands again, declaring that the sea area 200 nautical miles from its coast belonged to Icelandic territorial waters, and Britain and Iceland refused to give each other, Iceland once again threatened to withdraw from NATO, revoke the NATO military base in Keflavik, and once again severed diplomatic relations with Britain. Finally, in 1976, Britain once again recognized Iceland's territorial sea rights.

Modern Iceland

In the nineties, Iceland developed rapidly, its industrial structure became increasingly diverse, and in 1994 it joined the European Economic Area, which developed rapidly and became one of the most developed countries in the world. However, the financial crisis of 2008~2011 brought an unprecedented severe blow to Iceland, and the three major banks went bankrupt overnight. Iceland has been using its own resources for green power generation and has built numerous geothermal power plants and hydroelectric dams. But these initiatives have also caused a lot of controversy, and there is a lot of debate in Iceland about protecting nature and using energy.

Today, thanks to industries such as tourism, Iceland's economy has gradually recovered. But what about the future? From the Vikings first settled more than a thousand years ago to the prosperous and free but somewhat blindly confident Nordic country, Iceland has written a magnificent chapter of history: the world's most gender-equal country, the safest country, the happiest country, the most educated country, the country with the largest number of books per capita...

It's really hard to say about the future, I just hope that the volcano will erupt a few times.