History History

On the one hand, there is the legend of Saint Brendan, an Irish monk from County Kerry, nicknamed the Navigator. His first great voyage in search of Paradise Lost is said to have taken him to the Faroe Islands and Iceland around 515-524. The bay of Brandarsvík bears his name. This little-known yet mythical character is illustrated on one of the official postage stamps.
On the other hand, new archaeological evidence from a study by the National Museum of the Faroes. It places human settlement as early as the fourth century AD. In Sondum, on the island of Sandoy, a large sand deposit containing burnt peat ash (with remains of human activities including domestic barley grains) has confirmed this dating. However, the origin of these populations remains unknown.
Finally, it is known that, from the end of the 7th century, many Irish monks in search of solitude settled in hermitages here and in neighbouring Iceland. One of them, Brother Dicuil, wrote the first text referring to the archipelago.

In the following centuries, the Faroe Islands served as a springboard for settlers who dispersed across the North Atlantic to the shores of continental America around the 11th century.
Who were they? They were called the Norsemen. Between 800 and 1050, in search of fertile land, they undertook an important colonization after having settled in Scotland and Shetland, and before the Irish settlement. The population, organized in hamlets of farms, had a parliament, the Løgting (ancestor of the current Parliament), an assembly of free people gathered on a rocky promontory, in Tinganes (it separates the current port of Tórshavn in two sectors).

The Faroese Saga, written at the beginning of the 13th century in Iceland, is based on oral tradition to tell the Faroese story. It begins with the settlement of the Norwegian Viking Grímr Kamban, the first man to set foot on these shores around the year 825, in order to escape the tyranny of King Harald I of Norway. Then, it tells how the Faroese Simundr Brestisson received the mission from the Norwegian king to take control of the islands and convert them to Christianity.

Despite the resistance of the local chief Tróndur í Gøtu, Christianity became the official religion. At that time, there was a lot of trade with other Viking clans. Although the Faroese had resources in fishing, hunting, and above all in livestock and agriculture, they could not afford to be completely self-sufficient. They imported many materials (wood, iron, etc.) in exchange for sheep's wool and fishing products.

When Tróndur í Gøtu died, the Faroe Islands became part of Norway. The monopoly of trade was given to the Norwegian merchants of the Hanseatic League of Bergen.

In 1120, as trade developed, evangelization extended its power to Kirkjubøur with the establishment of a powerful bishopric, the most important symbol of which was the construction of a cathedral (1269) which remained unfinished. The bishops had all the power, and for each act contrary to the Christian laws, they confiscated the lands, so much so that in the 15th century, half of the island of Streymoy belonged to them.

The devastating Black Death pandemic reached the Faroe Islands, wreaking havoc and killing about a third of the population.

In the meantime, Norway lost its influence to the kingdom of Denmark, which proclaimed the Danish-Norwegian Kingdom. The Faroes then came under Danish authority and they are still under Danish authority today.

Luther's theses were officially adopted by Denmark as its state religion. As a result, the bishopric was abolished, Danish became the liturgical language (in the Faroes as in Norway) and Catholic dignitaries had their lands and property confiscated. Through inheritance and power, the church owned 40% of the Faroese land. The bishopric was transferred to Bergen, the real mainland port of the Faroes, since all trade between the mainland and the archipelago passed through this city.

For a long time, the islands were the target of pirates and privateers, among which the French were particularly feared! But it was undoubtedly the bloody attacks perpetrated by the "corsairs of Algiers", in the pay of the Ottoman Turks, that left their mark for generations. Many legends mention them and several watchtowers, still visible today on the heights, date from this period. The construction of the Skansin fort by Magnus Heinason, east of Tórshavn, put an end to these attacks. Heinason, who became a national hero, was a merchant who had inherited the royal monopoly and was given the task by the Danish king Frederik II, who felt that piracy was destroying the profitability of trade in the area.

It was not until the beginning of the 18th century that Copenhagen took over the commercial monopoly. Before this new era of prosperity, the Faroes remained isolated from the great trade that had taken place in the early Middle Ages: there were only one or two ships per year. The archipelago lived in great isolation and subsisted with difficulty on its meagre agricultural resources, until the late and providential arrival of the potato.

The extension of the cultivable land was authorized to face the demographic growth (5 000 inhabitants instead of 3 000 during the last centuries).
In addition, the sea offering some resources near the coasts and fjords, maritime explorations were organized, some of which were at the origin of the tradition of fishing for pilot whales (right whales). In fact, as the traditional boats were no longer suitable for large-scale fishing, a farmer took the initiative to build the Nólsoy-Páll, the first Faroese boat with a deck, which has become a mythical boat today.

