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Faroe Islands
Føroyar
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday
Flag Coat of Arms
Flag Coat of Arms
Location of
Location of the Faroe Islands
Capital
(and largest city)
Torshavan
Language
  official
 
Faroese
  others Danish, English
Religion
  main
 
Lutheran (Fólkakjirkan)
  others Brethren Church, Roman Catholic, Nonreligious
Ethnic Groups
  main
 
Faroese
  others Danish, English, Scottish, Norwegian, Polish
Government Multiparty democratic constitutional monarchy
  Legislature Løgting
Area
  main
 
1399 sq km
  water (%) 0.5%
Population about 45,000 
Independence from Denmark
  declared 29 July 1991
Currency NUK
Organizations Nordic Union, League of Nations

The Faroes are a Nordic island nation and member of the Nordic Union. They are a sovereign state that still has some constitutional ties to Denmark.

History[]

Before Doomsday[]

The Faroe Islands were inhabited sporadically by monks and hermits since the sixth century, but first came under permanent settlement by Norsemen in the ninth. Until 1400, the islands were under Norwegian control, but after Denmark's union with Norway, Denmark became the dominant partner and controlled the islands. When Norway was separated from Denmark in 1814, the Faroes remained Danish, along with Iceland and Greenland.

In World War II, after Germany occupied Denmark, Great Britain occupied the Faroes. A referendum in 1946 produced a tiny majority in favor of leaving Denmark, and the government declared independence; Denmark thwarted this move and the next election gave majorities to anti-independence parties. Still, in 1948 the Danish government granted the Faroese home rule, and in 1973 the islands used this right to decline to enter the European Economic Community with Denmark, due to fishing limits that would have been imposed. Debate over independence continued across this era.

In 1963, a large radar facility was built atop the mountain of Sornfelli overlooking the capital. It grew to include a bunker 80 meters down inside the mountain and a barracks and administrative building further down the slope. This impressive installation was considered to be part of the NATINADS radar system for defending Western Europe, but the islands' geographic position meant that it functioned as part of the DEW Line, which stretched from Alaska to Greenland. The DEW radars were meant to detect Soviet nuclear bombers; by 1983 they were still maintained but were all but obsolete in the age of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Doomsday[]

The Faroe Islands were isolated and quasi-independent of NATO member Denmark; they had a separate military command at a single installation and the only NATO facility was a largely obsolete radar station. For these reasons the islands were not hit by any nuclear missiles on Doomsday. Emergency radio broadcasts went out from surviving NATO posts, and Prime Minister Pauli Ellefsen was awakened and informed that Denmark had been hit with at least one nuclear weapon.

In the following days Denmark was struck by conventional attacks via the air, sea and land. The breakdown of Soviet communications and logistics caused the invasion to falter, but not before wreaking enormous destruction across the small kingdom. Thanks to the bravery of its own defense forces, small but welcome reinforcements from the British Royal Navy, and last-minute intervention by Sweden, Denmark was able to save itself.

GIUK gap

World War III made its way to the Faroes, as well. While the islands had no strategic bases, they were strategically located along the crucial Greenland-Iceland-UK Gap, controlling the Soviet Navy's access to the Atlantic. In the early days of the war, submarine-launched cruise missiles destroyed the Sornfelli radar station and administrative building. Submarine attacks also badly damaged the islands' two largest harbors and points at the entrance to Skálafjørður, the country's longest fjord and a potential rallying point for NATO ships. Subsequently, the British navy arrived to occupy the islands and prevent a Russian landing. But neither the British nor the Faroese could support a long occupation, and after a few weeks it was clear that the remnants of the Soviet Northern Fleet lacked the capacity to mount an invasion. Most British armed forces left in mid-October.

The Danish government had considered making an evacuation to the Faroes but in the end remained in secure points in northern Jutland. A few transports of orphans did make the trip from Denmark to the islands. In the ensuing weeks they were joined by modest numbers of British refugees: not enough to overwhelm the islands, but enough to require careful rationing and leave a noticeable mark on the culture.

Despite the damage done by Soviet bombardment, the Faroese fishing industry was well-developed enough to save the islands from starvation in the aftermath. Nevertheless, the people had to make do with a lot less. Fuel ran out and fishermen needed to use more primitive sailing boats. Feeding everyone required strict rationing. The Faroese power grid continued to function, but as generation relied almost entirely on diesel fuel, this had to be conserved very carefully. The power went off in most homes because it was needed for essential public facilities.

Denmark had barely avoided total collapse and could do nothing to help the islands. Many Faroese now argued that it was time to declare independence, while others insisted that the parts of the Danish Realm now needed each other more than ever. As it happened, Queen Margarethe survived and devoted substantial time and effort to periodic visits to the Faroes. Like the surviving kings of Norway and Sweden, she made herself a symbol of resilience and hope in the postwar world. The Faroese government agreed to postpone the independence question until after things were more stable.

The Nordic Union[]

Bour Foroyar

The picturesque village of Bøur typifies the Faroese landscape and local architecture.

The creation of the Nordic Union in 1990 marked a return of stability. Denmark joined the Union on behalf of both its dependencies, the Faroes and Greenland; but by this point both had been essentially governing themselves for years. They now negotiated a new status. Both would remain part of the Realm through the person of the Queen, but the Danish government would lose its power to administer them. Most powers previously delegated to Denmark would now go to the Union itself. Neither declared full independence, and if the Nordic Union were to come to an end, these powers would presumably revert to Denmark. But it was enough to satisfy most pro-independence Faroese: the islands were now a sovereign nation.

On 29 July 1991, the Faroe Islands' national day Ólavsøka, the local government formally took charge of most remaining Danish state institutions, including the airport, the partly-rebuilt military base, and the state church. The Faroe Islands Command was and is still considered part of the Danish armed forces, but it reports to the local government until activated. On 26 September the Faroes joined the NU as a full and coequal member.

Membership in the Union suited the Faroe Islands well, and they found that they enjoyed a high status and strong position within the organization. They were an important food producer, something more important than ever. The deaths and damage from the nuclear war had increased their relative strength, despite their small size. And geopolitically, power in Western Europe generally had shifted to the island fringe. The Faroes played an important role in the restoration of trade and diplomatic relations with the British Isles and Canada, ties which would eventually lead to the creation of the Atlantic alliance as a successor to NATO.

Culture[]

Faroe Islands Føroyar Færøerne Wyspy Owcze 2019 (31)

Traditional whale hunt in a Faroese cove

Despite their size, the Faroe Islands have a strong national consciousness. The first half of the twentieth century was a period of national awakening when the Faroes' administrative, religious and cultural life switched from the Danish to the Faroese language. The Faroese flag (Merkið) was designed early in the century and first adopted under British occupation in World War II; it has become a beloved symbol. This mindset only grew after independence. The islands have gone out of their way to present themselves as a full-fledged Nordic nation equal to their larger neighbors, and the government made sure to be a founding member of the League of Nations.

The Faroes are known as one of the most religious and conservative parts of the Nordic world. Its state church is one of the smallest in the world but is among the best attended. Even many British and Danish refugees have come to participate. The Faroese defend their particular traditions, including ones that are condemned elsewhere like the practice of whaling.

Sources[]

  • Petersen, Anker Eli (2023). The Radar Station at Sornfelli: The Faroe Islands and the Cold War. WOPA+ Stamps and Coins. [1]


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