History UsefulNotes / Iceland

Situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a geological faultline, Iceland has a lot of volcanoes and new islands pop up from time to time (e.g. see the isle of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surtsey Surtsey]], a classic study in ecology). On account of its placement on the Ridge, it is therefore technically both in Europe and UsefulNotes/NorthAmerica (or rather the Eurasian and North American geological plates), with the capital Reykjavik being on the North American side. One particular volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, erupted in the summer of 2010, causing a massive ash cloud that essentially closed most of Europe's airspace.

The island was [[UsefulNotes/TheVikingAge first settled]] in 874.[[note]]By the ancestors of the current population, anyway - there are hints that Scots-Irish monks known in Icelandic Sagas as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papar Papar]] may have lived there semi-permanently, but they obviously left no descendants[[/note]]. The world's oldest parliament, the Althing, was founded in Iceland in 930. It ended up as part of UsefulNotes/{{Norway}} in the mid 13th century, which later merged with UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}} and UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}} to form the Kalmar Union. Following the Union's dissolution in the 16th century, Iceland, together with the UsefulNotes/FaroeIslands and UsefulNotes/{{Greenland}} (both also formerly Norwegian) were transferred to Danish rule. It nearly suffered a Class Zero ApocalypseHow during the 1780s, when [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki it suffered a Phreatic Eruption]].

The island was [[UsefulNotes/TheVikingAge first settled]] in 874.[[note]]By the ancestors of the current population, anyway - there are hints that Scots-Irish monks known in Icelandic Sagas as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papar Papar]] may have lived there semi-permanently, but they obviously left no descendants[[/note]]. The world's oldest parliament, the Althing, was founded in Iceland in 930. It ended up as part of UsefulNotes/{{Norway}} in the mid 13th century, which later merged with UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}} and UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}} as part of the Kalmar Union. Following the Union's dissolution in the 16th century, Iceland, together with UsefulNotes/FaroeIslands and UsefulNotes/{{Greenland}} (both also formerly Norwegian) were transferred to Danish rule. It nearly suffered a Class Zero ApocalypseHow during the 1780s, when [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki it suffered a Phreatic Eruption]].

Iceland ('''Icelandic:''' ''Ísland'') is a Northern European country and island in UsefulNotes/TheArctic and North Atlantic Oceans. It's notable for having a population more or less on par with a mid-sized European… city (330 000 inhabitants), the smallest of all the Nordic countries. Situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a geological faultline, Iceland has a lot of volcanoes and new islands pop up from time to time (e.g. see the isle of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surtsey Surtsey]], a classic study in ecology). On account of its placement on the Ridge, it is therefore technically both in Europe and UsefulNotes/NorthAmerica (or rather the Eurasian and North American geological plates), with the capital Reykjavik being on the North American side. One particular volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, erupted in the summer of 2010, causing a massive ash cloud that essentially closed most of Europe's airspace.

Iceland and UsefulNotes/{{Norway}} were the most developed nations in the world in 2007. Despite not having an army, Iceland is a member of UsefulNotes/{{NATO}}, but not of UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion (it has EFTA membership, the next closest thing). Iceland is also a member of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area Schengen Area]] which in practice means that if you fly from - say - UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} to Iceland you'll have to pass through customs, but not immigration.

Medieval Iceland was renowned for its storytelling culture, and most of the famous [[Literature/TheIcelandicSagas Norse sagas]] (including the Eddas, our best source of Myth/NorseMythology) were written there in the forms we know them today. For that reason (along with the remarkable linguistic conservatism of Icelandic) most recitations of text from the Eddas use modern Icelandic pronunciation rather than reconstructed Old Norse pronunciation. The reason behind this is that we can be 100% certain what modern Icelandic sounds like (so no squabbling over minor details), and it is a bit easier to learn. Creator/JacksonCrawford (of Website/YouTube fame) notably uses reconstructed Old Norse pronunciation, which he usually informs his audience of whenever he recites Old Norse texts.