That year, Denmark signed the Treaty of Kiel, abandoning Norway but retaining the Faroes with the status of a Danish department (the governor being replaced by a prefect). Two years later, the Faroese Assembly was completely abolished, only to be reinstated in 1852, but only in an advisory capacity. In the second half of the 19th century, there was a wind of nationalism (as in the rest of Europe) in favour of autonomy and even independence. Economically, deep-sea fishing became increasingly important, generating rivalries for fishing grounds with other nations such as Great Britain and Russia. Around 1840, a new preservation technique was developed: dried and salted cod.

The turn of the century was marked by the creation of political parties - Sambandsflokkurin (The Union Party) and Sjálvstyrisflokkurin (Self-Government Party) - and the Faroese flag by students in 1919. The world economic crisis affected the more industrialized south of the archipelago in particular. This triggered the first wave of emigration, which was interrupted by the war. The Faroes had about 26,000 inhabitants. At the same time, the first steam trawlers were fishing in the Barents Sea, near Norway and the USSR.

With Denmark occupied by Nazi Germany, the British set up "Operation Valentine. They occupied the Faroes while the Americans supervised Iceland and Greenland, thus ensuring military continuity in anticipation of a German invasion. A military airport was built, which has since been converted into a civilian airport. The Faroese continued to fish, supplying markets in Britain.

After the Liberation, a first referendum for independence was organized, the difference between the "yes" and the "no" was only 161 votes. The statute of autonomy was adopted with: recognition of the language, the flag, the government with competence for internal affairs. Nevertheless, Denmark retained responsibility for defence, foreign policy, justice, currency, and a large part of the public services (education, post office, social welfare, etc.). The 1950s saw the development of industrial fishing, which would make the archipelago rich. Buoyed by their prosperity, the Faroese pushed the limits of their autonomy even further: they obtained the right to negotiate in their own name with a foreign country when it was a matter that concerned them directly. Thus, they said "no" to joining the EEC in 1974 (whereas Denmark had said "yes" in 1972), and from 1976 onwards they were able to issue their own stamps and finance education and social welfare.

Everything collapsed! In 1992, the Faroese held the world record for debt with 175,000 DDK per capita (80% of the debt was owed by the private sector and 20% by the Faroese public authorities), unemployment affected 20% of the active population and emigration was emptying the archipelago of its youth. And in a blow to the Faroese nationalist spirit, Denmark bailed out the archipelago's two banks, which became insolvent in early 1993... After enjoying a standard of living that exceeded that of the average Dane (buying 4x4s, sunny holidays abroad, building houses, etc.), the Faroese had to face a serious crisis.

And then there was the hope of oil. After having obtained from Copenhagen the control and the benefit of its underwater resources, the archipelago pursued long negotiations with Great Britain to delimit exactly the maritime border which separated the Faroes from Scotland because, in this zone off Shetland, important oil deposits were found.

An agreement was finally reached and the Tórshavn government distributed licenses to three companies (American, Norwegian and British) to carry out drilling. It remained to evaluate the profitability. The first results suggesting significant quantities of oil and gas were published in the fall of 2001. In the meantime, the economy had already taken off again thanks to the return of the fish! The result was intense economic activity and huge construction projects, including an underwater tunnel linking Vágar, the airport island, to Streymoy where the capital Tórshavn is located. The Faroese Prime Minister, Anfinn Kallsberg, organized a new referendum in May 2001 for independence after 15 years. Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rassmussen immediately announced that if the "yes" vote won, Copenhagen would stop paying subsidies that exceeded one billion kroner (more than 150 million euros) each year after only four years. The Danish threat and polls - showing that only 3 per cent of Faroese would vote for independence - caused the Faroese government to back down. This trend continued in subsequent polls.

Kaj Leo, a former goalkeeper for the national soccer team and president of the Faroe Islands Union, was chosen to lead the government. The financial crisis hit the islands late, partly because of trade links with Iceland. In 2007, the government took full control of Vága Floghavn airport and the Faroese state church, Fólkakirkjan (previously run by the Danish authorities). But in 2008, patatras! Bankruptcy of the country's main bank and the main fish factory.

The EU imposed sanctions on the Faroe Islands because of a dispute over fishing quotas for herring and mackerel. A boycott prohibited Faroese vessels carrying herring or mackerel from entering all EU ports, including Denmark, Sweden and Finland. The boycott was lifted a year later after negotiations progressed.

According to a 2010 poll, 50 per cent of Faroese wanted to remain linked to Denmark, while 50 per cent wanted independence.
A new referendum was expected in 2015, following the parliamentary elections, but it was not held despite a change of government. Aksel Vilhelmsson Johannesen, a Social Democrat, became Prime Minister.

Inauguration of a new tunnel between the islands of Streymoy and Eysturoy. 11 kilometers long, it goes down to 187 meters under the ocean and includes the first underwater traffic circle in the world. It makes it possible to connect Tórshavn to Runavik in 16 minutes instead of the 60 minutes previously required!
Maintenance of the "grind or grindadrap", the traditional (and very controversial) summer hunt of small cetaceans, which was once threatened with cancellation due to coronavirus. In February 2022, the Faroese government limited the quota to 500 dolphins.