"NATO members provided Iceland with extensive economic assistance during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and pressured the UK to concede to Iceland's demands in the Cod Wars. With the exception of periods during the Second and Third Cod Wars, Icelanders grew increasingly supportive of NATO membership during the 1970s. Surveys in the 1970s and 1980s show majority support for NATO membership and barely double-digit opposition to NATO membership. This is in contrast to a 1955 survey that did not show majority support for NATO membership. Beyond its strategic location, Iceland did not contribute much to NATO. Unless they concerned the"
"in a gesture of goodwill and sign of friendship between the cities of Hull and Reykjavík. The event was part of a project by Hull Museums on the history between Iceland and the United Kingdom during and after the Cod Wars. Cod Wars The Cod Wars (, ""the cod wars"", or ""Landhelgisstríðin"", ""the wars for the territorial waters"") were a series of confrontations between the United Kingdom and Iceland on fishing rights in the North Atlantic. Each of the disputes ended with an Icelandic victory. The Third Cod War concluded in 1976, with a highly favourable agreement for Iceland; the"
"Foreign relations of Iceland Iceland's closest relations are with Norway and other Nordic states, Canada and the United States. Iceland hosted the historic 1986 Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Reykjavík, which set the stage for the end of the Cold War. Iceland's principal historical international disputes involved disagreements over fishing rights. Conflict with the United Kingdom led to the so-called Cod Wars in 1952–56 because of the extension of the fishing zone from 3 to 4 nautical miles (6 to 7 km), 1958–61 because of extending the fishing zone to 12 nautical miles (22 km) in 1972–73 because of its further extension"
"Cod Wars The Cod Wars (, ""the cod wars"", or ""Landhelgisstríðin"", ""the wars for the territorial waters"") were a series of confrontations between the United Kingdom and Iceland on fishing rights in the North Atlantic. Each of the disputes ended with an Icelandic victory. The Third Cod War concluded in 1976, with a highly favourable agreement for Iceland; the United Kingdom conceded to a Icelandic exclusive fishery zone after threats that Iceland would withdraw from NATO, which would have forfeited NATO's access to most of the GIUK gap, a critical anti-submarine warfare during the Cold War. As a result, British"
"included confrontations between the Icelandic Coast Guard and the Royal Navy over British fishermen, in 1952–1956 due to the extension of Iceland's fishing zone from , 1958–1961 following a further extension to , 1972–1973 with another extension to ; and in 1975–1976 another extension to . According to the Global Peace Index, Iceland is the most peaceful country in the world, due to its lack of armed forces, low crime rate, and high level of socio-political stability. Iceland is listed in the Guinness World Records book as the ""country ranked most at peace"" and the ""lowest military spending per capita""."
"the British frigates. There were major protests in Reykjavík on 24 May 1973. All the windows of the British embassy in Reykjavík were broken. The Icelandic lighthouse tender V/s ""Árvakur"" collided with four British vessels on 1 June, and six days later ICGV ""Ægir"" collided with HMS ""Scylla"", when it was reconnoitring for icebergs off the Westfjords even though no trawlers were present. On 29 August the Icelandic Coast Guard suffered the only fatality of the conflict, when ICGV ""Ægir"" collided with another British frigate. Halldór Hallfreðsson, an engineer on board the Icelandic vessel, died by electrocution from his welding"
"series of disputes over fishing rights in the 1950s and 1970s). Since then relations are much better, mainly because both countries have common interests including free trade, defence, environmental protection and international peace. Both countries are members of NATO and the European Economic Area. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom paid a state visit to Iceland in June 1990. In October 2015 British prime minister David Cameron became the first British Premier to officially visit Iceland (to attend the Northern Future Forum) since it became a republic in 1944. The last British prime minister to visit the territory was"
"a protracted dispute with Iceland over fishing rights in North Atlantic waters. The Royal Navy, along with tugs from the MAFF and British civilian trawlers, was involved in three major confrontations with the Icelandic Coast Guard from 1958 to 1976. These largely bloodless incidents became known as the Cod Wars, and ended with the recognition by Britain of Iceland's exclusive 200 nautical miles fishery zone. The Falklands War was fought in 1982 between Argentina and Britain over the disputed Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Britain was initially taken by surprise by the Argentine attack on the"
