Shetland

By the end of the ninth century the Vikings shifted their attention from plundering to invasion, mainly due to the overpopulation of Norway in comparison to resources and arable land available there. Vikings colonised much of northern Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula, Normandy, Scotland, Shetland, Orkney, the Hebrides, the Isle of Man, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland. Subsequently they reached North America. The Norwegians tended to follow a northern route to the islands and less populous places whereas the Danes went to more populated areas such as England and France, and the Swedes went east.

Hjaltland was colonised by Norwegian Vikings around the end of the 9th century, the existing indigenous population being partly wiped out. The colonisers gave it that name and established their laws and language. That language evolved into the West Nordic language Norn, a mixture of old Norse, Scots, and Germanic influence which survived into the 1800s.

After Harald Hårfagre took control of all Norway, many of his opponents fled, some to Orkney and Shetland. From these northern isles they continued to raid Scotland and Norway, prompting Harald Hårfagre to raise a large fleet which he sailed to the islands. In about 875 he and his forces took control of Shetland and Orkney. Ragnvald, Earl of Møre received Orkney and Shetland as an earldom from the king as reparation for his son being killed in battle in Scotland. Ragnvald gave the earldom to his brother Sigurd the Mighty.

Shetland was Christianised in the tenth century.

Conflict with Norway
In 1194 when king Sverre Sigurdsson (ca 1145 - 1202) ruled Norway and Harald Maddadsson was Earl of Orkney and Shetland, the Lendmann Hallkjell Jonsson and the Earl's brother-in-law Olav raised an army called the eyjarskeggjar on Orkney and sailed for Norway. Their pretender king was Olav's young foster son Sigurd, son of king Magnus Erlingsson. The eyjarskeggjar were beaten in the battle of Florvåg near Bergen. The body of Sigurd Magnusson was displayed for the king in Bergen in order for him to be sure of the death of his enemy, but he also demanded Harald Maddadsson (Harald jarl) to answer for his part in the uprising. In 1195 the earl sailed to Norway to reconcile with King Sverre.

The såttmål regulated the legal and political relations between earl and king. As a punishment the king placed the earldom of Shetland under the direct rule of the king from which it was never returned. In practice Harald Maddadsson remained earl, but controlled by the king. Harald also had to accept a royal governor (Sysselmann) but he was killed after King Sverre died. The settlement between king and earl was confirmed in 1210 and 1267. .

The power of the earldom was weakened and, as an effect, Scottish influence increased. Scotland was roughly 16 km away from the Orkneys, and Harald Maddadson struggled to keep his independence.

Increased Scottish interest
When Alexander III of Scotland turned twenty-one in 1262 and became of age he declared his intentions of continuing the aggressive policy his father had begun towards the western and northern isles. This had been put on hold when his father had died thirteen years earlier. Alexander sent a formal demand to the Norwegian King Håkon Håkonsson.

After decades of civil war, Norway had achieved stability and grown to be a substantial nation with influence in Europe and the potential to be a powerful force in war. With this as a background, King Håkon rejected all demands from the Scottish. The Norwegians regarded all the islands in the North Sea as part of the Norwegian Realm. To put more weight on his answer King Harald activated the leidang and set off from Norway in a fleet which is said to have been the largest ever assembled in Norway. The fleet met up in Breideyarsund (probably today's Bressay Sound) before the king and his men sailed for Scotland and made landfall on Isle of Arran. The aim was to conduct negotiations with the large army as a backup.

Alexander III drew out all negotiations while he patiently waited for the autumn storms to set in. Finally, after tiresome diplomatic talks, King Håkon lost his patience and decided to attack. At the same time a large storm set in which destroyed several of his ships and kept others from making landfall. The Battle of Largs in October 1263 was not decisive and both parties claimed victory, but King Håkon Håkonsson's position was hopeless. On 5 October he returned to Orkney with a discontented army where he died of a fever on 17 December 1263. His death halted any further Norwegian expansion in Scotland.

King Magnus Lagabøte broke with his father's expansion policy. He started negotiations with Alexander III. With the Treaty of Perth in 1266 he surrendered furthest Norwegian possessions including Man and the Sudreyar (Hebrides) to Scotland in return for 4000 marks sterling and an annuity of 100 marks (which the Scottish soon stopped paying). The Scottish also recognised the Norwegian sovereignty over Orkney and Shetland.

One of the main reasons behind the Norwegian desire for peace with Scotland was that trade with England was suffering from the state of war. In the new trade agreement between England and Norway in 1223 the English demanded Norway make peace with Scotland. In 1269 this agreement was expanded to include mutual free trade.

