SEVERING THE TIES – ICELAND'S JOURNEY FROM A UNION WITH DENMARK TO A NATION‐STATE

Abstract

At the time of the foundation of the Icelandic republic in 1944, most Icelanders regarded the dissolution of the union with Denmark as a natural conclusion of a long struggle for freedom. The fact is, however, that the idea of self‐determination only emerged in the early 19th century, gaining total hegemony a century later. This article explores this sudden paradigm shift in the Icelandic political discourse.

Notes

1. Jóhannesson, “17. júní,” 163–165. Iceland entered the Norwegian monarchy in 1262–64, but came under the Danish king when the Danish and Norwegian crowns merged in 1380.

2. Ibid, 152, and Ásgeirsson, “Hátíðahöldin 18. júní,” 265 and 273.

3. Olgeirsson, “Sögusýningin,” 386.

4. Stjórnartíðindi 1918, A: 78–79.

5. See Ástandið í sjálfstæðismálinu.

6. Benediktsson, Lýðveldi, 13.

7. IÞjóðaratkvæðagreiðsla , 8 and 11; see also Kjartansson, Ísland á 20. öld, 240–245.

8. Jónsson, Dagrenning, 3–38 and Jóhannesson, Saga Íslendinga, 484.

9. See for example Ólafsson's poems ‘Island’, ‘Einvaldsvísur’, and ‘Það uppvakta Island,’ in Kvæði, 9–29 and 72–77.

10. Hálfdanarson, “From Enlightened Patriotism to Romantic Nationalism.”

11. “Instruction for den islandske Landcommission,” 665–677.

12. Gustafsson, Mellan kung och allmoge, 102–169.

13. B. Jónsson, “Korte Forslag til Islands Opkomst.”

14. J. Jónsson, Dagrenning, 23–24.

15. Sveinn Sölvason, “Formaali.”

16. Hálfdanarson, “Language, Identity, and Political Integration.” It is impossible to guess how popular these opinions were among either the members of various social groups in Iceland or the general public – or, indeed, if the public had any idea about these debates – as no open, public discussion existed in Iceland until the latter half of the 18th century.

17. Ens Islendska Læardoms‐Lista Felags Skraa , 4; Magnússon, “Fræðafélög og bókaútgáfa,” 189–196.

18. Ólafsson, Vice‐Lavmand, 962–965.

19. Ólafsson, Nockrar Hvg‐hreystelegar Harma‐tavlvr, 6–8.

20. See Herder, “Ideen,” 384–385.

21. Meinecke, Weltbürgertum und Nationalstaat, 9–26. In the English version of this work, the two concepts are translated as ‘political nations’ and ‘cultural nations’; see Meinecke, Cosmopolitanism and the National State, 10.

22. Brynjúlfsson, Dagbók í Höfn, 210 and 213.

23. Carl Plough, the influential editor of the newspaper Fædrelandet, later pointed out how the rebellion in Schleswig‐Holstein instilled ideas about independence among young Icelanders, although it did not lead to any illegal activities; cf. Fædrelandet, 20 November 1868.

24. Brynjúlfsson, Dagbók í Höfn, 175.

25. Ibid, 146–147.

26. Sigurðsson, “Um Alþíng á Íslandi,” 90–99.

27. Ármann á Alþingi , 116–119.

28. Brynjúlfsson, “Fyrrum og nú,” 15–16.

29. Ibid, 16–19.

30. See for example, J. Jónsson, Íslenzkt þjóðerni, 217–236.

31. See Frandsen, “Det nya Norden efter Napoleon,” 19–54.

32. Lehmann, “Om Personalunionen,” 125.

33. “Hvad udad tabes, det må indad vindes.”

34. Frandsen, Opdagelsen af Jylland, 557–569 and Østergård, “The Danish Path to Modernity.”

35. ‘Ávarp,’ 3–4.

36. A good example is Sigurðsson, “Hugvekja til Íslendinga.” See also B. Hermannsson, Understanding Nationalism, 173–210.

37. Berlin, “Om Islands statsretlige Stilling,” 183. See also Larsen, Om Islands hidtilværende statsretlige Stilling and Berlin, Islands statsretlige Stilling.

38. See Líndal, “Retshistorie og politik.”

39. Tíðindi frá þjóðfundi Íslendinga , 149.

40. Ibid, 501. Emphasis in original.

41. Ibid, 509–517. The suggested relations with Denmark sounded very similar to those established with the Act of Union in 1918.

42. Ibid, 146–196, 412–413, 427–481, and 496–525. Cf. Kristjánsson, Endurreisn Alþingis, 305–398.

43. Smith, “Considerations on Representative Government,” 427.

44. Lehmann, “Ordførerens Gjensvar,” 51–52; see also Fædrelandet, 27 January 1870 and 17 May 1871.

45. Lehmann, “Ordførerens Inledende Foredrag,” 30–31.

46. Lehmann, “Betænkning over Udkast,” 18.

47. Berlin, “Om Islands statsretlige Stilling,” 195.

48. “Amagers Løsrivelse,” Politiken, 16 December 1906 and “Amagers Flag,” Politiken, 22 December 1906.

49. Quoted in Albertsson, Hannes Hafstein, 170. See also Friðriksson, Ég elska þig stormur, 477–478.

50. Cf. Flyveposten, 20 September 1851, Folkets Avis, 22 July 1865, and Fædrelandet, 1 February 1870.

51. Sigurðsson, “Um fjárhagsmálið.”

52. Tíðindi frá alþingi Íslendinga (1865), second part, 26–85; see also Fædrelandet 28 October and 20 November 1868, and Flyveposten, 16 December 1868.

53. Hálfdanarson, “Iceland: A Peaceful Secession,” 95–97. Later generations of Icelanders claimed that the Danes had accepted Sigurðsson's arguments, but that was entirely incorrect (See for example H. Hermannsson, “Handritamálið,” 1, Sveinsson, Handritamálið, 8–9; on the Danish understanding of this issue, see Prime Minster Zahle's speech in the Danish parliament in 1918, Rigsdagstidende 1918–1919 , 1509–1510).

54. Þ. Jóhannesson, “An Outline History,” 48; see also Olgeirsson, “Sögusýningin,” 416–423.

55. Gellner, Nations and Nationalism, 1.

56. Sigurðsson, “Um landsréttindi Íslands,” 5–6.

57. Hálfdanarson, Íslenska þjóðríkið, 93–94; for a different interpretation of Sigurðsson's political arguments, see Karlsson, “Jón Sigurðsson á 21. öld.”

58. “Island og Danmark. En Udtalelse af Minister Hafstein,” Politiken, 27 February 1906; see also Finnur Jónsson, “Islændernes ‘Løsrivelse’,” Politiken, 26 February 1906.

59. The most detailed studies of these debates are Arnórsson, Alþingi og frelsisbaráttan 1845–1874 and Þórðarson Alþingi og frelsisbaráttan 1874–1944.

60. See for example Þorsteinsson, Island.

61. Rigsdagstidende 1918–1919 , 1524–1525.

62. Anderson, Imagined Communities, 15.

63. Christensen and Stevnsborg, 1864: Fra helstat til nationalstat, 7–14.

64. Lehmann, “Ordførerens Gjensvar,” 52.

65. See Frandsen, “Det nya Norden,” 35n.

66. Østergård, “Peasants and Danes,” 9.