History of Norway

The Bronze Age began around 1800 BCE and involved innovations such as ploughing fields with ards, permanent farms with houses and yards, especially in the fertile areas around the Oslofjord, Trondheimsfjord, Mjøsa and Jæren.[8] Some yields were so high that it allowed farmers to trade furs and skins for luxury items, especially with Jutland.[9] About 1000 BCE, speakers of Uralic languages arrived in the north and assimilated with the indigenous population, becoming the Sami people.[7] According to Ante Aikio[10] the formation of the Sámi language was completed in its southernmost area of usage (central Scandinavia, South Sápmi) by 500 AD.

A climate shift with colder weather started about 500 BCE. The forests, which had previously consisted of elm, lime, ash and oak, were replaced with birch, pine and spruce. The climate changes also meant that farmers started building more solid structures for shelter. Knowledge of ironworking was introduced from the Celts, resulting in better weapons and tools.[9]

Iron Age tools allowed for more extensive clearing and farming, and thus more areas were cultivated as the population grew with the increased harvests. A new social structure evolved: when sons married, they would remain in the same house; such an extended family was a clan. They would offer protection from other clans; if conflicts arose, the issue would be decided at a thing, a sacred place where all free men from the surrounding area would assemble and could settle disputes and determine sanctions for crimes, such as paying fines in food.[11]

The last century BCE saw a widespread cultural development. The Norse adapted letters and created their own alphabet, runes. Trading with Romans also took place, largely furs and skins in exchange for luxury goods. Some Scandinavians also served as Roman mercenaries.[11] Some of the most powerful farmers became chieftains. They functioned as priests and accepted sacrifices from farmers which were again used to pay soldiers, creating a hird. Thus they were able to rule an area of several clans and tribes.[12]

The chieftains' power increased during the Migration Period between 400 and 550 as other Germanic tribes migrated northwards and local farmers wanted protection. This also resulted in the construction of simple fortifications. A plague hit southern Norway in the 6th century, with hundreds of farms being depopulated. Most were repopulated in the 7th century, which also saw the construction of several fishing hamlets and a boom in trade of iron and soapstone across the North Sea.[12] Some chieftains were able to control most of the trade and grew in power throughout the 8th century.[13]

In February 2020, Secrets of the Ice Program researchers discovered a 1,500-year-old Viking arrowhead dating back to the Germanic Iron Age and locked in a glacier in southern Norway caused by the climate change in the Jotunheimen Mountains. The arrowhead made of iron was revealed with its cracked wooden shaft and a feather, is 17 cm long and weighs just 28 grams.[14][15][16]

Several Viking ships in burial mounds have been found and placed in museums, including the Oseberg and Gokstad ships. In October 2018, Norwegian archaeologists headed by the archaeologist Lars Gustavsen announced the discovery of a buried 20 m long Gjellestad Viking ship in Halden municipality. An ancient well-preserved Viking cemetery for more than 1000 years was discovered using ground-penetrating radar. Archaeologists also revealed at least seven other previously unknown burial mounds and the remnants of five longhouses with the help of the radar survey.[25][26][27][28]

Bryggen in Bergen, once the centre of trade in Norway under the Hanseatic League trade network, now preserved as a World Heritage Site

The 13th century is described as Norway's Golden Age, with peace and increase in trade, especially with the British islands, although Germany became increasingly important towards the end of the century. Throughout the High Middle Ages the king established Norway as a sovereign state with a central administration and local representatives.[37]

In 1349, the Black Death spread to Norway and within a year killed nearly two-thirds of the population. Later plagues halved the population by 1400. Many communities were entirely wiped out, resulting in an abundance of land, allowing farmers to switch to more animal husbandry. The reduction in taxes weakened the king's position,[38] and many aristocrats lost their surplus income, reducing some to mere farmers. High tithes made the church more powerful, and the archbishop became a member of the Council of State.[39]

The Kalmar Union, c. 1400

The Hanseatic League took control of Norwegian trade in the 14th century and established trading posts in most Norwegian port cities, such as Oslo and Bergen, which had the largest German colony. In 1380, Olaf Haakonsson inherited both the Norwegian and Danish thrones, creating a union between the two countries.[39] In 1397, under Margaret I, the Kalmar Union was created between the three Scandinavian countries. She waged war against the Hanse, resulting in a trade blockade and higher taxation on Norwegians, which resulted in a rebellion. However, Norway and its Council of State was too weak to secede from the union.[40]

