The Faroese Flag

The Faroe Islands were one of the last territories on the planet to be discovered and populated. The first settlers are said to have been Irish monks who arrived in the year 700 and something, there are no signs of people having lived here before that so the birds had it to themselves. Norsemen arrived in the early 800's. For the first 200 years or so Faroes was a free country but it then came under foreign power - first Norway and then Denmark.

During the second world war, when Denmark was occupied by the Germans, Faroes helped feed Britain by sailing there with fish, they sailed under the new Faroese flag which the British officially recognized. There had been a strong movement for independence for many years and in 1946 a referendum was held and the majority chose independence. This caused concern in Denmark and the Danish government dissolved the Parliament. A new Parliament was elected in which there was not a majority for independence. In 1948 the Danish Parliament passed the Home Rule Act making Faroes a self governing state inside the Danish Kingdom. The Act recognized the Faroese flag and the Faroese language.

In recent times, the number of people wanting independence for their nation has increased considerably and this year the Parliamentary elections resulted in a coalition taking power whose main promise was to set in motion a process towards full sovereignty. That process is now underway.

The Faroese flag, which was first officially recognized during the 2nd World War, now appears to be heading towards being recognized as the flag of a sovereign nation.

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