Icelandica

Introducing Iceland
The Land of Fire and Ice

Iceland is an island nation in the North Atlantic, the northernmost point of which just
touches the Arctic Circle. Norse settlers began to populate the island around 874 CE
and Europe's oldest parliament, the Álthing (Álţingi), was established in 930. The
country became Christian by an act of the Álthing in the year 1000, although those
who wished were allowed to carry on pagan rituals in private. Iceland was united with
Norway in 1262 and together these two countries were later united with the Danish
crown, although Icelanders never really acknowledged the soveriegnty of these
foreign kingdoms. Iceland was granted its own constitution in 1874, achieved home
rule in 1904 and became a sovereign state under the Danish crown in 1918. In 1944,
Icelanders voted to establish an independent republic.

Today, Iceland is a progressive modern democracy with a population of about
290,000. Its largest city, Reykjavík, is the northernmost national capital in the world.
Icelanders enjoy a high standard of living and they alternate with the Japanese for
having the world's highest longevity rate.

Nearly one thousand years after Iceland was settled, some of its inhabitants began
the nineteenth century migration to North America. What began as a trickle, with
Mormon pilgrims to Utah and a small migration to Brazil, turned into a torrent after the
eruption of Mount Hekla in 1874. It has been estimated that as much as one-fifth of
the country's population emigrated to Canada and the United States between 1875
and 1914. Some sources contend that today there are about 100,000 people of
Icelandic ancestry in Manitoba alone, nearly one-tenth of the province's population,
many of whom are "hidden" behind surnames of other ethnic groups, given the
phenomenon of intermarriage.

Icelandic Links
Web Sites for People Interested in Iceland

Daily News From Iceland - The web site of Iceland Review, a beautiful and
informative quarterly magazine, with weekday news from Iceland in English.

Iceland on the Web - This collection of links to Icelandic web sites connects you to
travel services, media, government agencies, cultural institutions, universities,
businesses, organizations and personal homepages of Icelanders in English.

The Icelandic Canadian - Founded in 1942 by a group of forward-looking Icelandic
Canadians who believed that the future of Icelandic heritage preservation in North
America did not lie with publications in the Icelandic language, The Icelandic Canadian
is an attractive quarterly magazine. My late great-uncle, Axel Vopnfjord, served twice
as editor of the magazine (1953-1955 and 1979-1989), while my late brother, Eric
Jonasson, served on the editorial board from 1980 until his death in 1998, including
two stints as business manager. I have twice served on the editorial board, the first
time from 1981 until 1985 and from 1994 until the present.

Icelandic Unitarians - From its beginnings in 1886 until its gradual decline following
World War II, the Unitarian movement flourished among Icelandic immigrants in
Canada and the United States. It was the most successful effort at ethnic outreach
every undertaken by the American Unitarian Association, the predecessor of the
Unitarian Universalist Association.

Interlake Unitarians (Manitoba) - Five congregations perpetuate the legacy of
Icelandic Unitarianism in North America, two of which are located in the Manitoba
Interlake, at Arborg and Gimli.

INL Web Links - Numerous links to web sites of interest to Icelandic Canadians and
Icelandic Americans, sponsored by the Icelandic National League of North America.

Lögberg-Heimskringla - An Icelandic bi-weekly in the English language. L-H is the
oldest continuously published ethnic newspaper in Canada, being the successor to
Heimskringla (founded 1886), whose editorial policy was Conservative in politics and
Unitarian in religion, and Lögberg (founded 1888), which was Liberal in politics and
Lutheran in religion. Today, the newspaper steers clear of politics and seems
ambivalent (perhaps even embarrassed) about religion. I think I prefer the vigorous
controversies of the past, when politics and religion still mattered!

Samkoma - Samkoma is the Icelandic meeting place in cyberspace, containing more
than 1450 links to Icelandic-related web sites. It is truly a magnificent resource for
those who love Iceland and all things Icelandic.