Margaret pursued a centralising policy which inevitably favoured Denmark, because it had a greater population than Norway and Sweden combined.[41] Margaret also granted trade privileges to the Hanseatic merchants of Lübeck in Bergen in return for recognition of her right to rule, and these hurt the Norwegian economy. The Hanseatic merchants formed a state within a state in Bergen for generations.[42] Even worse were the pirates, the "Victual Brothers", who launched three devastating raids on the port (the last in 1427).[43]

Norway slipped ever more into the background under the Oldenburg dynasty (established 1450). There was a revolt under Knut Alvsson in 1502.[44] Norwegians had some affection for king Christian II, who resided in the country for several years. Norway did not take any part in the events which led to Swedish independence from Denmark in the 1520s.[45]

When Frederick died and a three-way war of succession broke out between the supporters of his eldest son Christian (III), his younger Catholic brother Hans and the followers of Christian II. Olaf Engelbrektsson again tried to lead a Catholic Norwegian resistance movement. Christian III triumphed and Engelbrektsson went into exile and, in 1537, Christian demoted Norway from an independent kingdom to a puppet state, dissolving the Norwegian Council of State.[46] The Reformation was also imposed in 1537,[39] strengthening the king's power. All church valuables were sent to Copenhagen and the forty percent of the land which was owned by the church came under the control of the king. Danish was introduced as a written language, although Norwegian retained distinct dialects. Professional administration was now needed and power shifted from the pincial nobility to the royal administration: district stipendiary magistrates were appointed as judges and the sheriffs became employees of the crown rather than of the local nobility. In 1572 (or 1556), a viceroy was appointed for Norway with a seat at Akershus Fortress in Oslo. In 1628 the Norwegian Army was founded, and professional military officers were employed.[47][48]

The Norwegian economy improved with the introduction of the water-driven saw in the early 16th century. Norway had huge resources of timber but did not have the means to exploit much of it in the Middle Ages as only hand-tools were available. The new saw mills which sprang up in the fjords changed this. In 1544 a deal was struck with the Netherlands (then part of the Holy Roman Empire) and the Dutch controlled the export of Norwegian timber for the next 150 years. Amsterdam was built on piles from Norway. Tree-felling was done in the winter when farm-work was impossible and it was easy to get the felled trees across the snow to the rivers. In the spring, the logs floated down the rivers to the saw mills by the sea.[49] By the mid-16th century the power of the Hanseatic League in Bergen was broken; though German craftsmen remained, they had to accept Danish-Norwegian rule.[50]

The 17th century saw a series of wars between Denmark–Norway and Sweden. The Kalmar War between 1611 and 1613 saw 8,000 Norwegian peasants conscripted. Despite lack of training, Denmark–Norway won and Sweden abandoned its claims to the land between Tysfjord and Varangerfjord. With the Danish participation in the Thirty Years' War in 1618–48, a new conscription system was created in which the country was subdivided into 6,000 legd, each required to support one soldier.[51] Denmark–Norway lost the war and was forced to cede Jämtland and Härjedalen to Sweden. The Second Northern War in 1657 to 1660 resulted in Bohuslän being ceded to Sweden.

King Frederick III elevated himself to absolute and hereditary king of Denmark and Norway in 1661, eliminating the power of the nobles.[52] A new administrative system was introduced. Departments organized by portfolio were established in Copenhagen, while Norway was divided into counties, each led by a district governor, and further subdivided into bailiwicks. About 1,600 government officials were appointed throughout the country.[53] Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve was the most famous viceroy of Norway (1664–1699).[54]

Battle of Alvøen between the frigate HMS Tartar and Norwegian gunboats near Bergen in 1808

The population of Norway increased from 150,000 in 1500 to 900,000 in 1800.[53] By 1500 most deserted farms were repossessed. The period under absolutism increased the ratio of self-owning farmers from twenty to fifty percent, largely through sales of crown land to finance the lost wars. Crofts became common in the absolutism period, especially in Eastern Norway and Trøndelag, with the smallholder living at the mercy of the farmer.[55] There were 48,000 smallholders in 1800. Compared to Denmark, taxes were very low in Norway, typically at four to ten percent of the harvest, although the number of farms per legd decreased from four to two in the 1670s. Confirmation was introduced in 1736; as it required people to read, elementary education was introduced.[56]

