The Danish royal trade monopoly, referred to in Faroese as and in Danish as , oversaw all trade between the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

and other regions from 1709 to 1856.

History

Beginning in 1662, the Danish nobleman

Christoffer Gabel Christoffer Gabel (6 January 1617 – 13 October 1673) was a Danish statesman. Biography He was born on 6 January 1617 at Glückstadt.Bruun (2008), p.110Bricka (1891), p.512 His father, Wulbern or Waldemar Gabel, originally a cartographer and ...

and his heirs held exclusive rights over the Faroe Islands, including trading rights, but in 1709 the Danish Royal Exchequer assumed control of the trade monopoly on behalf of King Frederick IV. The new royal trade monopoly worked to address local concerns that had lingered under the Gabels and worked to eliminate smuggling. The monopoly was strict, and reportedly one could receive "severe punishment if he rowed out to a visiting Dutch ship to trade off some woolen socks against a handful of flour." Beginning in 1771, as the king adjusted the administration of the Faroes, the scope of the royal trade monopoly also changed. In 1774 it was combined with the

Finnmark Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...

and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

trade, and in 1781 trade with

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

was added to the monopoly. By 1791, however, the royal trade monopoly for the Faroe Islands was again made a standalone entity. From 1723 to 1777, the monopoly ran a profit for the king, but the market for exported Faroese stockings could not offset the rising price of imported grain and by 1789 Copenhagen was looking to abolish the royal trading monopoly. Faroese farmers successfully petitioned for the retention of the monopoly through 1796. However, broader European politics forestalled the abolishment of the monopoly. Initially, the monopoly operated a single store in

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

, but during the 1830s, it added additional stores in the villages of

Vestmanna Vestmanna is a town in the Faroe Islands on the west of the island of Streymoy. It was formerly a ferry port, until an undersea tunnel, the Vágatunnilin, was built from Vágar to Kvívík and Stykkið further south on Streymoy. The cliffs w ...

Tvøroyri Tvøroyri is a village on the north side of the Trongisvágsfjørður on the east coast of Suðuroy island in the Faroe Islands. Together with Froðba, Trongisvágur, Líðin and Øravík it forms Tvøroyri Municipality. The village is considered ...

and

Klaksvík Klaksvík is the second largest town of the Faroe Islands behind Tórshavn. The town is located on Borðoy, which is one of the northernmost islands (the Norðoyar). It is the administrative centre of Klaksvík municipality. History The first ...

. Following signing of the

Treaty of Kiel The Treaty of Kiel ( da, Kieltraktaten) or Peace of Kiel ( Swedish and no, Kielfreden or ') was concluded between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Sweden on one side and the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway on t ...

, Denmark retained control of the Faroes and the royal trade monopoly continued to subsidize the Faroese economy, which remained heavily dependent upon wool exports. However by the time the Løgting was reestablished in 1851, rising Faroese national identity and a shift to fishing as the islands' prime commodity lead to the dissolution of the royal trade monopoly in 1856.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline of the Faroe Islands History of the Faroe Islands 1709 establishments in Europe 1853 disestablishments in Europe