"PATH TO GLORY" EPISODE 1 -NORWAY: A JOURNEY FROM PRIMITIVITY TO MODERNITY
"PATH TO GLORY" EPISODE-1: NORWAY
Norway, Popularly known as the land of Midnight Sun were the mind capturing beauty of the Scandinavian landscape encompassing mountains, glaciers ,deep ocean fjords & Economic Supremacy connects our Perception of the region. Lets trace that journey of Norway from the ferocious Vikings to the HDI Topper of Modern World.
The scandinavian region covers the three Kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, where the inhabitants followed a living standard which is largely based on the NORSEY way of life which is connected to the Norsey mythology . The term vikings applied only to those who took sea voyages for the purpose of acquiring wealth by raiding in other lands . The viking society was divided into three classes, the jarls which comprised of the aristocracy, the Karls which is refered to the one’s lower to the jarls & the Thralls which is comprised of slaves.
The inhabitants of scandinavian lands engaged in activities like – Hunting, Mountaining, Sea Voyage. The viking age which is marked with great valour & bloodsheed battles turned the history of the entire Europe. They conducted trade as far as the Byzantine Empire in the east. Their inluence on the european culture is marked in the
regions of Scotland, Britain, france & Ireland. They founded ‘’Dublin’’, colonized Normady in france & even established the area of the Danelaw in britain and settled in numerous parts across Scotland.
PAGAN’S VERSUS CHRISTAIN’S
Many Historians saw the vikings settlement and raid as a war against the christain way of life which was trying to unite all Kingdoms under the banner of one country. But eventually inorder to resist the vikings many English kingdoms united their force. When the first viking raiding party arrived in the great Monastery of Lindisfarne off the northeast coast of england, it marked the start of war against christains, as during this raid the viking warriors destroyed the holy relics and killed many priest, took some as slaves , the rulers of this region saw this act as an Act of Blasphemy .
The four major kingdoms in early england were – East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria & Wessex. The invasion of vikings led to a huge political turmoil in these regions and forced them to engage in warfare. Meanwhile many vikings who lived the pagan way of life by worshipping pagan gods soon converted into christains as they began to settle in . The notable Viking Warriors of this Era icludes- Ragnar Lothbrok, Bjorn Ironside, Ivar the Boneless, Eric Bloodaxe.. They undertook voyages in specially build ships which could sustain the hard course of the Sea and eventually those voyages led to the discovery of many new lands such as ICELAND, GREENLAND, VINLAND & various other small settlements which turned the course of the European History.
BATTLES OF BLOOD-BATH
The viking Age is popularly marked by Numerous Battles which became a common affair in the Early European region . The Major ones include.
Battle of Aclea : Year-851-Fought between Wessex King Aethelwulf & Danish Army, in which Wessex emerged victorious
Battle of Assandum: Year- 1016- between Dane lord Canute & Saxon Armies, in which the Dane lord emerged Victorious
Battle of Bravalla : occurred around the mid 8thCE, between Swedish allied forces VERSUS Danish allied forces, Swedish force headed by Sigurd Hring emerged victorious
Battle of Englefied : Occurred around 870, between West Saxon forces and Danish Vikings, the Saxon force emerged victorious
Battle of Stanford Bridge : Occurred around 1066 , between English Army headed by King Harold Godwinson and the Danish King Harald Hardrada, the English army emerged victorious.
END OF VIKING AGE
The viking age ended when the raids stopped , under the rule of King Alfred who sucessfully initiated strategies of ‘’Christain Unity’’ held the land firm from viking raids and his successors followed this same strategy and eventually in the year 1066 marked the end of viking age , at the battle of Stamford Bridge, the Norwegian king Harald Hardrada was repulsed and killed as he attempted to reclaim portions of England.
THE PRIMITIVE ECONOMY OF NORWAY
The initial economic framework of norway was largely based on the agriculture, organised under local farming communities combined with fish trade. The Norwegian people was mainly involved in agriculture & allied activities such as fishing, hunting, forestry. Many historians holds the fact that ‘’ The vikings undertook sea Voyages in search of better productive lands for their farm products’’. The Norwegian economy sustained with trade of fish and timber along
with the help of merchant fleet. Norway followed the traditional sequence of strong agriculture sector which inturn laid strong economic foundation for the region.