The entire period saw mercantilism as the basis for commerce, which involved import regulations and tariffs, monopolies and privileges throughout the county granted to burghers. The lumber industry became important in the 17th century through exports especially to England.[57] To avoid deforestation, a royal decree closed a large number of sawmills in 1688; because this mostly affected farmers with small mills, by the mid 18th century only a handful of merchants controlled the entire lumber industry.[58] Mining increased in the 17th century, the largest being the silver mines in Kongsberg and the copper mines in Røros. Fishing continued to be an important income for farmers along the coast, but from the 18th century dried cod started being salted, which required fishermen to buy salt from merchants. The first important period of Norwegian shipping was between 1690 and 1710, but the advantage was lost with Denmark–Norway entering the Great Northern War in 1709. However, Norwegian shipping regained its strength towards the end of the century.[59] Many Norwegians earned a living as sailors in foreign ships, especially Dutch ones. The crews in both sides of the Anglo-Dutch Wars contained Norwegians.[60] Norway benefitted from the many European wars of the 18th century. As a neutral power it was able to expand its share of the shipping market. It also supplied timber to foreign navies.[61]

Throughout the period, Bergen was the largest town in the country; its population of 14,000 in the mid 18th century was twice the size of Christiania (later Oslo) and Trondheim combined. Eight townships with privileges existed in 1660—by 1800 this had increased to twenty-three. During this period up to two-thirds of the country's audited national income was transferred to Copenhagen.[62] In the last decades of the century, Hans Nielsen Hauge started the Haugean movement, which demanded the right to preach the word of God freely.[63] The University of Oslo was established in 1811.[64]

Harvesting oats at Fossum in Jølster during the 1880s

The Napoleonic Wars sent Norway into an economic crisis, as nearly all the merchants had gone bankrupt during the blockade. Recovery was difficult because of export tariffs and the country experienced high inflation. The Norwegian speciedaler was established as a currency by the Bank of Norway when it was established in 1816, financed through a silver tax which lasted until 1842.[71] Under threat of a coup d'état by Carl Johan, Norway reluctantly paid the debt stated in the Treaty of Kiel, despite never having ratified it. Constitution Day on 17 May became an important political rally every year;[72] in 1829 the Swedish governor-general Baltzar von Platen resigned after he used force against demonstrators in the Battle of the Square.[73] The first half of the century was dominated by the ca. 2,000 officials,[74] as there were few bourgeois and no aristocracy following an 1821 decision to abolish nobility. From the 1832 election, farmers became more conscious of electing themselves, resulting in a majority of farmers in Parliament. This resulted in rural tax cuts and higher import tariffs, shifting the tax burden to the cities.[75] They also passed the Local Committees Act, which established elected municipal councils from 1838.[76] Cultural expression from the 1840s to the 1870s was dominated by the romantic nationalism, which emphasized the uniqueness of Norway.

Røros, a major copper mining town, in 1869

The textile industry started in the 1840s, which was followed up with mechanical workshops to build new machinery as the British embargo hindered import of textile machinery.[77] An economic crisis hit the country from 1848, resulting in Marcus Thrane establishing the first trade unions and demanding that equality before the law be independent of social class. Parliament passed a series of laws abandoning economic privileges and easing domestic trade during the 1840s and 1850s.[78] Population increase forced the clearing of new land, although some of the growth came in the cities. The population of Christiania reached 40,000 in 1855.[79] By 1865 the population reached 1.7 million; the large increase was largely caused by better nutrition from herring and potatoes, a sharp decrease of infant mortality and increased hygiene.[76] Emigration to North America started in 1825, with the first mass emigration commencing in the 1860s. By 1930, 800,000 people had emigrated, the majority settling in the Midwestern United States.[79]

Bridal Journey in Hardanger (1848) by Adolph Tidemand and Hans Gude, an example of romantic nationalism

The population decrease resulted in a labor shortage in the agriculture, which again resulted in increased use of machinery and thus capital. The government stimulated the process through the creation of the Mortgage Bank in 1851 and the State Agricultural College eight years later.[80] The 19th century saw a large increase of road construction and steamship services commenced along the coast. The first railway, the Trunk Line between Christiania and Eidsvoll opened in 1854, followed a year later by the first telegraph line. Export industry commenced with steam-powered sawmills in the 1860s, followed by canned herring, wood pulp and cellulose. From 1850 to 1880 the Norwegian shipping industry enjoyed a large boom, stimulated by the abolishing of the British Navigation Acts. By 1880 there were 60,000 Norwegian seamen and the country had the world's third-largest merchant marine.[81] As the first coast-to-coast railway, the Røros Line connected the capital to Trondheim in 1877.[82] Norway joined the Scandinavian Monetary Union in 1875 and introduced the Norwegian krone with a gold standard,[83] along with the metric system being introduced.[84]

