History of Norway

History Of Norway

Norway was first settled in 12,000 BC and the Neolithic period started 4000 BC. The Migration Period caused the first chieftains to take control and the first defenses to be made. From the last decades of the 8th century Norwegians started expanding across the seas to the British Isles and later Iceland and Greenland. The Viking Age also saw the unification of the country. Christianization took place during the 11th century and Nidaros became an archdiocese. The population expanded quickly until 1349, when it was halved by the Black Death and successive plagues. Bergen became the main trading port, controlled by the Hanseatic League. Norway entered the Kalmar Union with Denmark and Sweden in 1397.

After Sweden left the union in 1523, Norway became the junior partner in Denmark–Norway. reformation was introduced in 1537 and the absolute monarch introduced in 1660. In 1814 Norway was ceded from Denmark to Sweden, a constitution was passed, Norway declared its independence was then occupied by Sweden, although the Parliament was allowed to exist. Industrialization started in the 1840s and from the 1860s large-scale emigration to North America took place. Parliamentarianism was introduced in 1884 and a period of Polar exploration commenced. The union was dissolved in 1905.

Shipping and hydroelectricity were important incomes for the country. The following decades saw a fluctuating economy and the rise of the labor movement. Germany occupied Norway between 1940 and 1945 during the Second World War, after which Norway joined NATO and underwent a period of reconstruction under public planning. Oil was discovered in 1969 and by 1995 Norway was the world's second-largest exporter. This resulted in a large increase of wealth. From the 1980s Norway started deregulation in many sectors and experienced a banking crisis.