STRUGGLE’S FOR POWER
The political structure of norway had been formed in blood& battles, firstly it witnessed civil wars from the norwegian community itself, the struggle for power had devastating impact on their livelihood. In the year 1397 Kalmar Union was formulated, it was a turning point in the history of norway, many big & small kingdoms in and around scandinavia wanted to establish their monarch rule on the entire region, they were mainly attracted by the trade opportunities of norway .Now with the Kalmar union Scandinavia was kept under a single monarch of the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden & Norway. Legally the countries remained separate sovereign states but with their domestic and foregin policies was being directed by a common monarch. Eventhough there was initial peace the Danish & swedish kingdom constantly engaged in war & finally the union broke up in the year 1523 following the conquest of stockholm.
Following this breakup, Denmark- Norway Union popularly known as the Dano-Norwegian Realm came into being. The nation witnessed yet another dramatic change in its composition , the Dano- Norwegian alliance was a multi-national, multi-lingual union consisting of inhabitants mainly from Danes, Norwegians and germans . The main cities of the union were Copenhagen, Christiania, Altona, Bergen and Trondheim and the official languages were Danish, german, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese . During this period the economy of norway marked a stable growth with a high degree of self-supply from agriculture, fisheries & Hunting. This union lasted for 417 years and eventually came to an end in the year 1814 following the Treaty of Kiel which was a peace treaty between Great Britain , Ireland & Sweden with the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway, ending the hostilities between the parties during the Napoleonic Wars were United kingdom and sweden were part of the anti-french camp while Denmark-Norway was allied to France.
However not all provisions of the treaty were met, Norway declared its independence & adopted a constitution and elected prince Christian Frederik as its own king. Meanwhile Sweden refused to hand over swedish Pomerania this led to a short term war between Norway and Sweden , however Norway accepted entering into a personal union with sweden at the ‘Convention of Moss’ . King Frederik revised the constitution to allow the union.
A Major landmark in the pathway of Norway came in the year 1905, it became independent from the clutches of sweden following the dissolution of the union. Norwegian plebiscite held on 13 Aug 1905 backed the dissolution, negotiations betwen the two govt led to Sweden’s recognition of Norway as an Independent Constitutional Monarchy. This marked a new beginning in the Norwegian journey to Modernity.
IMPACT OF WORLD WAR’S ON NORWAY
Norway was on its path of independence and started to experience a new beginning from the earilier Political Chaos, but the World WAR 1- emerged as a hurdle in their path.
Eventhough Norway Managed to stay neutral during the World War 1 , the effects of war crept into the norwegian life . Norway being the nation having the 4th largest Merchant fleet in the world attracted Britain to seek the opportunity and Norway eventually entered into the ‘’Tonnage Agreement’’ which gave Britain full control over the Norwegian merchant fleet.
The War had longlasting impact on the Norwegian economy, which was largely based on agriculture production and fish trade. The Economy witnessed sudden rise food prices which affected the day to day life of the common people.
The govt took the policy of Intervention and tried to secure the necessary supplies of food and fuel. They initiated policies like Price Control & Food Commission with the focus of improving the daily life of norwegian people.
These interventions could’nt counter the shortage of certain foodstuffs &Eventually as the impact of war deepened the wealth became unevely distributed which led to the emergence of two classes- One’s who were able to pay for the goods and services & the One’s who could’nt afford to pay.
Following the Economic unrest,In 1917 – A Great Demonstration was displayed in the streets of Christiania with over 300,00 people.
As Norway stayed with the strategy of being ‘’Neutral’’ it was a costly strategy for the govt it drained the govt finacially and the govt met with a siutation of massive debt.
After the economic discord of world war 1, Norway looked ahead to maintain their ‘’Neutral’’ stand & with effective policies showed signs of a comeback. But soon the World War 2 struck the globe and eventually it affected Norway in the following manner..
