Saga - 1979, Page 59

RÁÐAGERÐIR UM INNLIMUN ÍSLANDS í BRETAVELDI 57
This paper discusses the various proposals made and the responses
of the British Government. The objective is to discover whether it
'vas at any point during this period, the intention of the British
authorities to annex Iceland to the British Crown.
The plans for the annexation of Iceland were invariably sub-
mitted by private individuals, who most often appear to have been
largely motivated by self-interest. The more important proponents
of these ideas were the Hon. John Cochrane, son of the Earl of
Dundonald; Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society, who
*nade a famous visit to Iceland in 1772 and Sir George Steuart
Mackenzie the Scottish mineralogist, who visited Iceland in 1810.
In their plans, which were often very detailed, these men general-
ly admitted that the current state of Iceland offered little prospect
°f immediate material rewards for Britain. On the other hand they
olaimed that under benevolent British rule Iceland would become
a Prosperous country offering many advantages. Among the poten-
fial benefits most frequently cited were: the cod and herring fishe-
ries, the sulphur mines and an additional supply of hardy seamen
to man the Royal Navy. Military conquest was the favoured method
°f annexation, though Banks also believed that the Icelanders should
given the option of voluntarily surrendering their country to
the British Crown.
The available documentary evidence suggests that H.M.’s Govern-
ment took these proposals into serious consideration only twice
during this period. Not surprisingly these times coincided with the
outbreak of hostilities between England and Denmark, when a
Sritish annexation of Iceland might serve as a useful retaliatory
measure against Denmark. In January 1801, after Denmark had
Joined the anti-British League of Armed Neutrality, Cochrane sug-
Sested to the Government, that a military force be despatched to
occupy Iceiand. Banks, the acknowledged British expert on Iceland,
'vas asked for liis opinion Iíe prepared a lengthy memorandum for
^he Government in which he supported the idea of annexation.
However, there is no indication that the Pitt Government took any
lurther steps to act on these proposals. In 1807 after Denmark had
ontered into an alliance with Napoleon, the British Government
aSain showed interest in the possibility of annexing Iceland. Banks
Was officially requested to gather all the information he could
ab°ut the situation in Iceland „with a view of ascertaining
whether . . . Iceland could be secured to His Majesty, at least dur-
lnS the continuance of the present war“. Banks frequently com-
municated with members of the Government during 1807—9 and