List of possessions of Norway
This is a list of current and former territorial possessions of theKingdom of Norway.
Current overseas territories[edit]
Integral areas of Norway which areunincorporated:
- Svalbard(includingBear Island), in the Arctic, a part of Norway since 1920.
- Jan Mayen,in the Arctic, a part of Norway since 1929.
Svalbard with Bear Island are subject to the provisions of theSvalbard Treaty.Svalbard and Jan Mayenare sometimes grouped together for some categorization purposes. Currentdependencies of Norwayare all in the southern polar region:
- Peter I Island,in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean, possession since 1929.
- Bouvet Island,in the sub-Antarctic and South Atlantic Ocean, possession since 1930.
- Queen Maud Land,in Antarctica, possession since 1939.
Map[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Norway_%28%2Boverseas%29%2C_administrative_divisions_-_English_%28zoom%29.svg/660px-Norway_%28%2Boverseas%29%2C_administrative_divisions_-_English_%28zoom%29.svg.png)
Photo gallery[edit]
-
Jan Mayen withBeerenbergvolcano
-
Isfjorden,Svalbard
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Vesleskarvet,Queen Maud Land
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Peter I Island
-
Bouvet Island
Former dependencies and homelands[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Norwegian_Hereditary_Empire_excluding_Greenland.png/330px-Norwegian_Hereditary_Empire_excluding_Greenland.png)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/80/Sweden_1250_cropped.png/220px-Sweden_1250_cropped.png)
The so-called Greater Norway[1]includes these entities:
Dependencies ceded to Scotland (1st phase)[edit]
- Hebrides,colonized from 700s to 1100s, part of an earldom, crown dependencies from 1100s to 1266, ceded by theTreaty of Perth.[2]
- Man,colonized from 850s to 1152, part of an earldom, crown dependency from 1152 to 1266, ceded by the Treaty of Perth.[2]
- Orkney,colonized from 800s to 875, earldom from 875 to 1100s, crown dependency from 1194 to 1470,pledgedbyChristian I.[3]
- Shetland,colonized from 700s to 900s, earldom from 900s to 1195, crown dependency from 1195 to 1470, pledged by Christian I.[3]
Vassals[edit]
- CaithnessandSutherlandoverlordship from[clarification needed]to 1266.[2][4]
National homelands ceded to Sweden (2nd phase)[edit]
- Bohuslän,integrated from 800s to 1523, again from 1532 to 1658, ceded by theTreaty of Roskilde.[5]
- IdreandSärna,integrated from 800s to 1645, ceded by theSecond Treaty of Brömsebro,border not formally delineated until 1751.[6]
- Jämtland,integrated from 1100s to 1645, ceded the Second Treaty of Brömsebro.[3][7]
- Härjedalen,integrated from 1200s to 1563, again from 1570 to 1645, ceded by the Second Treaty of Brömsebro.[8]
Early entity[edit]
- Värmland,from as early as 820s (pre-unification) to about 1000, before being integrated into Sweden.[9][10][11]
Dependencies ceded to Denmark (3rd phase)[edit]
- Faroe Islands,settled and colonized pre-1035 and crown dependencies from 1035 to 1814, ceded by theTreaty of Kiel.[3]
- Greenland,colonized pre-1261 and crown dependency from 1261 to 1814, ceded by the Treaty of Kiel.[3]
- Iceland,settled and colonized pre-1262 and crown dependencies from 1262 to 1814, ceded by the Treaty of Kiel of 1814.[3]
The actual time of cession of the islands is somewhat disputed. Some claim it took place with theUnion of Denmark and Norwayin 1536/37, as the possessions of the Norwegian crown were claimed by the Oldenburg king. Nevertheless, they were still referred to as "dependencies of Norway" in later official documents. Also theTreaty of Kielstates: "...and provinces, constituting the kingdom of Norway, [..], together with their dependencies (Greenland, the Faroe Isles, and Iceland, excepted); [...] shall belong in full and sovereign property to the King of Sweden,...", clearly indicating that they were until 1814 regarded as a part ofNorway.[3]
Eastern Greenland Case[edit]
- Erik the Red's Land,northeast coast ofGreenland,claimed (June 27) and annexed (July 10) from 1931 until awarded to Denmark by acourt decisionin 1933.[12][13]
Briefly-ruled areas[edit]
Welsh homeland[edit]
- Anglesey,crown dependency from 1098 to 1099, reverted toKingdom of Gwyneddas of lack of settlements.[14]