Pawned to Scotland
In the 14th century Norway still treated Orkney and Shetland as a Norwegian province, but Scottish influence was growing, and in 1379 the Scottish earl Henry Sinclair took control of the islands on behalf of the Norwegian king Håkon VI Magnusson. In 1348 Norway was severely weakened by the Black Plague and in 1397 it entered the Kalmar Union. After a time Norway became controlled by Denmark. King Christian I of Norway, Denmark and Sweden was in financial troubles and, when his daughter Margaret became engaged to James III of Scotland in 1468, he needed money to pay for the dowry. Without the knowledge of the Norwegian Riksråd (Council of the Realm) he entered into a contract on 8 September 1468 with the King of Scotland in which he pawned Orkney for 50,000 Rhenish guilders. On 28 May the next year he also pawned Shetland for 8,000 Rhenish guilders. . He secured a clause in the contract which gave future kings of Denmark-Norway the right to redeem the islands for a fixed sum of 210 kg of gold or 2,310 kg of silver. Several kings of Denmark-Norway tried to redeem the islands during the 17th and 18th centuries. Each claim was dismissed by the Privy Council in Edinburgh. The islands were already at that time under a strong influence from English language and customs, but the connection with Norway remained for some time. Norwegian institutions and authorities partly continued to function, and the Norn language was both spoken and written for a long time.

In Shetland, a yearly tax was paid to the bishop in Bergen long into the 15th century. .

The Hansa era
After the decline of the Vikings, four centuries followed where the Shetlanders sold their goods through the Hanseatic League of German merchantmen in Bergen, Bremen, Lübeck, and Hamburg. The Hansa would buy shiploads of salted cod and ling. In return, the island population got cash, grain, cloth, beer and other goods. This trade lasted until the Acts of Union 1707 prohibited the Hansa from trading with Shetland. As a consequence Shetland went into an economic depression as the Scottish and local traders were not as skilled in trading with salted fish. For the independent farmers of Shetland this led to a negative spiral where they had to sell their land to landlords. They were then obligated to pay rent and eventually became serfs. . The Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone freed the serfs from the rule of the landlords in the 1880s.

Napoleonic wars
Some 3000 Shetlanders served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic wars from 1800 to 1815.

World War II
During World War II a Norwegian naval unit nicknamed the Shetland Gang or the Shetland bus was established by the Special Operations Executive Norwegian Section in the autumn of 1940 with a base first at Lunna and later in Scalloway in order to conduct operations on the coast of Norway. About 30 fishing vessels used by Norwegian refugees were gathered in Shetland. Many of these vessels were rented, and Norwegian fishermen were recruited as volunteers to operate them.

The Shetland Gang sailed in covert operations between Norway and Shetland, carrying men from Company Linge, intelligence agents, refugees, instructors for the resistance, and military supplies. Many people on the run from the Germans, and much important information on German activity in Norway, were brought back to the Allies this way. Some mines were laid and direct action against German ships was also taken. At the start the unit was under a British command, but later Norwegians joined in the command.

The fishing vessels made 80 trips across the sea. German attacks and bad weather caused the loss of 10 boats, 44 crewmen, and 60 refugees. Because of the high losses it was decided to procure faster vessels. The Americans gave the unit the use of three submarine chasers (HNoMS Hessa, HNoMS Hitra and HNoMS Vigra). None of the trips with these vessels caused any loss of life or equipment.

The Shetland Gang made over 200 trips across the sea and the most famous of the men, Leif Andreas Larsen (Shetlands-Larsen) made 52 of them. .

Shetland today
During the 1960s and 1970s, oil and gas was found off Shetland. The East Shetland Basin is one of the largest petroleum sedimentary basins in Europe and the oil extracted there is sent to the terminal at Sullom Voe (Norse: Solheimavagr). Sullom Voe terminal opened in 1978 and is the largest oil export harbour in Great Britain with a volume of 25 million tons per year.

Income from oil, and the improved economic state that oil-related development has brought, has resulted in reduced emigration and vastly improved infrastructure throughout Shetland, leading to an improved quality of life - though, from the point of view of some, decreased connection to traditional 'ways of life' which were perceived as being so central to life in the islands.

As a result of the oil revenue and the cultural links with Norway, a small independence movement has developed within Shetland. It sees as its models the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as its closest neighbour, Faroe, an autonomous dependency of Denmark.