During the Winter War, the Norwegian government technically did not allow men to volunteer for the war in Finland out of fear that that would aggravate the Germans and hamper their goal of remaining a neutral country.
Nonetheless, more than seven hundred men and women volunteered to fight with Finnish troops including doctors, nurses, and several future leaders. Citizens of Norway also held collections for food, supplies, and money to aid Finnish refugees and communities that were devastated by the conflict.
The Norwegian government secretly donated artillery and ammunition to the Finnish army, as well as allowing airplanes and other materials to be sent to them through Norway. After the end of the Winter War, the Norwegian aid continued and was shifted to reconstruction.
On April 9th, 1940, the first German troops arrived in Norway. There were three major reasons for the invasion of Norway:
It was strategic, in that an occupation of Norway allowed the German Army and Navy to secure ice-free harbors to control the North Atlantic; to secure the routes used to transport iron ore from Sweden–a much needed commodity in times of war; and to pre-empt a British and French invasion with the same purposes.
Trade agreements secured with Germany and Great Britain in early 1940 was thought to be additional protection against invaders, as was Norway’s military presence on the nation’s borders, and the close proximity of Britain’s impressive naval power.
In truth, the Norwegian army was less than prepared for the ferocity of the German invasion. As the Germans began capturing key ports and coastal cities, many Norwegian army commanders moved their men further inland to take advantage of the country’s rugged interior.
The Norwegians put their faith in the British and French armies arriving in an effort to help stem the advance of the Germans, but unfortunately, it never came.
The British did initially try to stem the German advance through Norway; they planned smaller landings that were made north and south of the city of Namsos and Andalsnes. The idea was that the Allied units would then meet Norwegian defense forces.
The German advance throughout Norway was relentless and by the end of May 1940 saw the British government and military
withdrawal from Norway completely. Britain’s failure in Norway was to also have major political consequences with the resignation of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain who was replaced by Winston Churchill.
This invasion seriously affected the socio-economic framework of Norway. It includes
The German military requisitioned homes, businesses, and property, schools, all while spreading Nazi symbolism and ideologies.
Although the soldiers were ordered to behave properly towards the civilian population in Norway, they had the authority to control and the right to arrest people they thought to be suspicious.
Norwegians were not allowed to move about freely or to show patriotic feelings in any manner. During these years, singing the national anthem and flying the flag of Norway were banned. Death was a common punishment for crimes such as listening to radio stations deemed culturally inappropriate or reading many of the illegal or gray market newspapers.
Urban areas were hit the hardest by the occupation when it came to aspects such as rationing. Everything from food and clothes, to toys and furniture, were rationed. Sugar, coffee, and flour were the first, followed by all imported foodstuffs and eventually bread, butter, meat, eggs, and dairy products. In the summer of 1942, even vegetables and potatoes were rationed.
Each household was given one ration book per family member–a kind of ticket that gave the right to buy a certain amount of a food item. In order to combat the lack of food, people turned to what they had always done; they fished, hunted, or farmed what land they could.
Despite the hardships of the occupation many Norwegian military and civilian personnel continued to fight for their freedom. Hitler’s well-planned invasion of Norway caused chaos and death, but not demoralisation.
Operations of the resistance movements varied: writing and distributing underground newspapers, smuggling people and goods to and from Sweden or the United Kingdom, and even blowing up ships, destroying train tracks and factories to disrupt German trade and supply routes.
On the 8 May 1945, Germany surrendered and Norway was once again a free country. Around 50,000 Norwegians were found guilty of treason after the war. They had been members of the Norwegian national socialist party, Nasjonal Samling, who sympathized and collaborated with the Nazis.
The ill effects of this military invasion held its grip for some time but eventually , the scadinavian region adapted and moved on to achieve Glory.
