![Faroes_compared_to_denmark](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Faroes_compared_to_denmark.png)
The Faroese independence movement ( fo, Føroyska Tjóðskaparrørslan), or the Faroese national movement (), is a
political movement which seeks the establishment of 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 ...
as a
sovereign state
A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...
outside
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
. Reasons for complete autonomy include the
linguistic
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
and
cultural divide
A cultural divide is "a boundary in society that separates communities whose social economic structures, opportunities for success, conventions, styles, are so different that they have substantially different psychologies". A cultural divide is th ...
between Denmark and the Faroe Islands as well as their lack of proximity to one another; the Faroe Islands are about 990 km (approximately 620 miles) from Danish shores.
History of sovereignty
Pre-Denmark
It is known that Norsemen settled the islands , bringing the
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
language that evolved into the modern
Faroese language. These settlers are not thought to have come directly from Scandinavia, but rather from Norse communities surrounding the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
,
Northern Isles
The Northern Isles ( sco, Northren Isles; gd, Na h-Eileanan a Tuath; non, Norðreyjar; nrn, Nordøjar) are a pair of archipelagos off the north coast of mainland Scotland, comprising Orkney and Shetland. They are part of Scotland, as are th ...
and
Western Isles
The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...
of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, including the
Shetland and
Orkney islands, and
Norse-Gaels. A traditional name for the islands in the
Irish language
Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
, , means 'the Skeggjar' and possibly refers to the ('island-beards'), a nickname given to the island dwellers.
According to ''
Færeyinga Saga
The Færeyinga saga (), the saga of the Faroe Islands, is the story of how the Faroe Islanders were converted to Christianity and became a part of Norway.
Summary
It was written in Iceland shortly after 1200. The author is unknown and the original ...
'', emigrants left Norway who did not approve of the monarchy of
Harald I of Norway. These people settled the Faroes around the end of the 9th century. It is thus officially held that the islands' Nordic language and culture are derived from the early Norwegians. The islands were a
possession of the
Kingdom of Norway (872–1397)
The term Norwegian Realm (Old Norse: ''*Noregsveldi'', Bokmål: ''Norgesveldet'', Nynorsk: ''Noregsveldet'') and Old Kingdom of Norway refer to the Kingdom of Norway's peak of power at the 13th century after a long period of civil war before 12 ...
from 1035 until their incorporation into Denmark.
Under Danish rule
![Flag of the Faroe Islands](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Flag_of_the_Faroe_Islands.svg)
The islands have been ruled, with brief interruptions, by the Danish government since 1388, all the time being part of Norway up until 1814. Although the state of
Denmark-Norway was thoroughly divided by 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 ...
of 1814, the Faroe Islands remained in Danish hands.
A series of discriminatory policies were put in place soon after the treaty; the Faroese parliament, the
Løgting was abolished in 1816 along with the post of
Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
The prime minister of the Faroe Islands is the head of government of the Faroe Islands
The Faroese term (plural: ) literally means "lawman" and originally referred to the legal function of lawspeaker. This old title was brought back into use ...
. The aforementioned offices were replaced by a Danish judiciary.
Concurrently, the usage of the
Faroese language was generally discouraged and
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
was instilled as the official language of the region.
The renewed
Danish Constitution of 1849 granted the Faroese two seats in the Danish Parliament
Rigsdagen
Rigsdagen () was the name of the national legislature of Denmark from 1849 to 1953.
''Rigsdagen'' was Denmark's first parliament, and it was incorporated in the Constitution of 1849. It was a bicameral legislature, consisting of two houses, th ...
.
1852 saw the restoration of the Løgting, albeit merely as an 18-member consultative body to the Danish authorities.
The nationalist fervor has its roots in late 19th century, established initially as a cultural/political movement which struggled for the rights of using the Faroese language in the schools, the church, in media and in the legislature. The designated start is believed to be the
Christmas Meeting of 1888, which was held on December 22, 1888 in the Løgting (parliament) 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 ...
. Two of the persons who participated were
Jóannes Patursson and
Rasmus Effersøe
Rasmus Christoffer Effersøe (May 30, 1857 – March 23, 1916) was a Faroese agronomist, poet, and politician.
Effersøe was born in Trongisvágur.Rossel, Sven Hakon. 1992. ''A History of Danish Literature''. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Pre ...
. Patursson had written a poem which Effersøe read aloud, the first line starts: ''Nú er tann stundin komin til handa'', which is often cited in support of the movement. The poem was about preserving and taking care of the Faroese language; over the years it has gained a strong cultural footing in the Faroe Islands. The Faroese language was not allowed to be used in the Faroese public schools as a teaching language until 1938, and in the church (Fólkakirkjan) until 1939.
Young students who studied in Denmark played a prominent role in the nationalist movement. The
Faroese Merkið flag was designed in 1919 by Faroese students in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. Prior to the Merkið's utilization, there were other flags which some of the Faroese people identified themselves with, one was a flag featuring a ram and one was a flag with a
tjaldur.
Denmark was
occupied by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
as part of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
on April 9, 1940. The
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, viewing the Faroe Islands as strategically valuable, began a
military occupation of the islands in order to thwart further German conquest of Danish territory. This effectively put the Faroe Islands under British administration until the conclusion of the war in 1945.
Under British rule the Merkið was recognized as the official flag of the Faroes so that authorities could discern what vessels were Faroese fishing boats and which were hostile.
Status of autonomy
In the
status quo, the Faroe Islands is an
autonomous
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...
area
Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...
of the
Kingdom of Denmark,
sharing this distinction 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 ...
.
In response to growing calls for autonomy, the
Home Rule
Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...
