Høgskolen i Ålesund
Høgskolen i Ålesund, N-6025 Ålesund – Tlf. +47 70 16 12 00 – Fax. +47 70 16 13 00

History

Norway has a long history from the early stone age with settlements that can be traced many places in the country, the Viking age and unions with both Denmark and Sweden before the independancy in 1905. The Norwegian constitution dates from 1814. Apart from being occupied during the second World War, Norway has been an independant democratic state since 1905. A brief survey (from: www.odin.dep.no):

9000 BC - 8000 BC  Earliest signs of human settlement.

8000 - 4000 BC       Old Stone Age, hunters and fishermen, rock carvings.

4000 BC - 1500 BC  New Stone Age, early agriculture, livestock.

1500 BC - 500 BC    Bronze Age, agricultural tools, jewellery, glass,
                              weapons.

500 BC - 800 AD      Iron Age, iron ploughs and scythes.

800 AD - 1050 AD    Viking Age, longships, trade and conquest, runic
                               inscriptions, voyages of discovery, Leif Eiriksson 
                               discovers America.

900 AD                    Norway united into one kingdom.

1030                        Christianity adopted in Norway.

1130                        Start of High Middle Ages, population growth, and
                               consolidation of power both of church and crown.

1100 - 1200              Monarchy controls the church, slavery abolished.

1350                        The Black Death reduces the population by almost 
                               two-thirds.

1380 - 1536              Union with Denmark through royal intermarriage.

1536                        Norway ceases to be an independent kingdom.

1814                        The Norwegian Constitution adopted, based on the
                               American Declaration of Independence.

1814 - 1905              Union with Sweden.

1905                        End of Union. Haakon VII crowned king.

1913                        Universal right to vote for women: Norway is among
                               the first in the world to grant suffrage.

1940 - 1945              World War II, Norway occupied by Germany.

1957                        Death of Haakon VII - Olav V crowned king.

1970                        Oil and gas deposits discovered off the Norwegian coast.

1981                        Norway's first female Prime Minister.

1991                        Death of Olav V, Harald V becomes king.

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Published by Inter nasjonalisering 05.01.2004