"Guard EOD team to Iraq, which was replaced later by members of the Iceland Crisis Response Unit. Iceland has also participated in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Despite the ongoing financial crisis the first new patrol ship in decades was launched on 29 April 2009. Iceland was the neutral host of the historic 1986 Reagan–Gorbachev summit in Reykjavík, which set the stage for the end of the Cold War. Iceland's principal historical international disputes involved disagreements over fishing rights. Conflict with the United Kingdom led to a series of so-called Cod Wars, which"
"Iceland came to a settlement, which stipulated that any future disagreement between Iceland and Britain in the matter of fishery zones would be sent to the International Court of Justice in the Hague. The First Cod War saw a total of 37 Royal Navy ships and 7,000 sailors protecting the fishing fleet from six Icelandic gunboats and their 100 coast guards. The Second Cod War between the United Kingdom and Iceland lasted from September 1972 until the signing of a temporary agreement in November 1973. In 1972, Iceland unilaterally declared an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extending beyond its territorial waters,"
"a collision with the British frigate ""Apollo"", they collided again, on 29 August 1973. Several explanations for the Cod Wars have been put forward. Recent studies have focused on the underlying economic, legal and strategic drivers for Iceland and the United Kingdom, as well as the domestic and international factors that contributed to the escalation of the dispute. Lessons drawn from the Cod Wars have been applied to international relations theory. Fishermen from Britain began to fish in the international waters near Iceland in the 15th century. From the early 16th century onward, English sailors and fishermen were a major"
"presence in the waters off Iceland. Some Icelandic historians view the history of Iceland's struggle for control of its maritime resources in ten episodes, or ten cod wars. The first episode was a dispute between Norway and England in 1415 to 1425 over England's trading with Iceland in violation of Norway's monopoly on the Icelandic trade. The dispute ended when the English arrested Eric of Pomerania's officials in Iceland, effectively restoring the Anglo-Icelandic trade. The agreement that was reached in 1976 concluded what in modern times is called the Third Cod War (the final and tenth Cod War in long-term"
"Iceland–United Kingdom relations Icelandic–British relations are foreign relations between Iceland and the United Kingdom. Before independence, Iceland had been an independent part of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1918. Fearing an Axis move against Iceland following the Nazi Occupation of Denmark, British forces landed on Iceland in 1940. In June 17, 1944, 200 days after the 25 year Danish–Icelandic Act of Union had expired and following a referendum Iceland was declared an independent republic, recognised by London as well as the King of Denmark. From Iceland's independence until the mid-1970s, bilateral relations were difficult due to the 'Cod Wars' (a"
"Iceland, as the United Kingdom conceded to a Icelandic exclusive fishery zone following threats that Iceland would leave NATO. As a result, British fishing communities lost access to rich areas and were devastated, with thousands of jobs lost. The term ""cod war"" was coined by a British journalist in early September 1958. None of the Cod Wars meets any of the common thresholds for a conventional war, though, and they may more accurately be described as militarized interstate disputes. There is only one confirmed death during the Cod Wars: an Icelandic engineer killed in the Second Cod War. Iceland hosted"
"already being prepared. U.S. officials have since then argued that Iceland is in no need of a military presence. NATO allies since then conduct air policing after the U.S. Air Force withdrawal. Foreign relations of Iceland Iceland's closest relations are with Norway and other Nordic states, Canada and the United States. Iceland hosted the historic 1986 Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Reykjavík, which set the stage for the end of the Cold War. Iceland's principal historical international disputes involved disagreements over fishing rights. Conflict with the United Kingdom led to the so-called Cod Wars in 1952–56 because of the extension of the"
"domestic opposition to the US military presence was strong, led by the Icelandic Anti-War Movement (Icelandic: ""Samtök hernámsandstæðinga"", later ""Samtök herstöðvarandstæðinga""). A survey in 1955 shows that more Icelanders opposed the base than supported it, but surveys taken in the late 1960s and early 1970s show a majority support for the bilateral defence agreement with the US. There were two serious attempts to abrogate the bilateral defence agreement with the United States; during the tenure of the left-wing governments of 1956-58 and 1971-1974. These attempts failed though. The Hungarian Uprising of 1956 made it unfeasible for the 1956-58 government to"