Danish homelands[edit]
- Kungsbacka,VarbergandFalkenberg,historicalNorthern Halland ,part of the kingdom from 1287 to 1305.[15][16]
Suzerainties – Dublin and Mann[edit]
- Mann and the Isles,under Norwegiansuzerainty.[17]
- Kingdom of Dublin,nominally under Norwegian suzerainty.[17]
Former territorial claims[edit]
- Northumbria,settled c. 902 and first ruled c. 918 by Manx kingRagnall ua Ímairof theNorse-Gaelsin exile from Dublin and held intermittently byEric I of NorwayasKing of Northumbria947-948 and 952-954, after securing his lordship over the Jarls of Orkney, in the precedent set by his fatherHarald Fairhair,part of which is famously attested to byEgil's Saga,set partly in Eric's court at King's Square inScandinavian York.TitleEarl of Northumbria(effectivelyEarl of York) 1016-1023, granted byCnutthe Great, King of Norway, toEiríkr Hákonarson,Governor of Norway and one of theJarls of Lade.Last controlled byHarald Hardradathrough his vassalTostig Godwinson,Earl of Northumbria and forefather ofBirkebeinerInge II of Norway,until theBattle of Stamford Bridgein 1066.Eystein IIraidedHartlepoolandWhitbyin the 1150s, but it's not known whether he invoked his claim to rule Northumbria as pretext.St Olave's Church, Yorkwas mausoleum for the Earl of Northumbria. Within the former realm of Northumbria is the general region where most Norwegian place names and surnames, includingThwaite (placename element),areextant in present day England.Norwegian settlement and rule in Northumbria is illustrated by David Woodroffe inThe Penguin Atlas of Medieval History(1961) byColin McEvedyand illustrated by Ralph Orme inThe Penguin Historical Atlas of the Vikings(1995) byJohn Haywood (British historian).
- TheKingdom of England,now part of theUnited Kingdom,claimed by several Norwegian kings (Hardrada dynasty) in the 11th century.[18][19]
- TheKingdom of Denmark,claimed by several Norwegian kings (Hardrada dynasty) in the 11th century.
- South Georgia,now part of theBritish Overseas TerritoriesofUnited Kingdom.
The spread of Norwegian whaling industry to Antarctica in the early 20th century motivated Norway, right after its independence from theUnited Kingdoms of Sweden and Norwayin 1905, to pursue territorial expansion not only in theArcticclaimingJan MayenandSverdrup Islands,but also in Antarctica. Norway claimedBouvet Islandand looked further south, formally inquiring withForeign Officeabout the international status of the area between45°and65° southlatitude and35°and80° westlongitude. Following a second such diplomatic démarche by the Norwegian Government dated 4 March 1907, Britain replied that the areas were British based on discoveries made in the first half of the 19th century, and issued the 1908Letters Patentincorporating the British Falkland Islands Dependencies with a permanent local administration inGrytvikenestablished in 1909.[20][21]
- Fridtjof Nansen Land (Franz Josef Land),now part ofRussia,claimed from 1926 to around 1929, rejecting a claim of theSoviet Union.[22]
- Sverdrup Islands,now part ofCanada,claimed from 1902 until Canadian sovereignty recognised in 1930, as part of an agreement with theBritish Empire,for the British to recognise Jan Mayen as Norwegian territory.[23]
- Erik the Red's Land,northeast coast ofGreenlandandFridtjof Nansen Land,southeast coast of Greenland, claimed and annexed from 1931 until awarded to Denmark by acourt decisionin 1933.[12]
- InariandPetsamo,now part ofFinlandandRussia,claimed fromFinlandfrom about 1942 to 1945 by theQuisling regimeduring theNazi occupation of Norway.[24][25]
- MurmanskandArkhangelskasBjarmland,now part ofRussia,claimed from theSoviet Unionfrom about 1942 to 1945 by theQuisling regime,and was earlier also claimed by Norway in theHigh Middle AgesandLate Middle Ages.[26]Quisling designated the area reserved for Norwegian colonization asBjarmeland,a reference to the name featured in theNorse sagasfor Northern Russia.[27][28]
See also[edit]
- Earldom of Orkney
- Icelandic Commonwealth[29]
- Danish colonial empirefor Dano–Norwegian colonies
- Irredentism
References[edit]
- ^Larsen, Karen (8 December 2015).History of Norway.Princeton University Press.ISBN9781400875795.Retrieved3 October2017– via Google Books.
