Shetland
(or the
Shetland Islands
) is an
archipelago
, the furthest out part of
Scotland
in the
United Kingdom
.
The islands are between the
Faroe Islands
and the
Orkney Islands
. They are about 50
miles
to the northeast of the Orkney Islands. They are about 100 islands in the group. People live on 16 of them.
The islands form part of the boundary between the
Atlantic Ocean
to the west, and the
North Sea
to the east.
The largest islands of the group are Mainland, Yell, Unst, Fetlar, Whalsay, and Bressay. In general, the
climate
of the group is sub
arctic
, and rather
bleak
.
They used to be called
Hjaltland
or
Zetland
. Today, the islands are part of
Scotland
. The administrative centre is
Lerwick
.
The economy of the islands is largely based on
agriculture
. The
sheep
are known for their fine
wool
. Other well-known exports are the
Shetland ponies
and
Shetland Sheepdog
.
In
1969
crude oil
was discovered near the islands, leading to an alternative source of income for them.
By the end of the 9th century the
Norsemen
shifted from
plundering
to
invasion
, mainly due to the overpopulation of
Scandinavia
in comparison to resources and arable land available there.
[1]
Shetland was colonised by Norsemen in the 9th century. The fate of the native population is unknown. The colonisers established their laws and language. That language evolved into the West Nordic language
Norn
, which survived into the 19th century.
After
Harald Finehair
took control of all Norway, many of his opponents fled, some to Orkney and Shetland. From the
Northern Isles
they continued to raid Scotland and Norway, prompting Harald Harfagre 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's being killed in battle in Scotland. Ragnvald gave the earldom to his brother
Sigurd the Mighty
.
Shetland was
Christianised
in the 10th century. In the
Treaty of Perth
in 1266 the
Norwegian
king surrendered his furthest British islands to Scotland. They included the
Hebrides
, and the
Isle of Man
. In return, the Scots recognised Norwegian sovereignty over
Orkney
and Shetland. The islands did not become Scottish until the 15th century, and were ratified by an
Act of Parliament
in 1669.
For three centuries the Shetlanders sold their fish (salted
cod
) through the German
Hanseatic League
, a trading organisation. This arrangement lasted from 1400 to 1700 AD.
In
WWII
Shetland was active in covert operations against the Germans in Norway. The 'Shetland Bus' (fishing vessels) sailed in
covert
operations between Norway and Shetland. They carried 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.
In the early 1970s,
oil
and
gas
were found off Shetland. The East Shetland Basin is one of the largest
petroleum
sedimentary
basins in Europe. Sullom Voe terminal opened in 1978 and is the largest oil export
harbour
in the United Kingdom with a volume of 25 million tons per year.
Firm
geological
evidence shows that at around 6100 BC a
tsunami
caused by the
Storegga Slides
hit Shetland, as well as the rest of the east coast of Scotland, and may have washed over some of the Shetland Islands completely.
[2]
Shetland has been populated since at least 3400 BC.
[3]
The early people subsisted on cattle-farming and agriculture. During the
Bronze Age
, around 2000 BC, the climate cooled and the population moved to the coast. During the
Iron Age
, many stone fortresses were erected, some ruins of which remain today.
Due to the practice of building in stone on the virtually tree-less islands, Shetland is extremely rich in physical remains of all these periods,
[4]
though Shetland is less rich in material remains than
Orkney
.
The artifacts of all the eras of Shetland's past can be studied at the newly built (2007) Shetland Museum in Lerwick.
[5]
- ↑
James Graham-Campbell 1999.
Cultural atlas of the Viking world
. p38.
ISBN
0-8160-3004-9
- ↑
Smith, David
"Tsunami hazards"
Archived
2008-04-08 at the
Wayback Machine
. Fettes.com. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
- ↑
The Scourd of Brouster site in Walls includes a cluster of six or seven walled fields and three stone circular houses that contains the earliest hoe-blades found so far in Scotland. Clarke P.A. 1995.
Observations of social change in Prehistoric Orkney and Shetland, based on a study of the types and context of coarse stone artefacts
. M. Litt. thesis. University of Glasgow.
- ↑
Turner (1998) p18 states that there are over 5,000 archaeological sites all told. Turner, Val 1998. Ancient Shetland. London. Batsford/Historic Scotland.
ISBN
0713480009
- ↑
[1]
From Chatham to Chester and Lincoln to the Lake District: 38 UK places put themselves forward for World Heritage status. United Kingdom Department for Culture, Media and Sport. accessdate=2010-07-07
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