Act of the Faroe Islands was passed on March 23, 1948, cementing the latter's status as a
self-governing
__NOTOC__
Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...
country within
The Unity of the Realm
The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of metropolitan Denma ...
. The Act has also allowed the vast majority of domestic affairs to be ceded to the Faroese government, with the Danish government only responsible for
military defence,
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
,
justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
,
currency
A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins.
A more general ...
and
foreign affairs.
Lov om de færøske myndigheders overtagelse af sager og sagsområder
(written in Danish) The Faroe Islands are not part of the European Union. The Faroe Islands also have their own national football team and are a full member of FIFA and UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
.
Political solutions
Organizations
Four local political parties seek independence from Denmark: the People's Party (''Hin føroyski fólkaflokkurin''), Republic (''Tjóðveldi''), Progress
Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension w ...
(''Framsókn'') and Centre Party (''Miðflokkurin''). These parties, while spanning the political left and right
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...
, make up 17 of the Løgting's 33 seats. In addition to this is the Self-Government Party (''Sjálvstýrisflokkurin'') generally touts the idea of sovereignty, albeit with a more moderate fervor than the aforementioned parties.
1946 referendum
On September 14, 1946, a referendum regarding independence was held. With a valid vote count of 11,146, 50.74% voted in favor of independence while 49.26% opted to remain associated with Denmark, leaving a difference of 166 votes between the two options. The chairman of the Løgting declared independence on September 18; this move was not recognised by the opposition parties, and it was annulled by Denmark on September 20. King Christian X of Denmark
Christian X ( da, Christian Carl Frederik Albert Alexander Vilhelm; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was King of Denmark from 1912 to his death in 1947, and the only King of Iceland as Kristján X, in the form of a personal union rathe ...
subsequently dissolved the Løgting; it was swiftly replaced in the parliamentary election held on November 8, with parties favoring union with Denmark now retaining a majority.
Constitutional crisis
The Danish and Faroese governments have consistently haggled over the drastic revision of the Faroese constitution, with many clauses clashing with those of Denmark. The conflict reached its apex in 2011, when then-Prime Minister of Denmark
The prime minister of Denmark ( da, Danmarks statsminister, fo, Forsætisráðharri, kl, Ministeriuneq) is the head of government in the Kingdom of Denmark comprising the three constituent countries: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Island ...
Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Lars Løkke Rasmussen (; born 15 May 1964) is a Danish politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2022. He previously served as the 25th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019. He was the le ...
declared that new edits could not coincide with the state's constitution. Rasmussen presented two options to the Faroese: secede or scrap the hypothetical constitution. Faroese Prime Minister Kaj Leo Johannesen
Kaj Leo Holm Johannesen (born 28 August 1964 in Tórshavn) is a Faroese politician. He was the prime minister of the Faroe Islands, representing the Faroese Unionist Party ( Sambandsflokkurin). He took office, succeeding Jóannes Eidesgaard on ...
asserted that they would begin a new draft of the constitution and remain in the Danish Realm.
Concerns of economic viability
Although they enjoy a significant amount of autonomy from Denmark, the Faroe Islands still regularly rely on USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
$99.8 million of government subsidies to keep their economy stable; in 1992 a banking decline of 25% sent the economy into a period of stagnation and 15% of the population to mainland Denmark. Financial support from the Danish government takes up 4.6% of the Faroese gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...
and accounts for 10-12% of the public budget.
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
oil and gas company Equinor
Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. I ...
has taken interest in the prospects of oil in the waters off of the Faroe Islands, embarking on an estimated US$166.46 million oil exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for deposits of hydrocarbons, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth using petroleum geology.
Exploration methods
Vis ...
operation. Exxon Mobil and Atlantic Petroleum
Atlantic Petroleum was an oil company in the Eastern United States headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a direct descendant of the Standard Oil Trust. It was also one of the companies that merged with Richfield Oil Corporation to f ...
also hold stakes in the drilling platform
A drilling rig is an integrated system that drills wells, such as oil or water wells, or holes for piling and other construction purposes, into the earth's subsurface. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to drill wat ...
s being installed in Faroese waters. If these operations succeed and find the bountiful projected amounts of oil (USD $568,500 worth per each resident out of the Faroese population of 49,000) the prospect of independence may receive a boost.
See also
* The Unity of the Realm
The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of metropolitan Denma ...
* Constitution of Denmark
The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Riges Grundlov), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution ( da, Grundloven, fo, Grundlógin, kl, Tunngaviusumik inatsit), is the c ...
* Greenlandic independence
Greenlandic independence ( da, Grønlandsk uafhængighed, kl, Kalaallisuut kiffaanngissusiat) is a political ambition of some political parties (such as Siumut, Inuit Ataqatigiit, Partii Naleraq, and Nunatta Qitornai), advocacy groups, and indiv ...
* Icelandic independence movement
The Icelandic Independence movement (Icelandic: ''Sjálfstæðisbarátta Íslendinga'') was the collective effort made by Icelanders to achieve self-determination and independence from the Kingdom of Denmark throughout the 19th and early 20th ...
* Norwegian independence movement
In 1814, the Kingdom of Norway made a brief and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to regain its independence. While Norway had always legally been a separate kingdom, since the 16th century it had shared a monarch with Denmark; Norway was a subo ...
* List of active separatist movements in Europe
This is a list of currently active separatist movements in Europe. Separatism often refers to full political secession, though separatist movements may seek nothing more than greater autonomy or to be recognised as a national minority.
What i ...
References
{{Ethnic nationalism
Separatism in Denmark
Independence movements
Politics of the Faroe Islands