Here is the link to the timeline: http://timeglider.com/t/48430039bde472ec075c?min_zoom=1&max_zoom=80
**Please note you need to drag the cursor to the left to see the fifth event on my timeline, which is the adoption of Christianity as the national religion of Iceland.
Click on each event to see a detailed description about events in the early settlement period and to see five events about the turning points in Iceland's history.
**Please note you need to drag the cursor to the left to see the fifth event on my timeline, which is the adoption of Christianity as the national religion of Iceland.
Click on each event to see a detailed description about events in the early settlement period and to see five events about the turning points in Iceland's history.
Compared to other countries, Iceland has had a short history without lots of conflict, colonization and wars. However, there are five events that occurred between 1550 and 2008, that shaped Iceland's history and changed it's future, and are viewed as turning points. In 1550, the Lutheran Reformation took root in Iceland, and Iceland's last Catholic Bishop, Jon Arason was executed. From this point on, Christian III, King of Denmark, having ordered a change of religion in Iceland, in 1538, encountered the opposition from Jon Arason and ordered to have him killed if he still believed that Iceland should be Catholic. After this event, the Lutheran Reformation was considered a victory. The next important events that changed Iceland politically and economically was the 1944 Independence that Iceland gained from Denmark and the 2008 financial crisis. Iceland was economically and politically under the rule of the Danish Crown and because of the 1918 Act of Union, Iceland's and Denmark relationship was changed by Iceland gaining independence. This even turned into a national holiday called Icelandic Independence day which takes place on June 17th every year. In 2008, the three major commercial banks in Iceland failed, and the stock market crashed, where unemployment dramatically went up. Iceland has never seen a financial collapse as large as this one, and it was a turning point in how the government is going to regulate Iceland's economy in the future. As a response to the crisis, Iceland passed a series of regulations and joined the International Monetary Fund, becoming the first Western country to do so since 1976. Environmentally, a major event in Iceland's geographical history was the Laki eruption in 1783, which was the second greatest eruption of the last 1,000 years, behind only the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia! The eruption affected the whole planet, as the toxic gases, such as sulphur dioxide, travelled across the Earth. Other people farm animals and crops died, and it caused the climate to change. In Iceland, a fifth of the country's population is estimated to have died from the environmental consequences of the eruption. Internationally, an event in 1986 called the Reykjavik summit was a significant turning point not only in Iceland's history, but in global history. It was a meeting between the current world leaders, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev to eliminate nuclear weapons. Although the meeting was a failure in that the making of nuclear weapons never stopped, the summit was seen as a turning point in the Cold War, and Reykjavik become a symbol for the peaceful communication of international leaders.
Citations for Turning Point Timeline Events
Castella, T. D. (2010, April 16). The eruption that changed Iceland forever. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8624791.stm
Icelandic Roots. (n.d.). The Beheading of Jón Arason. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from https://www.icelandicroots.com/single-post/2012/11/07/The-Beheading-of-J%C3%B3n-Arason
Independence Day. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2017, from http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/iceland/independence_day.php
Johnsen, G. (2016, February 10). How did Iceland clean up its banks? Retrieved April 19, 2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35485876
Sohov, N. (n.d.). Reykjavik Summit: The Legacy and a Lesson for the Future | NTI. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from http://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/reykjavik-summit-legacy/
Castella, T. D. (2010, April 16). The eruption that changed Iceland forever. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8624791.stm
Icelandic Roots. (n.d.). The Beheading of Jón Arason. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from https://www.icelandicroots.com/single-post/2012/11/07/The-Beheading-of-J%C3%B3n-Arason
Independence Day. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2017, from http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/iceland/independence_day.php
Johnsen, G. (2016, February 10). How did Iceland clean up its banks? Retrieved April 19, 2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35485876
Sohov, N. (n.d.). Reykjavik Summit: The Legacy and a Lesson for the Future | NTI. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from http://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/reykjavik-summit-legacy/