Culture
The main cultural influences on Shetland are Scandinavian and British (especially Scottish) but North Sea and North Atlantic commerce have ensured various other influences. Shetland's fiddle music is a blend of ancient Norwegian folk music, Scots reels, jigs and slow airs, and tunes brought home by sailors from Ireland, Germany, North America and even Greenland. Notable exponents of Shetland folk music include fiddle players, the late Tom Anderson and Aly Bain, and the guitarist, the late Peerie Willie Johnson.

The landscape and the light found in Shetland have been an inspiration to many artists in the fields of painting, drawing and sculpturing, both local and from elsewhere. There are several local art galleries. As with other Scottish dialects, the Shetland dialect, a mixure of old English, Scots and Norse words, was actively discouraged in schools, churches and civic life until the late twentieth century, but has since then been restored as a language of culture. It is used both in local radio and dialect writing, kept alive by the Shetland Folk Society and the quarterly New Shetlander magazine.

Up Helly Aa is any of a variety of fire festivals held in Shetland annually in the middle of winter. Some of the elements of Up Helly Aa are said to go back twelve centuries or more, but the festival is just over 100 years old in its present, highly organised form. Originally a temperance festival held to break up the long nights of winter the festival has become one celebrating the isles heritage and includes a procession of men dressed as Vikings, the burning of a replica longship and copious amounts of alcohol. The main Up Helly Aa in Lerwick bars women from taking part in the processions of guizers. Instead, women prepare costumes and food for the big night.

Language
The Pictish language died out during the Viking occupation to be replaced by Old Norse, which in turn evolved into Norn. This remains the most prominent remnant of Norse culture on the islands. Almost every place name in use there can be traced back to the Vikings. Norn continued to be spoken until the 18th century when it was replaced by an insular dialect of Scots also known as Shetlandic, which in turn is being replaced by Scottish English. However, the legacy of Norn remains in the grammar and a number of words, making the Shetland dialect a distinctive form of Scots. The use of dialect was actively discouraged in schools, churches and civic life throughout Scotland until the late 20th century but islanders now take a pride in their native speech. Efforts are made to retain the use of the dialect and counter influence from English.

Although Norn was spoken for hundreds of years it is now extinct and few written sources remain.

Name
The original Norse name for Shetland was Hjaltland. Hjalt in Old Norse meaning the hilt or crossguard of a sword. As the local language evolved the ja became je as with Norse hjalpa which became hjelpa. Then the pronunciation of the combination of the letters hj changed to sh. This is also found in some Norwegian dialects in for instance the word hjå (with) and the place names Hjerkinn and Sjoa (from *Hjó). Lastly the l before the t disappeared. .

As Norn was gradually replaced by Scots Shetland became etland (the initial letter being the Middle Scots letter, yogh (which can also be found in the forename Menzies, e.g. Menzies Campbell.) This sounded almost identical to the original Norn sound, /hj/). When the letter yogh was discontinued, it was often replaced by the similar-looking letter 'z', hence Zetland, the mispronounced form used to describe the pre-1975 county council.

The earliest recorded name for the islands was Inse Catt, "islands of the Cat people": the same people that Caithness is named after.

Norse names
The old Norse names of the principal islands were:
 * Hjaltland (Mainland)
 * Jell (Yell) - might be pre-Norse Pictish
 * Unst - might be pre-Norse Pictish
 * Fetlar - might be pre-Norse Pictish
 * Hvalsey (Whalsay) - literally whale island (Hvalsøy/Kvalsøy in modern Norwegian)
 * Brusey (Bressay) - most likely named after a Norse nobleman Bruse
 * Fugley (Foula) - literally bird ' s island (Fugløy in modern Norwegian)
 * Frjóey (Fair Isle) - literally fertile island (Froøy/Fræøy in modern Norwegian)

Shetland on film
(See Shetland.)

Shetland in Literature
The first section of this book - 60 degrees north - is a series of poems, some in Shetland dialect, that reflect the poet's experiences of Shetland and offers a unique British Asian perspective to the landscape.
 * Raman Mundair, 'A Choreographer's Cartography', Peepal Tree Press, Leeds, 2007, ISBN13: 9781845230517

Geography
Out of the approximately 100 islands, only fifteen are inhabited. The main island of the group is known as Mainland.