"Invasion of Iceland The invasion of Iceland took place on 10 May 1940 during World War II. Iceland was occupied by troops of the United Kingdom. The British military operation, codenamed Operation Fork, was conducted by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The invasion was carried out because the British Government feared that the island would be used by Germany. The Government of Iceland issued a protest, charging that its neutrality had been ""flagrantly violated"" and ""its independence infringed"". At the start of the war, the UK imposed strict export controls on Icelandic goods, preventing profitable shipments to Germany, as"
"in order to represent the monarchy. During the first year of World War II, Iceland strictly enforced a position of neutrality and took action against both British and German forces that violated it. On 10 May 1940, Operation ""Fork"" was launched by the United Kingdom when military forces sailed into Reykjavík harbour and began an invasion of Iceland. The government of Iceland issued a protest against what it called a ""flagrant violation"" of Icelandic neutrality. On the day of the invasion, Prime Minister Hermann Jónasson read a radio announcement instructing Icelanders to treat the British troops as guests. The Allied"
"and institutional ties – effectively made the disputes more contentious"". The Cod Wars are often mentioned in Icelandic and British news reporting when either state is involved in a fishery dispute or when there are disputes of some sort between the two countries. The Cod Wars were extensively covered by media during the Icesave dispute between Iceland and the UK, and in preparation for the Iceland-England match at the round of 16 in Euro 2016. In February 2017, the crews of two ships involved in the Cod Wars, the Hull trawler ""Arctic Corsair"" and the Icelandic patrolship ""Odinn"", exchanged bells"
"war threaten. Iceland became a charter member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on 30 March 1949, with the reservation that it would never take part in offensive action against another nation. The membership came amid an anti-NATO riot in Iceland. After the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, and pursuant to the request of NATO military authorities, the United States and Iceland agreed that the United States should again take responsibility for Iceland's defense. This agreement, signed on 5 May 1951, was the authority for the controversial U.S. military presence in Iceland, which remained until 2006. The"
"This led to a conflict with the United Kingdom, among other states, known as the ""Cod Wars"". The Icelandic Coast Guard and the Royal Navy confronted each other on several occasions during these years. Although few rounds were fired, there were many intense moments. Today the Coast Guard remains Iceland's premier fighting force equipped with armed patrol vessels and aircraft and partaking in peacekeeping operations in foreign lands. The Coast Guard has four vessels and four aircraft (one fixed wing and three helicopters) at their disposal. The Iceland Air Defence System or ""Íslenska Loftvarnarkerfið"" was founded in 1987, and operates"
"check points to reach their flights, until 1987, when the civilian terminal was relocated. The presence of foreign military forces in Iceland under the NATO sponsored Iceland–U.S. Defense Agreement of 1951 was controversial in Iceland, which had no indigenous military forces other than the Icelandic Coast Guard. During the 1960s and 1970s, rallies were held to protest the U.S. military presence in Iceland (and in particular at Keflavík), and every year protesters walked the road from Reykjavík to Keflavík and chanted ""Ísland úr NATO, herinn burt"" (literally: Iceland out of NATO, the military away). The protests were not effective. One"
"between the United Kingdom and Iceland regarding fishing rights in the North Atlantic. In February 1976 Iceland severed diplomatic ties with Britain, an unprecedented action between two NATO members, which were restored in the spring of that year. Rockall was claimed by a number of nations, including Iceland and the United Kingdom, as well as by the Republic of Ireland and Denmark (on behalf of the Faroe Islands). The United Kingdom and Ireland reached a power sharing agreement over Rockall, but as yet no other agreements exist with Iceland or Denmark. The Icesave dispute was a dispute between Iceland and"
"part of Britain, not even in geographical terms. We would discourage its usage ."". No consensus on another name for the islands exists. In practice, the two Governments and the shared institutions of the archipelago avoid use of the term, frequently using the euphemism ""these islands"" in place of any term. Political violence broke out in Northern Ireland in 1968 following clashes over a civil rights campaign. The civil rights campaign demanding an end to institutionalised discrimination against nationalists by the unionist Government of Northern Ireland. As the violence escalated, rioting and attacks by nationalist and unionist groups began to"
"over Iceland's extension of its fishery limits to 200 miles (370 km). Icelandic patrol ships and British trawlers clashed in all four Cod Wars. The Royal Navy was sent to the contested waters in the last three Cod Wars, leading to highly publicized clashes. During these disputes, Iceland threatened closure of the U.S. base at Keflavík, and the withdrawal of its NATO membership. Because of Iceland's strategic importance during the Cold War, it was important for the U.S. and NATO to maintain the base on Icelandic soil and to keep Iceland as a member of NATO. While the Icelandic government"