The Røros Line through Holtålen in 1877

Annual parliamentary sessions were introduced from 1869 and in 1872 ministers were, though a constitutional amendment, required to meet in Parliament to defend their policies. The king, despite having no constitutional right to do so, vetoed the amendment in three successive parliaments. The 1882 election saw the first two parties, the Liberals and Conservatives, run for election, and subsequently the majority succeeded at impeaching the cabinet.[85] In 1884, King Oscar II appointed majority leader Johan Sverdrup as prime minister, thus establishing parliamentarism as the first European country.[86] The Liberal Party introduced a series of legal reforms, such as increasing the voting rights to about half of all men, settling the language conflict by establishing two official written standards, Riksmål and Landsmål, introduced juries, seven years of compulsory education and,[87] as the first European country, universal suffrage for men in 1889.[88]

The 1880s and 1890s saw the rise of the labor movement and trade unions became common; the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions was established in 1899 and the Norwegian Employers' Confederation the following year.[87] The Labor Party had its first parliamentary members elected in 1903. The women's issue became increasingly dominant through the 1880s and they were gradually permitted to take secondary and tertiary education.[89] Norwegian support of the union decreased towards the end of the 1890s, especially following the 1897 Swedish abolition of the free trade agreement and the lack of a Norwegian foreign minister. Negotiations of independence commenced, but were not effective because of shifting governments and the Swedish threat of war.[88]

The government in exile, including the royal family, escaped to London. Politics were suspended and the government coordinated action with the Allies, retained control of a worldwide diplomatic and consular service, and operated the huge Norwegian merchant marine. It organized and supervised the resistance within Norway. One long-term impact was the abandonment of a traditional Scandinavian policy of neutrality; Norway became a founding member of NATO in 1949.[109] Norway at the start of the war had the world's fourth largest merchant fleet, at 4.8 million tons, including a fifth of the world's oil tankers. The Germans captured about 20% of the fleet but the remainder, about 1000 ships, were taken over by the government. Although half the ships were sunk, the earnings paid the expenses of the government.[110][111]

Vidkun Quisling proclaimed himself prime minister and appointed a government with members from the National Unity Party.[112] He was quickly set aside and replaced by Josef Terboven, but reinstated in 1942. The Norwegian Campaign continued in Northern Norway and the government fled to London on 7 June.[113] The German occupation resulted in a brutalization of society and 30,000 people were imprisoned.[114] 55,000 people joined the National Unity Party, which became the only legal party. But the nazification process failed after the Supreme Court resigned and both organized sports and bishops boycotted the new regime.[115] A resistance movement was established and was coordinated from London from 1943.[116] Stokker reports that hostile humour against the Germans helped maintain morale and build a wall against collaboration. Jokes made the rounds dripping with contempt for the oppressors, ridicule of Nazi ideology, stressing the cruelty of the Nazis and mocking their inflated self-image. People on the street asked, "Do you know the difference between the Nazis and a bucket of manure? The bucket." In Post Office lines they explained, "It's rumored that we're getting new stamps bearing Quisling's likeness, but distribution has been delayed because no one knows which side to spit on." The jokes worked to educate Norwegians about the occupation, and encourage a sense of solidarity.[117] At the time of German surrender on 8 May 1945, there were 360,000 German soldiers in the country.[118]

A legal purge took place in Norway after WWII in which 53,000 people were sentenced for treason and 25 were executed.[118] The post-war years saw an increased interest in Scandinavism, resulting in Scandinavian Airlines System in 1946, the Nordic Council in 1952[119] and the Nordic Passport Union[120] along with the metric system being introduced.[84] Reconstruction after the war gave Norway the highest economic growth in Europe until 1950, partly created through rationing private consumption allowing for higher industrial investments. The Labor Party retained power throughout the period and maintained a policy of public planning.[121] The University of Bergen was created in 1946.[122] The 1950s saw a boom in construction of hydroelectricity[123] and the state built the steel mill Norsk Jernverk and two aluminum works.[124] State banks such as the State Housing Bank, the State Educational Loan Fund and Postbanken allowed for governmental control over private debt. Oslo hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics.[125]