Journey of New Beginnings
Soon after the crisis initiated upon them by world war 2, Norway undertook efforts to rejuvenate the broken spirits of its inhabitants . In the 1960’s their economy was still centred around agriculture and allied activities with the major portion contributed by Fish trade. A turn of events occurred in the year 1963 , the govt imposed ‘’Sovereign Rights on Natural Resources’’ this policy marked a new path of opportunities
With the imposition of Natural rights, the entire region across the Norwegian sea became the property of the govt . As the scandinavian land was greatly gifted in terms of Natural resouces a new ocean of opportunity showed up.
The year 1969 changed the entire course of path for Norway as the ship ‘’ Ocean Viking’’ struck ‘Oil ‘ in the North sea region. The oil deposits really changed the entire economic framework of Norway, with this New Treasure the country could produce 1.6 Billion Barrels per Day. Which marked the beginning of ‘’Oil Boom’’. By the mid 1970s Norway produced oil per capita which was about the 4th largest in the world. The period of Oil Boom marked a rapid rise in the country’s GDP, from 12 Billion USD in 1970 to 65 Billion USD in 1980.
The Economy of Norway followed a path of ‘’Planned Socialist-Democratic Framework ‘’ the govt knew how to use this oil treasure to the nations Glory . The profits of oil boom was not diverted into a private company but into a Govt Enterprise namely ‘’Statoil’’ which meant that the fruits of this economic prosperity did’nt go into the pockets of Private corporates instead it went to the Govt directly and reached the Common people of Norway.
The govt didn’t invest in Weapon Manufacturing Companies, Companies which violated Environmental laws, Corporates which breached Labour laws ..So its very clear that the govt was cautions in its investment policies. Eventhough the govt generated huge profit from these investments they didn’t adopt the policy of Massive public expenditure. Infact Norway is a country were the Income and wealth tax is comparatively higher compared to their wage structure ,but the social security measures of the govt makes it very tolerable.
The Norwegian people are one of the happiest one’s in the world which highlights the fact that social welfare and economic development of Norway goes hand in hand. Norway has one of the robust Worker protection policies in the world according to 0ECD’S Better Life Index -% of wokers working 50 hrs a week or more is only 3% in Norway compared to the OECD Avg of 11%.
The social security measures makes Norway one of the happiest countries in the world , the policies ensures that – No one will become bankrupt due to medical issues as the govt health care mechanism is that much effective , the norwegian people won’t be in debt trap because of educational loans , infact Norway is a country where the % of educated graduates to total population is 42% according to OECD reports, No one has the fear of becoming homeless even if they are jobless, infact the long term unempolyment is only 0.41% according to OECD reports.
These effective social security measures makes the life of Norwegian people less risky and paves a sustainable way for the future generation. With these effective Social security policies the people carries their livelihood smoothly .
The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progess in three dimensions of human development : a Long and Healthy life, access to knowledge & a decent standard of living. Norway have performed enormously well in these areas of human development. Norway’s HDI value in 2018 is 0.954 which puts the country in category of Very high Human Development category & 1st among 189 nations. Between 1990-2018 HDI value of the scadinavian region have increased from 0.850 to 0.954 marking an increase of 12.2%.
LESSONS TO TAKE BACK
First of all the journey of Norway was never on a smooth path, from the viking Age itself Battle’s & War constantly created great havoc in the entire scandinavian region . The aftermath of all this battles led to power struggle, the region was kept under control by Sweden for sometime .Later on Norway became independent but during the World war’s especially in World War second their sovereignity was questioned with the invasion of Germany, the spirit of their National culture underwent a drastic setback but the norwegian people soon gained strength & fought back to regain their position.
The govt was focussed on the long-term welfare of people, eventhough the nation became economically sound the govt was extremely cautions to sustain that growth which eventually is the success story of Norway.
Now , when it comes to replicating this model of growth, when we look closely into the pathway of Norway we can see that - Yes they were lucky and was gifted with a very valuable Natural Assest, they used that gift in an efficient manner that efficiency made the journey into Modernity possible. So any country who happens to have such a valuable Natural gift should replicate the model of Norway.
SOURCES
EH.net-: Age of Vikings- Vikings saga
Klein L.R, 1948- Planned Economy of Norway
Bradley Kurtz-2018 – World War impact on Norway
