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Norway Past Present

Norway Past Present Norway : From It’s Past To It’s Present For ages ago, appeared the forefathers of what is the present day Norway. In a time of 10,000 years ago, these early Norwegian were mainly relayed on their prey such as reindeer. There is no historical agreement to where these ancestors had appeared from. Below I will explain the history of Norway from its past to its present. Some of their artifacts were of the same type had been discovered in Southern Sweden and in Denmark. Examples of these artifacts are claimed to be flint tools, clay vessels, art, and rock carvings. By the Bronze Age which had appeared in the 1500 to 500 BC, had started a turning point in the Norwegian history. Through the majority of the population were hunters, some had found advancements and technologies for agriculture. In the Roman Age ( 0-400 AD) was the beginning of more advancements and people began to become more civilized. Many of these advancements were the discovery of glass, weapons, bronze utensils, and the art of writing and communication. These writings were in a form of runic letters, which became popular in the Nordic times. Around the year 400 scientist and historians have found out that the Nordic forefathers began to migrate most of the time. The era of the Vikings marks a historical stand point in the prehistoric Norway. Through without written sources, the Vikings had left many archaeological remains, and stories which were inherited by mouth to generation to generation. It also has been said that out of the prehistoric period in Northern Europe, the Viking age was the richest of the all. For the early Vikings their job were mainly settled in Northern Scotland and Ireland. They were also sailors and explorers. The most two popular explorers were Eric the Red, and Leif Ericson. With their advancements, they were able to build worthy ships. The areas explored and traveled were countries such as Greenland, Iceland, and America. This historical age finally came to an end when the Norwegian King Harold Hardruler was defeated in the Battle of Stanford Bridge which took place in England. During the time of the 800’s, Norway was no more unified. The two individual groups that tried to unite their mother country with the assembles or “tings”, and the other group were the petty kingships. There were many reasons for Norway to unite. Reasons such as to maintain an unhostile community for farmers, and prevent robbers from stealing goods from the common people. The Petty Kings in Viken tried very hard to make ends meet and to unite Norway. Though there were many harsh struggles to people faced, but by the time 1060 the unified process appeared to be completed. For the next two hundred years, there was another new phase that had existed in the history of Norway. The historical phase was the introduction of Christianity. This was a breakthrough for Norway as it now had direct contact with all the other Christian countries. By this time than Norwegian people began to forget about their mythical Norwegian gods and started believing in the Church. As the church now came into power, it then officially began to take power in government. By the year 1100 the first bishoprics appeared in Trondheim, where the Archbishop held office from 1152. Economy deterioration in Norway occurred during the “Black Death” a plague in the 14th century. Population reduced and area evacuation sank trade, and commerce. Physical condition of the land also sank itself. It was during these events in 1450 Denmark rose to power, and Norway ceased to function as an independent kingdom in 1536, and became a possession to the Danish. Norway was also effected by the rule of Frederick III. They gained by the use of existence high-ranking Norwegian officials in government. On the other hand in 1737, Denmark only had the right to sell grain in Southeastern Norway and monopolized the iron trade. In due time the Danish were able to achieve their goal of creating a wealthy middle class. By the 1700’s the Norwegians could not compete with the Danish traders and thus the Norwegian traders were denied their rights. Denmark declines to concept of a Norwegian university and national bank as they were afraid of its growth, leading to independence. In the Napoleonic Wars (1807-14), Norway and Denmark were allies of France. This servered Norway’s geographic position in the world markets. Thus Copenhagen lost its contract with Norway and senior officials were appointed by Frederick III to rule. The king gave permission to establishing a national university in 1811. This step increased the awareness of the Norwegians. In 1813, Norway was given to Sweden by France. This ended 434 years of an union between Norway and Denmark. Under the kingship of Karl XIII of Sweden, Norway once again became close to becoming an independent state. The Swedish takeover was jeopardized and then the Danish King, Price Christian Frederick once again aimed to secure the reunion of Norway and Denmark by adopting a constitution on the 17th of May 1814. When the Swedes launched a military attack on Norway on the following October, Norway once again became a part of Sweden. The Danish then had to for go Norway. In 1830 Norway’s economy began to flourish. The first railroad was laid between Oslo and Eidsvoll in 1851. Its agriculture, industry, and engineering also got a boost. Norway also erected a merchant fleet. The year 1859 Norway had tried to create their own party organization but failed. Norway’s first party was established in 1884. It had first started out as the Liberal Party, and after a while other party such as the Conservative Party is also added on. While in the struggle with Sweden, there was an introduction of parliamentarism. Parliamentarism was his support of governing use by the Norwegians. Now there was an issue of amendments that everyone would have to abide by. After an election in 1892 liberals defeated the conservatives