- ^abc"Scotland Back in the Day: Young Margaret, the first Queen of Scotland".The National.4 October 2016.Retrieved3 October2017.
- ^abcdefg"Norgesveldet under lupen - Gemini.no".Gemini.no.22 June 2015.Retrieved3 October2017.
- ^"Scotland Back in the Day: How Scotland ended its enmity with Norway".The National.30 August 2016.Retrieved3 October2017.
- ^"Bohuslän".Snl.no.11 April 2017.Retrieved3 October2017– via Store norske leksikon.
- ^"Idre".Snl.no.28 September 2014.Retrieved3 October2017– via Store norske leksikon.
- ^Salvesen, Helge; Opsahl, Erik (30 May 2017)."Jämtlands historie".Snl.no.Retrieved3 October2017– via Store norske leksikon.
- ^"Härjedalens historie".Snl.no.20 June 2017.Retrieved3 October2017– via Store norske leksikon.
- ^"När blev Värmland en del av det svenska riket?" by Dick Harrison, Professor of history at the University of Lund.Svenska Dagbladet.Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^Smilely, Jane (24 February 2005).The Sagas of the Icelanders.Penguin UK.ISBN9780141933269.Retrieved3 October2017– via Google Books.
- ^"Haralds saga hins hárfagra – heimskringla.no".heimskringla.no.Retrieved3 October2017.
- ^abJacobs, Frank (4 March 2015)."The Cold War that Wasn't: Norway Annexes Greenland".Bigthink.com.Retrieved3 October2017.
- ^"Legal Status of Eastern Greenland, Denmark v. Norway, Judgment, 5 September 1933, Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ)".Worldcourts.com.Retrieved3 October2017.
- ^The Heimskringla: Or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway.Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. 1844.Retrieved3 October2017– via Internet Archive.
- ^"Tillbaka till tiden då Halland var ett land".Hn.se.16 January 2015.Retrieved3 October2017.
- ^Granberg, Per A. (3 October 2017)."Skandinaviens historia under konungarne of Folkunga-Ätten".Elmén och Granberg.Retrieved3 October2017– via Google Books.
- ^abSomerled: Hammer of the Norse
- ^"BBC – History: British History Timeline".Bbc.co.uk.Retrieved3 October2017.
- ^"Invasion of England, 1066".Eyewitnesstohistory.com.Retrieved3 October2017.
- ^Odd Gunnar Skagestad.Norsk Polar Politikk: Hovedtrekk og Utvikslingslinier, 1905–1974.Oslo: Dreyers Forlag, 1975
- ^Thorleif Tobias Thorleifsson.Bi-polar international diplomacy: The Sverdrup Islands question, 1902–1930.Master of Arts Thesis, Simon Fraser University, 2004.
- ^Barr (1995): 96
- ^Berton, Pierre.The Arctic Grail: The Quest for the North West Passage and the North Pole.Toronto: Random House of Canada Ltd., 1988, p. 629.
- ^Kurt D. Singer (1943).Duel for the northland: the war of enemy agents in Scandinavia.R. M. McBride & company. p. 200.Retrieved2020-12-11.
- ^Skodvin, M. (1990).Norge i krig: Frigjøring.Aschehoug.ISBN9788203114236.Retrieved2015-04-03.
- ^"Norway's Nazi collaborators sought Russia colonies".Fox News.Associated Press.9 April 2010.Retrieved4 March2017.
- ^Dahl (1999), p. 296
- ^Hans Fredrik Dahl (1999).Quisling: a study in treachery.Cambridge University Press, p. 343[1]
- ^"Medieval Iceland: The Rise and Fall of the Commonwealth AD 870–1264".nicolejwallace.freeservers.com.Retrieved3 October2017.