[[UsefulNotes/TheVikingAge First settled]] in 874[[note]]By the ancestors of the current population, anyway - there are hints that Scots-Irish monks known in Icelandic Sagas as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papar Papar]] may have lived there semi-permanently, but they obviously left no descendants[[/note]], Iceland ended up as part of Norway in the mid 13th century, then went to UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}} in the 16th century (after the dissolution of the Kalmar Union). Iceland is the home of the world's oldest parliament, the Althing, founded in 930 A.D.

Nearly suffered a Class Zero ApocalypseHow during the 1780s, when [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki it suffered a Phreatic Eruption]].

When Denmark fell to UsefulNotes/NaziGermany in 1940, the island was cut off and decided to act independently. The UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom invaded Icceland, believing that they would stop the Germans going after it (the Germans weren't planning to do so). The Icelandic government protested, but resigned themselves to cooperating after the British promised compensation and a withdrawal after the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. As British forces were needed elsewhere, occupation was handed over to the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates. There were more U.S. forces (40,000) than adult male locals, and many of the former married the local women.

U.S. forces left in 1946, but returned in 1951, two years after Iceland joined NATO.

Iceland was of vital strategic and economic importance to NATO. A stopping point for shorter-ranged aircraft travelling the Atlantic (it is also a divert point for transatlantic flights), Iceland lacked the capacity to defend itself--the British invasion had been done with fewer than 1,000 men. If the UsefulNotes/WarsawPact took over the place, it would provide them with Tu-22M "Backfire" coverage of a good part of the North Atlantic, causing major problems for convoys bringing supplies and troops across the Atlantic.

The United States set up a Naval Air Station at Keflavík Airport, which was a base for U.S. interceptors, like the F-15. The civilian terminal was in the middle of the airbase, meaning that travellers had to go through military checkpoints, until the terminal was re-sited in 1987. This base stayed open until 2006. Keflavík is now a solely civilian-run airport, but military flights do use it. The other NATO air forces now provide air defence on Iceland on a rotational basis. The airport can take the Space Shuttle.

Got into a few disagreements with the UK in 1958, 1972-1973 and 1975-1976 about exactly where its territorial waters were - this was important, as said waters are rich in cod. The UK claimed that the waters were international, so they could fish there. Iceland said they couldn't, because it was their territorial waters. The Royal Navy was sent in to protect the British trawlers and the whole fracas was dignified with the name "The Cod Wars". One shot - possibly a blank - was fired during the three Cod Wars. Of course Iceland [[UnderdogsNeverLose won]]... by threatening to close the NATO base at Keflavík unless the British backed down. It was also noted that in one confrontation, a Royal Navy frigate had to limp home with significant damage caused in a confrontation with an Icelandic coastguard vessel less than half its size. Although this was more by accident than design, it was not lost on observers that Iceland had effectively defeated the Royal Navy in a showdown.

Also notable is the language. North Germanic languages are already known for their conservative tendencies among the Germanic languages, but Icelandic takes it up to eleven by practically being a carbon-copy of Old Norse, the language of the Vikings when they first settled the island in the 9th century, making it a real-life example of an EternalEnglish (or should we say, Eternal Norse?). Icelanders can simply read the works of Creator/SnorriSturluson (helps that he's also an Icelandic Viking) without any prior learning of Old Norse at all; though the works might feel a bit archaic at times, it's still perfectly understandable for them than it is to, say, the Danes. Icelandic orthography also preserves many archaic letters that have been long lost in other modern Germanic languages, like the Þ (basically what would happen if ''th'' is a single letter). Faroese, the language of Iceland's closest neighbor, the UsefulNotes/FaroeIslands, is closely related to Icelandic and also famously conservative.

