Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Magnus becomes King of Sweden and unites Sweden and Norway. This ends Norwe-
gian independence and the royal line of Harald Fair-Hair, and begins two centuries of
decline.
1349
Bubonic plague (the Black Death) arrives in Bergen and quickly spreads throughout
the country, forever altering Norway's social fabric.
1469
The Orkney and Shetland islands, along with the Isle of Man, are sold to the Scots,
bringing to an end centuries of Norwegian expansion.
1537
The Reformation that sweeps across Europe reaches Norway, whereafter the incum-
bent Catholic faith is replaced with Lutheran Protestantism.
1596
Willem Barents, a Dutch explorer searching for a northeast sea passage to Asia, be-
comes the first European to set foot on Svalbard. He names the archipelago Spitsber-
gen ('sharp mountains').
1612
Commercial whaling begins on Svalbard, with English, Dutch, Norwegian, French
and Danish fleets driving many whale and other marine species to the brink of ex-
tinction in the centuries that follow.
1720
After 150 years of conflict on Norwegian soil (the Seven Years War, the Kalmar War
and the Great Nordic War) Sweden is finally defeated, although Danish and Swedish
influence remains strong.
1814
Norway is presented to Sweden in the so-called 'Union of the Crowns'. Disgruntled
Norwegians draft their first constitution, an event still celebrated as Norway's first
act of independence.
1861
Fridtjof Nansen, an explorer, scientist, diplomat and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize,
is born near Oslo (then called Christiania). He would become a symbol for Norway's
growing international influence.
