In 1783 the Laki volcano erupted, with devastating effects.
The volcanic eruption of Laki in 1783–1784 caused a famine that killed nearly a quarter of the island's population.
Although its parliament (Althing) was suspended from 1799 to 1845, the island republic has been credited with sustaining the world's oldest and longest-running parliament. Until the 20th century, Iceland relied largely on subsistence fishing and agriculture.
Around a quarter of the population starved to death in the ensuing famine. ===1814–1918: Independence movement=== In 1814, following the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark-Norway was broken up into two separate kingdoms via the Treaty of Kiel but Iceland remained a Danish dependency.
Although its parliament (Althing) was suspended from 1799 to 1845, the island republic has been credited with sustaining the world's oldest and longest-running parliament. Until the 20th century, Iceland relied largely on subsistence fishing and agriculture.
An Icelandic independence movement took shape in the 1850s under the leadership of Jón Sigurðsson, based on the burgeoning Icelandic nationalism inspired by the Fjölnismenn and other Danish-educated Icelandic intellectuals.
In 1874, Denmark granted Iceland a constitution and limited home rule.
The crisis resulted in the greatest migration from Iceland since 1887, with a net emigration of 5,000 people in 2009.
This was expanded in 1904, and Hannes Hafstein served as the first Minister for Iceland in the Danish cabinet. ===1918–1944: Independence and the Kingdom of Iceland=== The Danish–Icelandic Act of Union, an agreement with Denmark signed on 1 December 1918 and valid for 25 years, recognised Iceland as a fully sovereign and independent state in a personal union with Denmark.
In the wake of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Iceland's struggle for independence took form and culminated in independence in 1918 and the founding of a republic in 1944.
This was expanded in 1904, and Hannes Hafstein served as the first Minister for Iceland in the Danish cabinet. ===1918–1944: Independence and the Kingdom of Iceland=== The Danish–Icelandic Act of Union, an agreement with Denmark signed on 1 December 1918 and valid for 25 years, recognised Iceland as a fully sovereign and independent state in a personal union with Denmark.
After the German occupation of Denmark on 9 April 1940, the Althing replaced the King with a regent and declared that the Icelandic government would take control of its own defence and foreign affairs.
In 1941, the Government of Iceland, friendly to Britain, invited the then-neutral United States to take over its defence so that Britain could use its troops elsewhere. ===1944–present: Republic of Iceland=== On 31 December 1943, the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union expired after 25 years.
In 1941, the Government of Iceland, friendly to Britain, invited the then-neutral United States to take over its defence so that Britain could use its troops elsewhere. ===1944–present: Republic of Iceland=== On 31 December 1943, the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union expired after 25 years.
In the wake of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Iceland's struggle for independence took form and culminated in independence in 1918 and the founding of a republic in 1944.
Beginning on 20 May 1944, Icelanders voted in a four-day plebiscite on whether to terminate the personal union with Denmark, abolish the monarchy, and establish a republic.
Iceland formally became a republic on 17 June 1944, with Sveinn Björnsson as its first president. In 1946, the US Defence Force Allied left Iceland.
Iceland formally became a republic on 17 June 1944, with Sveinn Björnsson as its first president. In 1946, the US Defence Force Allied left Iceland.
The nation formally became a member of NATO on 30 March 1949, amid domestic controversy and riots.
On 5 May 1951, a defence agreement was signed with the United States.
The immediate post-war period was followed by substantial economic growth, driven by industrialisation of the fishing industry and the US Marshall Plan programme, through which Icelanders received the most aid per capita of any European country (at US$209, with the war-ravaged Netherlands a distant second at US$109). The 1970s were marked by the Cod Wars—several disputes with the United Kingdom over Iceland's extension of its fishing limits to offshore.
Iceland hosted a summit in Reykjavík in 1986 between United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, during which they took significant steps toward nuclear disarmament.
Throughout the 1990s, the country expanded its international role and developed a foreign policy oriented toward humanitarian and peacekeeping causes.
It became a part of the European Economic Area in 1994; this further diversified the economy into sectors such as finance, biotechnology, and manufacturing. Iceland has a market economy with relatively low taxes, compared to other OECD countries, as well as the highest trade union membership in the world.
To that end, Iceland provided aid and expertise to various NATO-led interventions in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Iraq. Iceland joined the European Economic Area in 1994, after which the economy was greatly diversified and liberalised.
After a phase of inactivity, Geysir started erupting again after a series of earthquakes in 2000.
International economic relations increased further after 2001, when Iceland's newly deregulated banks began to raise great amounts of external debt, contributing to a 32% increase in Iceland's gross national income between 2002 and 2007. ====Economic boom and crisis==== In 2003–2007, following the privatisation of the banking sector under the government of Davíð Oddsson, Iceland moved toward having an economy based on international investment banking and financial services.
International economic relations increased further after 2001, when Iceland's newly deregulated banks began to raise great amounts of external debt, contributing to a 32% increase in Iceland's gross national income between 2002 and 2007. ====Economic boom and crisis==== In 2003–2007, following the privatisation of the banking sector under the government of Davíð Oddsson, Iceland moved toward having an economy based on international investment banking and financial services.
International economic relations increased further after 2001, when Iceland's newly deregulated banks began to raise great amounts of external debt, contributing to a 32% increase in Iceland's gross national income between 2002 and 2007. ====Economic boom and crisis==== In 2003–2007, following the privatisation of the banking sector under the government of Davíð Oddsson, Iceland moved toward having an economy based on international investment banking and financial services.
The US withdrew the last of its forces on 30 September 2006. Iceland prospered during the Second World War.
International economic relations increased further after 2001, when Iceland's newly deregulated banks began to raise great amounts of external debt, contributing to a 32% increase in Iceland's gross national income between 2002 and 2007. ====Economic boom and crisis==== In 2003–2007, following the privatisation of the banking sector under the government of Davíð Oddsson, Iceland moved toward having an economy based on international investment banking and financial services.
The crisis resulted in the greatest migration from Iceland since 1887, with a net emigration of 5,000 people in 2009.
Iceland's economy stabilised under the government of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, and grew by 1.6% in 2012.
The country is considered a "strong performer" in environmental protection, having been ranked 13th in Yale University's Environmental Performance Index of 2012. ===Geology=== A geologically young land, Iceland is the surface expression of the Iceland Plateau, a large igneous province forming as a result of volcanism from the Iceland hotspot and along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the latter of which runs right through it.
The centre-right Independence Party was returned to power in coalition with the Progressive Party in the 2013 election.
In 2016, archaeologists uncovered a longhouse in Stöðvarfjörður that has been dated to as early as 800. Swedish Viking explorer Garðar Svavarsson was the first to circumnavigate Iceland in 870 and establish that it was an island.
In 2016, Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson resigned after being implicated in the Panama Papers scandal.
Early elections in 2016 resulted in a right-wing coalition government of the Independence Party, the Reform Party and Bright Future.
Snap elections in October 2017 brought to power a new coalition consisting of the Independence Party, the Progressive Party and the Left-Green Movement, headed by Katrín Jakobsdóttir. ==Geography== Iceland is at the juncture of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.
In 2020, it was ranked as the fourth-most developed country in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index, and it ranks first on the Global Peace Index.
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