Industrialization of the fisheries and Marshall Plan aid following World War II brought prosperity, and Iceland became one of the wealthiest and most developed nations in the world. Until the 20th century, Iceland relied largely on subsistence fishing and agriculture. Although the Althing was suspended from 1799 to 1845, the island republic has nevertheless been credited with sustaining the world's oldest and longest-running parliament. During the occupation of Denmark in World War II, Iceland voted overwhelmingly to become a republic in 1944, thus ending the remaining formal ties with Denmark. Influenced by ideals of nationalism after the French Revolution, Iceland's struggle for independence took form and culminated in the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union in 1918, with the establishment of the Kingdom of Iceland, sharing through a personal union the incumbent monarch of Denmark. The Danish kingdom forcefully introduced Lutheranism to Iceland in 1550. Iceland thus followed Norway's integration into that union, coming under Danish rule after Sweden seceded from the union in 1523. The establishment of the Kalmar Union in 1397 united the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden.
Following a period of civil strife, Iceland acceded to Norwegian rule in the 13th century. The island was governed as an independent commonwealth under the native parliament, the Althing, one of the world's oldest functioning legislative assemblies. In the following centuries, Norwegians, and to a lesser extent other Scandinavians, immigrated to Iceland, bringing with them thralls (i.e., slaves or serfs) of Gaelic origin. Its high latitude and marine influence keep summers chilly, and most of its islands have a polar climate.Īccording to the ancient manuscript Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first permanent settler on the island. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a temperate climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. The interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains, and glaciers, and many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is the largest part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that rises above sea level, and its central volcanic plateau is erupting almost constantly. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which is home to about 36% of the population. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland ( Icelandic: Ísland, pronounced ( listen)) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean.
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