When looking at this list, note that Iceland is one of the few cultures today to still use a strict UsefulNotes/{{Patronymic}} (or Matronymic) naming system rather than using family names. This sometimes causes problems for Icelandic families travelling internationally, where children who have a different second name to any adult travelling with them tend to flag up abduction alerts.

* Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, the first openly homosexual head of government.

* ''Running Blind'', a ColdWar spy thriller by Desmond Bagley is set there.

* '''Area:''' 102,775 km
(39,682 sq mi) (106th)

* '''Area:''' 102,775 km
(39,682 sq mi) (106th)

** President of Parliament: Steingrímur J. Sigfússon
** President of Supreme Court: Þorgeir Örlygsson

Iceland is by far the largest nation on Earth which has no standing army (the next ones being UsefulNotes/{{Panama}} and UsefulNotes/CostaRica. However, it has some special police forces and a capable coast guard with a small air unit [[ClosestThingWeGot that can act as]] [[MildlyMilitary an impromptu defence force]]. Other than that, most of the defence in a time of crisis would be up to Norway and other NATO countries. During a short period of the 19th century, there was also a small Icelandic garrison of the Danish royal army.

Got into a few disagreements with the UK in 1958, 1972-1973 and 1975-1976 about exactly where its territorial waters were - this was important, as said waters are rich in cod. The UK claimed that the waters were international, so they could fish there. Iceland said they couldn't, because it was their territorial waters. The Royal Navy was sent in to protect the British trawlers and the whole fracas was dignified with the name "The Cod Wars". One shot - possibly a blank - was fired during the three Cod Wars. Of course Iceland [[UnderdogsNeverLose won]]... by threatening to close the NATO base at Keflavík unless the British backed down.

Suffered a large scale banking collapse and a drop in the value of its currency in 2008. This led to an odd situation where money and junk earned in ''VideoGame/EveOnline'' was worth more than their real currency (CCP Games is based in Iceland and the game's currency has the same code, ISK, as Iceland's krónur). The collapse was sufficiently bad that Iceland applied to the IMF for currency stabilization (something that rich countries haven't done on a large scale in quite some time) and applied to the EU for membership (before, Icelanders hadn't decided they needed it). However, the EU membership bid seems doomed since only one party supports it (and not whole-heartedly at that) and also because the question will have to be decided in a referendum, and polls show that as of now, about 70% of the population is against it. It doesn't help that Icelanders were left pretty [[StealthPun cold]] by what happened to some countries that received the EU's "help", like Greece. The banking collapse affected the UK, where a lot of councils had banked with Icelandic banks.

Also, Reykjavík's where UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan and Gorbachev met in October 1986 to continue ultimately failed discussions (although it did cement Reagan and Gorbachev's nascent friendship) about scaling down their European missile arsenals. You might get extra points on your UsefulNotes/ColdWar quizzes if you mention that.

Also, Reykjavík's where Reagan and Gorbachev met in October 1986 to continue ultimately failed discussions (although it did cement Reagan and Gorbachev's nascent friendship) about scaling down their European missile arsenals. You might get extra points on your UsefulNotes/ColdWar quizzes if you mention that.

The majority of the electricity in Iceland is generated through Hydro Power, with the rest being geothermal. Iceland is a one of the leading nations in the usage of renewable power and plans to completely phase out carbon fuels by 2050. Or so the politicos claim...

Iceland is by far the largest nation on Earth which has no standing army (the next ones being Panama and Costa Rica). However, it has some special police forces and a capable coast guard with a small air unit [[ClosestThingWeGot that can act as]] [[MildlyMilitary an impromptu defence force]]. Other than that, most of the defence in a time of crisis would be up to Norway and other NATO countries. During a short period of the 19th century, there was also a small Icelandic garrison of the Danish royal army.

