1939-1945






The Faroe Islands since 1945

Political Status . When the Faroese, in a 1946 referendum, voted for independence, the King of Denmark used his prerogative to declare the Faroese parliament dissolved; the islands were granted home rule in 1948. In 1973 the Faroese postal administration began the issuance of Faroese postage stamps. For 2001 another referendum on Faroese independence was scheduled. When Denmark hinted that annual subsidies by the Danish state would cease upon independence, the referendum was cancelled.
Infrastructure . In 1963, Vagar Airport (constructed in 1942-1943 as a military airport and no longer used after the war) was opened as a civilian airport.
The Economy . When Denmark joined the EEC in 1973, the Faroe Islands stayed out. In 1992 the economic recession of the fishing industry resulted in the failure of the fishermen's cooperative bank, which exacerbated the recession; emigration to Denmark increased. In 2001 the Faroe Islands had a population of almost 47,000 inhabitants. The Faroes, in 2005, expressed their interest in joining EFTA; this was not possible according to EFTA statutes; only independent states qualify as members. Oil has been found under the sea near the Faroes, and the development of a future Faroe Islands oil industry is expected (as of 2006).
Culture . In 1948 the first bible translation into Faroese was published. In 1957 the Faroese Writers Association was founded. In 1965 the University of the Faroes, at Torshavn, opened. Faroese tv broadcasting began in 1984.
Since 1988 the Faroese soccer team competed in qualifiers to European and World championships; in 1990 the Faroese defeated Austria 1-0.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Brief summaries of the Faroes' history from Puffin Travel and from Førøyar
Timeline Faroese History, from BBC News
Articles Faroe Islands National Football Team, Faroe Islands, Sjonvarp Føroya, University of the Faroe Islands, from Wikipedia
DOCUMENTS Faroe banknotes, from Ron Wise's World Paper Money<./A> and from Currency Museum
REFERENCE Article : Faeroe Islands, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1953 p.268, 1954 p.266, 1955 p.314, 1956 p.251, 1958 p.247, 1959 p.244, 1960 p.244, 1961 pp.255-256, 1962 p.244, 1963 p.358 [G]
Article : Colonies and Dependent Territories, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1964 pp.265-268 [G]
Article : Colonies and Other Depencies : Faeroe Islands, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1965 p.253, 1966 p.204, 1967 p.219, 1968 p.217 [G]
Article : Dependent States : Faeroe Islands, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1969 p.279, 1970 p.279, 1971 p.269, 1972 p.240, 1973 p.232, 1974 p.248, 1976 p.250, 1977 p.250, 1978 p.303, 1979 p.304, 1980 p.302, 1981 p.302, 1982 p.296, 1983 p.296, 1984 p.296, 1985 p.603, 1988 p.518, 1990 p.534 [G]
Article : Denmark : Faroe Islands, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1970-1971 pp.861-862, 1975-1976 p.870, 1976-1977 pp.879-880, 1978-1979 p.400, 1979-1980 p.400, 1980-1981 p.401, 1981-1982 p.406, 1983-1984 pp.411-412, 1984-1985 pp.409-410, 1985-1986 pp.411-412, 1986-1987 p.416, 1987-1988 pp.422-423, 1988-1989 pp.424-425, 1989-1990 pp.427-429, 1990-1991 pp.426-427, 1991-1992 pp.425-427, 1992-1993 pp.492-494, 1993-1994 pp.499-501, 1994-1995 pp.486-486, 1995-1996 pp.481-483, 1996-1997 pp.421-423, 1997-1998 pp.430-433, 1998-1999 pp.473-475, 2000 pp.544-546, 2001 pp.528-531, 2002 pp.550-552, 2003 pp.549-551, 2004 pp.550-552, 2005 pp.550-552, 2006 pp.545-547 [G]
Article : Faroes, in : The World in Figures 1st ed. 1976 p.219, 2nd ed. 1978 p.219, 4th ed. 1984 p.219 [G]
Article : Faeroe or Faroe Islands, in : Americana Annual 1947 p.240, 1957 p.265, 1962 p.251 [G]
Article : Denmark - Faroe Islands, in : Americana Annual 1993 pp.212-213 (on events of 1992) [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on July 27th 2003, last revised on March 27th 2007

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