"the GIUK gap. In the North Atlantic, the United Kingdom became engaged in a protracted dispute with Iceland over fishing rights. The Royal Navy, supported by tugs from the MAFF and British civilian trawlers, was involved in three major confrontations with the Icelandic Coast Guard from 1958 to 1976. These largely bloodless incidents became known as the Cod Wars, and ended with the recognition by Britain of Iceland's exclusive 200 nautical miles fishery zone. Chatham Naval Base was used for refitting nuclear submarines from 1963 but it closed in 1984. The most important operation conducted predominantly by the Royal Navy"
"foreign interests which had previously been represented by Denmark. Subsequently, the British occupied Iceland on 10 May 1940. His second term lasted from 24 July 1956 to 23 December 1958. In the elections of 1956 the Progressive Party and the Social Democratic Party joined forces and formed an electoral alliance that became known as the ""Fear-Alliance"" (Icelandic: ""Hræðslubandalagið"", the fear in question being the fear of the Independence Party). After the elections the ""Fear-Alliance"" formed a coalition with The People's Alliance. This was Iceland's first leftist government, and was plagued with troubles from the outset, not the least of which"
"1949 anti-NATO riot in Iceland The Icelandic NATO riot of 30 March 1949 was prompted by the decision of Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament, to join the newly formed NATO, thereby involving Iceland directly in the Cold War, opposing the Soviet Union and re-militarizing the country. The protesters first convened behind a school in the centre of Reykjavík and then marched on Austurvöllur, a small park in front of the parliament building, where a throng of people had already arrived positioning themselves between the parliament and the rioters, intending to defend it. At first the demonstrators were calm, but when a"
"by opposing opinions and lack of neutrality in discussion. Despite violent opposition, Iceland's membership in NATO was confirmed. After the event, protests by anti-NATO activists were commonplace. The left parties in 1950s and 1960s parliamentary elections promised to put an end to the bilateral U.S.-Icelandic Defence Agreement, but dropped these promises after becoming part of the ruling coalitions. The slogan ""Iceland out of NATO and the Army out!"" (""""Ísland úr NATO og herinn burt!"""") became a part of Icelandic culture. In 1974, the government proposed closing down the Keflavik base, but a petition campaign gathered a quarter of the population's"
"US forces from Iceland unless a satisfactory conclusion could be reached to the dispute. Even the cabinet members who were pro-Western (proponents of NATO and the US Defence Agreement) were forced to resort to the threats, as that was Iceland's chief leverage, and it would have been political suicide not to use it. Thus, NATO engaged in formal and informal mediations to bring an end to the dispute. Following the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea between 1960 and 1961, the UK and Iceland came to a settlement in late February 1961, which stipulated Icelandic fishery limits"
"of these include ""Njáls saga"", about an epic blood feud, and ""Grænlendinga saga"" and ""Eiríks saga"", describing the discovery and settlement of Greenland and Vinland (now the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador). ""Egils saga"", ""Laxdæla saga"", ""Grettis saga"", ""Gísla saga"", and ""Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu"" are also notable and popular. W. H. Auden and Louis MacNeice wrote ""Letters From Iceland"" (1937) to describe their travels through that country. The first professional secular painters appeared in Iceland in the 19th century. This group of artists included Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval, who was famous for his paintings portraying village life in Iceland. Ásmundur"
"English Wars (Scandinavia) The English Wars (, ) were a series of conflicts between England and Sweden with Denmark-Norway as part of the Napoleonic Wars. It is named after the most prominent region of its other main participant, the United Kingdom, which declared war on Denmark-Norway due to disagreements over the neutrality of Danish trade and to prevent the Danish fleet falling into the hands of the First French Empire. It began with the first battle of Copenhagen in 1801 and its latter stage from 1807 onwards was followed by the Gunboat War, the Dano-Swedish War of 1808-1809 and the"
"The Troubles The Troubles () was an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, and the Conflict in Ireland, it is sometimes described as a ""guerrilla war"" or a ""low-level war"". The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles primarily took place in Northern Ireland, at times the violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe. The conflict was primarily political and nationalistic, fuelled by historical events."