When Denmark fell to UsefulNotes/NaziGermany in 1940, the island was cut off and decided to act independently. The UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom invaded Icceland, believing that they would stop the Germans going after it (the Germans weren't planning to do so). The Icelandic government protested, but resigned themselves to cooperating after the British promised compensation and a withdrawal after the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. As British forces were needed elsewhere, occupation was handed over to the United States. There were more U.S. forces (40,000) than adult male locals, and many of the former married the local women.

When Denmark fell to UsefulNotes/NaziGermany in 1940, the island was cut off and decided to act independently. The British invaded, believing that they would stop the Germans going after it (they weren't planning to do so). The Icelandic government protested, but resigned themselves to cooperating after the British promised compensation and a withdrawal after the war. As British forces were needed elsewhere, occupation was handed over to the United States. There were more U.S. forces (40,000) than adult male locals, and many of the former married the local women.

When Denmark fell to the Germans in 1940, the island was cut off and decided to act independently. The British invaded, believing that they would stop the Germans going after it (they weren't planning to do so). The Icelandic government protested, but resigned themselves to cooperating after the British promised compensation and a withdrawal after the war. As British forces were needed elsewhere, occupation was handed over to the United States. There were more U.S. forces (40,000) than adult male locals, and many of the former married the local women.

Nearly suffered a Class Zero ApocalypseHow during the 1780s when [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki it suffered a Phreatic Eruption]].

[[UsefulNotes/TheVikingAge First settled]] in 874[[note]]By the ancestors of the current population, anyway - there are hints that Scots-Irish monks known in Icelandic Sagas as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papar Papar]] may have lived there semi-permanently, but they obviously left no descendants[[/note]], Iceland ended up as part of Norway in the mid 13th century, then went to UsefulNotes/{{Denmark}}in the 16th century (after the dissolution of the Kalmar Union). Iceland is the home of the world's oldest parliament, the Althing, founded in 930 A.D.

[[UsefulNotes/TheVikingAge First settled]] in 874[[note]]By the ancestors of the current population, anyway - there are hints that Scots-Irish monks known in Icelandic Sagas as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papar Papar]] may have lived there semi-permanently, but they obviously left no descendants[[/note]], Iceland ended up as part of Norway in the mid 13th century, then went to Denmark in the 16th century (after the dissolution of the Kalmar Union). Iceland is the home of the world's oldest parliament, the Althing, founded in 930 A.D.

Medieval Iceland was renowned for its storytelling culture, and most of the famous [[Literature/TheIcelandicSagas Norse sagas]] (including the Eddas, our best source of Myth/NorseMythology) were written there in the forms we know them today. For that reason (along with the remarkable linguistic conservatism of Icelandic) most recitations of text from the Eddas use modern Icelandic pronunciation rather than reconstructed Old Norse pronunciation as we can be 100% certain what modern Icelandic sounds like (so no squabbling over minor details) and it is a bit easier to learn. Creator/JacksonCrawford (of Youtube fame) notably uses reconstructed Old Norse pronunciation, which he usually informs his audience of whenever he recites Old Norse texts.

Iceland and UsefulNotes/{{Norway}} were the most developed nations in the world in 2007. Despite not having an army, Iceland is a member of UsefulNotes/{{NATO}}, but not of UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion (it has EFTA membership, the next closest thing). Iceland is also a member of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area Schengen Area]] which in practice means that if you fly from - say - Spain to Iceland you'll have to pass through customs but not immigration.

It and Norway were the most developed nations in the world in 2007. Despite not having an army, Iceland is a member of UsefulNotes/{{NATO}}, but not of UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion (it has EFTA membership, the next closest thing). Iceland is also a member of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area Schengen Area]] which in practice means that if you fly from - say - Spain to Iceland you'll have to pass through customs but not immigration.