The other inhabited islands are: Bressay, Burra, Fetlar, Foula, Muckle Roe, Papa Stour, Trondra, Vaila, Unst, Whalsay, Yell in the main Shetland group, plus Fair Isle to the south, and Housay and Bruray in the Out Skerries to the east (see below). Other, uninhabited, islands include:
 * Balta, Bigga, Brother Isle
 * Colsay
 * East Linga
 * Fish Holm
 * Gloup Holm, Grunay, Gruney
 * Haaf Gruney, Hascosay, Havra, Hildasay, Huney
 * Lady's Holm, Lamba, Linga near Muckle Roe, Linga near Shetland Mainland, Linga near Yell, Little Roe, Lunna Holm
 * Moul of Eswick, Mousa, Muckle Flugga, Muckle Ossa
 * North Havra, Noss
 * Orfasay, Out Stack, Oxna
 * Papa, Papa Little
 * Samphrey
 * Sound Gruney, South Havra, South Isle of Gletness
 * Urie Lingey, Uyea, Uynarey
 * Vementry
 * West Linga

Fair Isle lies approximately halfway between Shetland and Orkney, but it is administered as part of Shetland and is often counted as part of the island group. The Out Skerries lie east of the main group. Due to the islands' latitude, on clear winter nights the aurora borealis or 'northern lights' can sometimes be seen in the sky, while in summer there is almost perpetual daylight, a state of affairs known locally as the 'simmer dim'.

Climate
Shetland has a temperate Atlantic Ocean climate. Summers are relatively cool and dry. The sunniest months of the year are the period from April to August. In June there may be 19 hours of sunlight and there is no proper darkness. Winters are dark but fairly mild; the number of daylight hours drops to below eight a day.

Average yearly precipitation is 1037 mm, which is half that of Fort William on the west coast of Scotland. 3/4 of the precipitation falls during winter. The driest period is from April to August and fog is common in the east of the islands during summer.

Flora
The landscape in Shetland is marked by the grazing of sheep and the rarity of trees. The flora is dominated by arctic-alpine plants, wild flowers, moss and lichen.

Fauna
Shetland is the site of one of the largest bird colonies in the North Atlantic home to more than one million birds. Most birds are found in colonies on Hermaness, Foula, Mousa, Noss, Sumburgh Head and Fair Isle. Some of the birds found on the islands are Atlantic Puffin, Storm-petrel, Northern Lapwing and Winter Wren. Many arctic birds spend the winter on Shetland and among those are Whooper Swan and Great Northern Diver.

Notable places

 * Clickimin broch
 * Fort Charlotte
 * Jarlshof archaeological site
 * Mavis Grind
 * Mousa Broch
 * Muness Castle the most northerly castle in the United Kingdom
 * Old Scatness archaeological site
 * Scalloway Castle
 * Selivoe
 * St Ninian's Isle
 * Sullom Voe oil terminal
 * Sumburgh Head
 * Skaw the most northerly settlement in the United Kingdom

Economy
Fishing has been an integral part of Shetland's economy since prehistory and it remains central to the islands' economy even today. It was also important in bringing in commerce from outside the isles, for example 17th century Hanseatic traders and Victorian-era herring activities.

More recently, oil reserves discovered in the 20th century out to sea have provided a much needed alternative source of income for the islands. The East Shetland Basin is one of Europe's largest oil fields.

Media
Shetland is served by a weekly local newspaper, The Shetland Times, published every Friday and one of the first UK newspapers to publish on the internet in 1996. Radio Shetland, the local opt-out of BBC Radio Scotland, and SIBC, a commercial radio station, broadcast daily.

Other sources include
 * The Shetland News an online daily newspaper. A landmark legal case was brought by the Shetland Times against the Shetland News for deep linking to their content. It was settled out of court.
 * Shetlink - an online community and web portal where people can express opinions on Shetland and related issues.
 * Shetlopedia.com The online Shetland Encyclopedia.

Transport
Transport between islands is mainly done by ferry.

Shetland is served by a domestic ferry connection from Lerwick to the mainland, operated by Northlink Ferries to
 * Aberdeen

Lerwick also has an international ferry connection operated by Smyril Line to
 * Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
 * Seyðisfjörður, Iceland
 * Bergen, Norway
 * Hanstholm, Denmark

The main airport on Shetland is located close to Sumburgh, 40 km south of Lerwick.

Shetland Islands Council
The Shetland Islands Council provide services in the areas of Environmental Health, Roads, Social Work, Community Development, Organisational Development, Economic Development, Building Standards, Trading Standards, Housing, Waste, Education, Burial Grounds, Fire Service, Port and Harbours and others. The council is allowed to collect Council Tax.

Schools
In Shetland there are a total of 34 schools: two High Schools, seven Junior High Schools with primary and nursery departments, and 25 Primary Schools. Shetland is also home to the North Atlantic Fisheries College
 * Anderson High School
 * Brae High School

NHS
The Shetland NHS is the local Scottish health service in the Shetland Islands.