Norway retained its neutrality policy until 1947, focusing on its membership in the United Nations,[126] where Trygve Lie had become the first secretary-general.[127] However, there was no enthusiasm for the UN at the time.[128] Anti-communism grew with a Soviet proposal for joint control over Svalbard and especially after the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, after which the Communist Party lost all influence.[126] Norway started negotiations for the creation of a Scandinavian defense union, but instead opted to become a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). However, Norway never allowed permanently stationed foreign troops or nuclear weapons on Norwegian soil to avoid agitating the Soviet Union, with which Norway from 1944 shared a land border.[129] NATO financed large parts of the Norwegian military investments, which ultimately resulted in numerous airports being built during the 1950s and 1960s.[130]

Norway joined the Marshall Plan ("ERP") in 1947, receiving US$400 million in American support.[121] Given the business background of the Marshall Plan's American leaders, their readiness to work with the Norwegian Labor government's ERP Council disappointed the conservative Norwegian business community. It was represented by the major business organizations, the Norges Industriforbund and the Norsk Arbeidsgiverforening. While reluctant to work with the government, Norwegian business leaders also recognized the dangers of appearing to obstruct the implementation of the Marshall Plan. American acceptance of a role for government in economic planning reflected their New Deal reformist orientation. The opportunities for mediation between conservative Norwegian business interests and the government that arose in the course of administering the Marshall Plan helped establish a base for the emergence of Norwegian corporatism in the 1950s.[131]

Trondheim in 1965

The sale of cars was deregulated in October 1960, and in the same year the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation introduced Norway's first television broadcasts.[132] Norway feared competition from Swedish industry and Danish agriculture and chose not to join any free trade organizations until 1960, when it joined the European Free Trade Association.[133] Throughout the post-war period both fishing and agriculture became more mechanized, the agricultural subsidies rose to the third-highest in the world and the number of small-scale farms and fishermen fell dramatically.[134] The Socialist People's Party was created in 1961 by former Labor politicians who disagreed with the Labor Party's NATO, nuclear and European policies.[119] Following the Kings Bay Affair the Conservative Lyng's Cabinet ruled for a month.[135] The Conservative coalition Borten's Cabinet won the 1965 election, sat for six years and started a trend of shifting Labor and Conservative governments.[136] Norwegianization of Samis halted after the war and Sami rights became an increasing issue, with a council being established in 1964.[137]

The completion of the Nordland Line to Bodø in 1962 concluded the construction of new railway routes,[82] while the first part of the Oslo Metro opened in 1966.[138] A social security net was gradually introduced after the war, with child allowances introduced in 1946 and the Social Care Act introduced in 1964.[125] The 1960s saw good times for heavy industry and Norway became Europe's largest exporter of aluminum and the world's largest exporter of ferroalloys.[132] The University of Trondheim and the University of Tromsø both opened in 1968, one year before a network of regional colleges started being opened. Influenced by American culture and similar actions abroad, youth and students started to rebel against cultural norms.[139] The 1960s saw an increased focus on environmentalism, especially through activism, based on ever-more conversion of waterfalls to hydro stations, pollution and the dilapidation of herring stocks. Rondane National Park was created as the country's first in 1962 and the Ministry of the Environment was the first in the world when it was established in 1972.[140] A network of regional airports were built in Western and Northern Norway in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[141] Membership in the European Economic Community was rejected in a 1972 referendum.[142]

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  Five Nordic Prime Ministers (Matti Vanhanen (left) from Finland, Davíð Oddsson (second left) from Iceland, Kjell Magne Bondevik (center) from Norway, Anders Fogh Rasmussen (second right) from Denmark, and Göran Persson (right) from Sweden) at the Nordic Council Session in Oslo, on 27 October 2003.
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  Jens Stoltenberg was the Prime Minister of Norway from 2005 until 2013.
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  Norwegian King Harald V and Norwegian Queen Sonja, greeted by First Lady of the United States U.S. President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura Bush at the White House during a state visit in Washington, D.C., United States, in March 2005.
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  Oslo Stock Exchange languishes during the financial crisis of 2007–2008.
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  Oslo Opera House opened in 2007 and is part of the Fjord City redevelopment of Oslo's waterfront.
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  Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg (second left) and his wife Ingrid Schulerud (left), meet with Bill (second right) and Melinda Gates (right) at the visit to the Oslo Opera House, on 3 June 2009.
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  Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg (right) and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (left) announce that Norway and Russia have settled the long conflict over their maritime border in the Barents Sea, on 27 April 2010.

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