Iceland ('''Icelandic:''' ''Ísland'') is a Northern European country and island in UsefulNotes/TheArctic and North Atlantic Oceans. It's notable for having a population more or less on par with a mid-sized European… city (330 000 inhabitants), the smallest of all the Nordic countries. Situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a geological faultline, Iceland has a lot of volcanoes and new islands pop up from time to time (e.g. see the isle of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surtsey Surtsey]], a classic study in ecology). On account of its placement on the Ridge, it is therefore technically both in Europe and North America (or rather the Eurasian and North American geological plates), with the capital Reykjavik being on the North American side. One particular volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, erupted in the summer of 2010, causing a massive ash cloud that essentially closed most of Europe's airspace.

Iceland ('''Icelandic:''' ''Ísland'') is a Northern European country and island in the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans. It's notable for having a population more or less on par with a mid-sized European… city (330 000 inhabitants), the smallest of all the Nordic countries. Situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a geological faultline, Iceland has a lot of volcanoes and new islands pop up from time to time (e.g. see the isle of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surtsey Surtsey]], a classic study in ecology). On account of its placement on the Ridge, it is therefore technically both in Europe and North America (or rather the Eurasian and North American geological plates), with the capital Reykjavik being on the North American side. One particular volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, erupted in the summer of 2010, causing a massive ash cloud that essentially closed most of Europe's airspace.

Medieval Iceland was renowned for its storytelling culture, and most of the famous [[Literature/TheIcelandicSagas Norse sagas]] (including Literature/{{the Eddas}}, our best source of Myth/NorseMythology) were written there in the forms we know them today. For that reason (along with the remarkable linguistic conservatism of Icelandic) most recitations of text from the Eddas use modern Icelandic pronunciation rather than reconstructed Old Norse pronunciation as we can be 100% certain what modern Icelandic sounds like (so no squabbling over minor details) and it is a bit easier to learn. Creator/JacksonCrawford (of Youtube fame) notably uses reconstructed Old Norse pronunciation, which he usually informs his audience of whenever he recites Old Norse texts.

* Creator/SnorriSturluson, medieval chieftain, poet and historian who composed the ''Literature/ProseEdda'' and ''Literature/{{Heimskringla}}''.

It and Norway were the most developed nations in the world in 2007. Despite not having an army, Iceland is a member of UsefulNotes/{{NATO}}, but not of UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion (it has EFTA membership, the next closest thing). Iceland is also a member of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area Schengen Area]] which in practice means that if you fly from - say - Spain to Iceland you'll have to pass thru customs but not immigration.

Also notable is the language. North Germanic languages are already known for their conservative tendencies among the Germanic languages, but Icelandic takes it UpToEleven by practically being a carbon-copy of Old Norse, the language of the Vikings when they first settled the island in the 9th century, making it a real-life example of an EternalEnglish (or should we say, Eternal Norse?). Icelanders can simply read the works of Creator/SnorriSturluson (helps that he's also an Icelandic Viking) without any prior learning of Old Norse at all; though the works might feel a bit archaic at times, it's still perfectly understandable for them than it is to, say, the Danes. Icelandic orthography also preserves many archaic letters that have been long lost in other modern Germanic languages, like the Þ (basically what would happen if ''th'' is a single letter). Faroese, the language of Iceland's closest neighbor, the UsefulNotes/FaroeIslands, is closely related to Icelandic and also famously conservative.

* ''Film/{{Bokeh}}'', a [[AfterTheEnd Post-apocalyptic]] Drama Starring Creator/MaikaMonroe and Creator/MattOLeary is about an American couple on holiday in Iceland only to wake up one morning and discover that everyone on earth has disappeared.

* ''Film/{{Bokeh}}'', a [[AfterTheEnd Post-apocalyptic]] Drama Starring Creator/MaikaMonroe and Creator/MattOLeary is about an American couple on holiday in Iceland only to wake up one morning to discover that everyone on earth has disappeared.

* ''Film/Bokeh'', a [[AfterTheEnd Post-apocalyptic]] Drama Starring Creator/MaikaMonroe and Creator/MattOLeary is about an American couple on holiday in Iceland only to wake up one morning to discover that everyone on earth has disappeared.