Flag
Roy Grönneberg founded the local chapter of the SNP (Scottish National Party) in 1966 and was active in the struggle for Shetland autonomy. In 1969 he designed the flag of Shetland in cooperation with Bill Adams to mark the 500 year anniversary of the transfer of Shetland from Norway to Scotland. .

The reasons behind the design was the desire to illustrate the Shetland had been a part of Norway for 500 years and a part of Scotland for 500 years. The colours are identical to the ones in Flag of Scotland, but shaped in the Nordic cross.

In 1975 the two local authorities in Shetland, Lerwick Town Council and Zetland County Council, were combined into the Shetland Islands Council. Grönneberg wanted his flag proposal to become the official flag of Shetland, but was unsuccessful. A plebiscite in 1985 also failed to give it official status. In 2005 the Lord Lyon King of Arms approved the flag as the official flag of Shetland.

People
It is believed that the island group had an original population about which little is known who were replaced or assimilated by the Picts. Historical, archaeological, place-name and linguistic evidence indicates complete Norse cultural dominance of Shetland during the Viking period. It is not known whether the Picts were rapidly assimilated into the Norse population or driven away. A few place names might have Pictish origin, but this is disputed. Several genetic studies have been made comparing the genetic makeup of the islands' population today in order to establish its origin. Shetland, due to it's relative isolation continues to have almost identical proportions of Scandinavian matrilineal and patrilineal ancestry (ca 44%). This suggests that the islands were settled by both men and women. The genetic make-up of those in Shetland today also suggesting that the indigenous population simply disappeared, giving credence to the theory that the Vikings eradicated the indigenous culture already settled within the isles. This genetic distribution is also found in Orkney and the northern and western coastline of Scotland, but areas of the British Isles further away from Scandinavia show signs of being colonised primarily by males who found local wives. After the islands were transferred to Scotland thousands of Scots families emigrated to Shetland in the 16th and 17th centuries. Contacts with Germany and the Netherlands through the fishing trade brought smaller numbers of immigrants from those countries. World War II and the oil industry have also contributed to population increase through immigration.

Population development
The population development on Shetland has through the times been affected by deaths at sea and epidemics. Smallpox afflicted the islands hard in the 17th and 18th centuries, but as vaccines became common after 1760 the population increased to 40 000 in 1861. The population increase led to a lack of food and many young men went away to serve in the British merchant fleet. 100 years later the islands' population was more than halved. This decrease was mainly caused by the large number of Shetlandic men being torpedoed at sea during the two world wars and the waves of emigration in the 1920s and 1930s. Now more people of Shetlandic background live in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand than in Shetland.

Kilde: Scottishislands.org.uk, 18. November 2006

Notable Shetlanders

 * Arthur Anderson (1792-1868), (businessman) co-founder of P&O
 * Tom Anderson (1910-1991), (fiddler) MBE a fiddler, composer, folklorist and teacher who was a profoundly influential figure in the development of Shetland music
 * Willie Hunter (1934-1994), the best all-around example of Shetland fiddling
 * Peerie Willie Johnson (1920-2007), a highly renowned pioneer of jazz swing influenced folk guitar who played with the likes of Tom Anderson and Willie Hunter.
 * Ian Bairnson (b. 1953), session guitarist (The Alan Parsons Project)
 * Aly Bain (b. 1946), fiddle player.
 * Sir William Watson Cheyne of Leagarth (1852-1932. (b. 14 December 1852, d. 19 April 1932) Pioneered the development of antiseptic.
 * Morgan Goodlad (b. 1950), controversial Chief Executive of Shetland Islands Council (see, for example, Private Eye No 1144 p27, or this story from the Sunday Herald. Found guilty of maladministration by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman on 23 May 2007.)
 * Sir Herbert John Clifford Grierson (1866-1960), a literary scholar and critic
 * Norman Lamont (b. 1942), Conservative MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 to 1993.
 * Steven Robertson, a theatre and film actor from Vidlin
 * Robert Stout (1844-1930), Prime Minister of New Zealand on two occasions in the late 19th century
 * Astrid Williamson, musician
 * Sandra Voe (b. 1936), actress appearing in many small film and TV roles (including Coronation Street) and mother of Pulp keyboard player Candida Doyle.
 * Neil Hughes from Seven Up!
 * Robert Alan Jamieson (b. 1958), poet and novelist.
 * Christine De Luca, poet