The

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 ...

ic vistarband () was a requirement that all landless people be employed on a

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

. A person who did not own or lease

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

had to find a position as a laborer (''vinnuhjú'' ) in the home of a farmer. The custom was for landless people to contract themselves to a farmer for one year at a time. The vistarband was in effect from 1490 until the beginning of the 20th century in various forms. Iceland had an unusually large percentage of the population in this kind of bondage—generally about 25% of the population during the 19th century. The institution only applied in Iceland, not in the rest of Denmark-Norway. Norway had its own system of serfdom, while a somewhat similar institution, the

stavnsbånd The Stavnsbånd was a serfdom-like institution introduced in Denmark in 1733 in accordance with the wishes of estate owners and the military. It bonded men between the ages of 14 and 36 to live on the estate where they were born. It was possible, ...

, existed in

Denmark proper ) , 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 , established ...

Minimum farm size

The minimum farm size in Iceland, according to the Píningsdómur of 1490, was equal to the value of three cows. An individual who did not control

of at least this value had to become a

farm laborer A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including harv ...

Life of a laborer

It was common for Icelanders to work as farm laborers when they were young, and then, if they were able to rent land, to start their own farm and marry. But lifelong servitude was the fate of many, especially women. Most Icelandic farms were leased, and farmers were not required to reside there for more than one year at a time. The same applied to the ''vistarband''; no laborer was required to stay with the same farmer for more than one year at a time. Thus while the vistarband was similar in some ways to

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...

, it differed in that those subject to it were at least technically able to leave the land where they worked. If a farmer did not fulfill his responsibilities to a laborer, the laborer could appeal to the local district head (''hreppstjóri'' ), but a laborer could not leave the farm without the farmer's permission.

Free workers

It was sometimes possible to escape the vistarband by becoming a free worker (''lausamaður'' ). Free workers could sell their labor to employers on their own terms. Until 1783 property of the value of at least ten cows was required to become a free worker. Becoming a free worker was banned from 1783 to 1863. When it was permitted again after 1863 it was only under strictly limited conditions. After the growth of small-scale

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

in Iceland in the late 19th century the laws were changed in 1894, and free worker status became accessible for most landless Icelanders. Liberal democratic governments in Denmark pushed Iceland to adopt freedom of occupation during the 19th century. However, Icelandic elites and parliamentarians resisted implementing freedom of occupation, saying that the vistarband arrangement benefitted both laborers and employers. Icelandic historian Guðmundur Hálfdanarson argues that liberal democratic reforms during the 19th century in the Danish kingdom motivated Icelandic elites, who perceived these liberal democratic reforms as threats to their power and status, to push for greater Icelandic autonomy within the Danish kingdom.

References

{{Reflist * http://visindavefur.hi.is/svar.asp?id=2377 * Guðmundur Jónsson, ''Vinnuhjú á 19. öld'' (Reykjavík, 1981). Agriculture in Iceland Social history of Iceland Serfdom Labor in Iceland