by 50 representatives. When the liberal leader Johan Sverdrup became crime minister, to Parliamentarism had taken over Norway. But yet there were many others problems such as the Swedish demanding that the Prime Minister was supposed to be Swedish. On August 1905, 386,392 Norwegians voted to end the union. This time the Swedish resulted peacefully, as of now, Norway was left standing on standing on its own feet. At another campaign in 1903, the Labor Party once again dominated them majority of the national assembly. After 1905 Norway was enjoying a period of economic growth, which lasted them until World War I. As of result there was growth in population, and the system of employment became an issue. During these “ wonder years” of Norway, this two marks a phase never to be forgotten. It was known as the second phase of the industrial revolution. Norway in this time was known for having cheap hydro electricity, and now more and more factories and buildings were being built. During the years of 1914 to 1918 the Norwegians decided stay neutral during World War I. Even after proclaiming their neutrality, many innocent people from the merchant fleet were killed. Now once again things had started to change for Norway. After the war in 1918, the Liberal parties were defeated in the National Assembly, and they were no more a majority. By the 1920’s the depression caused Norway huge financial problems. For example banks crashed, it’s currency fell, and Norway’s trade suffered heavily. Earnings of workers were cut down, and unemployment went soaring high. This turmoil are never ended until the late 1930’s. Also by this time Norway had become a member in the League of Nations. This was a pledge that Norway had taken to continue their peace keeping methods, and try to prevent warfare. At the breakout of World War II in 1939, Norway once again proclaimed its neutrality. Even after becoming neutral again, the German army had attacked Norway on April 9, 1940. In return of the aid from Great Britain, and France, Norway began to supply these countries with ships, and building up Great Britain’s military. After the defeat of the allied troops over the Nazi’s many of their positions were taken place by Norwegian troops. In the post war stats, 10,262 Norwegians had lost their lives during the war or while in a concentration camp. This time of post war was called liberation. Norway had to rebuilt after a war which had affected all throughout Europe. Their goal was to finish this rebuilding project within five years. In the election in 1945 the Labor Party gained a majority vote, until the year 1961. The government had forced the paced of industry, and developments went even faster than expected. In the year 1949 in along with Denmark, Norway had joined NATO. Since the time of their joining with NATO, Norway had favored membership. For example, there were positions held by Norwegians in NATO. The social democratic party in Norway, had curbed into the influence of communism. This party would mainly see both to the political life and make organizations for trade. The Communist Party was defeated as they were voted down in 1949, which left them to no representatives. In the history of Norway there were two new ages arriving. One was the oil age. Oil was found in the North Sea, which allowed to bring them considerable oil, and the production of gas. The other was the petroleum age. This age didn’t do any good to Norway’s economy, as it had problems in international competition. This hurt the Norway’s economy immensely and once again unemployment became another problem. Another major issue was the joining Norway with the common market, otherwise known as EU. Two new parties had also joined in the government of Norway in 1965. These parties were known as the Centre Party, and the Christian Democratic Party. Later in time the Centre Party by the leadership of Per Borten collapses in 1971, and the Labour Party government takes over the negotiations with the Common Market. The outcome of the issue of joining the common market was rejected by a vote. Later, in the 1990’s the Labour party resigns, and the Christian Democratic Party, led by Lars Korvald regulated the relationship with Norway and the common market. In other words the vote was overridden. The government of Norway was now getting complicated as the times were going on. In the year 1972 to 1973 the Liberal Party had split into two groups. Many voters had now turned to the side of the Social Electoral Association, which was then taken over by the Socialist Party, and to the voters who were interested in communism. In 1981 Norway’s first female Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland was elected. She held power from 1981, and had resigned her power by the October of 1996. Later in the year 1986, a new party the named The Progress Party had held balance of power in the national assembly. Also at this time the Conservative Party also had alliances with the Christian Democrats, and the Centre Party. This coalition was broken down as the Conservatives (who favored the EC membership) and the Centre Party (who were against the favoring of the EC membership) had many disagreements. Again in year 1994 the Norwegians had rejected the membership of the EU. This left Norway as a European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1995. Up to this date we live in now, Norway still remains the same. It is a constitutional and a parliamentary monarchy which is hereditary. The executive branch is carried out by the king who powers are honorary. It also has a house called the Storting, where government issues are taken care of. This country has a vast amount of history, from their early forefathers to the present day. Also, as the times rolled the Norwegian government had its ups and downs, and now it is independent. Norway is a country that has experienced breakthroughs throughout its history, as it had moved from a ruled state to its independence. Bibliography:

Word Count: 2014