HISTORY OF NORWAY AFTER 1814 is the tale of modern Norway’s growth from dependence and poverty to sovereignty and wealth – from the Eidsvoll Constitution to the Second World War, the evolvement of the welfare state, the oil finds in the North Sea, and the complex relationship to the EU.

This is a book published in the series NORWEGIAN HERITAGE. A series of books about a range of Norway’s best-known national icons. The respective titles deal with significant figures within arts and literature, science, sports and society, as well as the country’s many natural wonders, important historical periods and cultural topics. Each book offers the reader an updated introduction to readers who wish to familiarize themselves with a given subject.

See www.norwegian-heritage.no for more titles and information about the series.

The books are published in Norwegian and English.

IVAR LIBÆK, ØIVIND STENERSEN AND ASLE SVEEN

THE HISTORY OF NORWAY AFTER 1814

TRANSLATED FROM THE NORWEGIAN
BY JOHN IRONS

FONT FORLAG

King Haakon VII comes to Norway as Norwegian king 25 November 1905, and is welcomed at the dockside in Kristiania (Oslo) by Prime Minister Christian Michelsen. On the king’s arm sits his son, Crown Prince Olav, who was constituted as Prince Regent in connection with his father’s illness in 1955, and acceded to the throne upon Haakon’s death in 1957. Olav V was head of state in Norway until his death in 1991.

Contents

The union with Sweden 1814–1905

Free Norway 1905–1940

The Second World War

From the war to the EU

Norway – an oil country

Appendix

The Norwegians appear to me to be the most free community I have ever observed.

MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT
British author, 1795

Norway means ‘the way northwards’. The people of the country with the longest coastline in Europe have experienced times of glory, but also periods of setbacks. In the early medieval period, Norwegians set out on Viking raids, conquering land in other parts of Europe. People of Norwegian extraction were also the first in Europe to discover the path to America. In the 13th century, the Norwegian king ruled over larger areas outside the Norwegian mainland than at any time before or since. Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Shetland, the Orkney Islands, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man were all Norwegian possessions.

The Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll in 1814. The father of the constitution, Christian Magnus Falsen, stands centre. The painting of Oscar Wergeland hangs behind the rostrum of the Storting

But the Black Death, which ravaged the country from 1349 onwards, proved a disaster. At least half the population died of the plague – and those who survived were unable to maintain Norwegian independence. The country was ruled by Danish dynasties for over 400 years. Not until 1814 did the Norwegians managed to break free of the union with Denmark. Absolute monarchy and Danish rule came to an end.

After a summer as an independent state with perhaps the world’s most liberal and democratic constitution, the country was forced into another union – this time with Sweden. It lasted until 1905. But our story begins in 1814.