Chapter 18 An intriguing political laboratory in the Arctic Ocean

Relying on her great empire that was at its peak in the past, Denmark still retains several overseas colonies, and Greenland, the sixth continent in the world, is one of them.There also appear to be valuable mineral resources (iron, zinc, and graphite) beneath the continent, but glaciers completely cover these riches (in Greenland, only 3 percent of the land is not covered by snow and ice).This is of no use to anyone, unless the Earth's axis can be shifted a little further, allowing tropical climates to reappear in Greenland.Millions of years ago, Greenland was a very warm continent, which can be identified from the reserves of several large coal mines on the island.

The Faroe Islands, another Danish overseas colony, are located 200 miles north of the Shetland Islands.The Faroe Islands literally means "Island of Sheep", with a population of 20,000 and the capital of Tórshavn.At that time, Hudson's voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and finally arrived at Manhattan Island started from the Faroe Islands (Hudson, British navigator and explorer, about 1565-1611. In the early 17th century, he sought four times from Europe through the Arctic Ocean. The shortcut to Asia. In North America, the Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay are named after him. He made four expedition voyages in his life. On the fourth voyage, due to the rebellion of the crew, he And his son and 7 other crew members were pushed into a small boat, let them drift in the Hudson Bay, and have not been heard from since——Translator's Note), the Danish colony besides the Faroe Islands, there is another Iceland.Iceland is a very special country.All kinds of strange phenomena are constantly produced from the scattered volcanoes, often reminiscent of the magical flames in the furnace of Vulcan; the political development mode of this island country is also very unique.Iceland is the oldest republic in the world, and its self-government began 800 years before the United States became independent and continues to function almost uninterrupted to this day.

Refugees from Norway were the earliest inhabitants of Iceland, and they came to this remote island in the 9th century. Although 5,000 square miles of Iceland's 40,000 square miles of land are permanently covered by glaciers and snow fields, and only 7% of the island's land is suitable for farming, Iceland's living conditions are much better than those found in Norway. So, by the beginning of the 9th century, there were 4,000 large and small self-cultivated lands in Iceland, and the owners of these lands were all free self-cultivated farmers.Following the early habits of the Germanic tribes, these yeomen formed a loose self-government.The local "meeting people" form the "Alting" (big council), and then the "Alting" forms the self-government.Every year in midsummer, Altin is held on a volcanic plain called Thingvelli, which is only 7 miles away from the current capital Reykjavik, and the capital of Reykjavik has a history of only 100 years. .

Icelanders have made great efforts in the first 200 years of independence, writing the most exciting chapter in human history.They discovered Greenland and America (500 years before Columbus), and made Iceland (where winters have only 4 hours of daylight) a more important center of civilization than Norway itself.However, all Germanic peoples were doomed—political and economic cooperation became a castle in the air because of excessive individualism—and bad luck followed. In the 13th century, Norway occupied Iceland, Denmark then annexed Norway, and Iceland followed in Norway's footsteps and was annexed by Denmark.The Danes had no interest in Iceland, a tiny place, and allowed French and even Algerian pirates to ravage Iceland until they ransacked the small island.All the literature and architecture of the pagan age were forgotten, and peat huts gradually replaced the log houses of the nobles and freedmen.

The ancient prosperity began to reappear from the middle of the 19th century, and the calls for complete independence grew louder.Today, Iceland has to recognize the Danish king as their monarch, and they can be self-governing as they were before 1100.Reykjavik is the largest city on the island and despite having a population of less than 10,000, it has a university.The total population of Iceland is less than 100,000, but she has excellent literary works.There are no villages in Iceland, only independent farms, connected one by one. The teachers give lectures to the children, and the education they receive is very good.

The island nation of this cape of Iceland is intriguing.As long as human beings fight tenaciously against the unfavorable external environment with their own ingenuity, the world will present another world.Once again, Iceland, like many small countries, footnotes this point.However, Iceland is not paradise on earth.Although the Gulf Stream brought her mild winters, her summers were too short for grains and fruit to grow.In addition, rain and snow are continuous all year round in Iceland. There are 29 volcanoes in Iceland, of which Hekla is the most famous.According to historical data, the volcanoes in Iceland have erupted 28 times in total, and thousands of square miles of land were covered by the erupted magma.Earthquakes, too, are common in Iceland, and not only destroy hundreds of farms, but often tear a gigantic fissure in the solid rock hundreds of miles long.There are also those sulfur springs and scalding mud lakes that make it difficult for travelers to Iceland.Geysers or hot water fountains are the most famous in Iceland, they are not dangerous, but very interesting.It's just that the activity of these geysers is getting weaker and weaker now.The Jet d'Eau is the most famous of them all, spewing hot water sometimes as high as 100 feet.

Icelanders call the island home, not just today, but for generations to come.In the past 60 years, about 20,000 people have immigrated to the Americas, and Manitoba is the main settlement of these Icelandic immigrants.However, many later returned to their hometowns.Although it is true that the rain in Iceland is continuous and makes people feel uncomfortable, Iceland is their own home after all.