Saga - 1986, Page 204

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KJARTAN ÓLAFSSON
2. Bréf þau, sem fóru á milli dönsku og frönsku ríkisstjómanna um
málið og ekki hafa enn verið kynnt hér. Þar bíður m.a. ýtarlegt
bréf frá franska utanríkisráðherranum.
3. Deilur milli fslendinga í Kaupmannahöfn vegna tilmæla Frakka,
en í þeim deilum kemur Þorleifur Repp mjög við sögu.
4. Vopnaburður Jóns Guðmundssonar á síðari stigum málsins og
afstaða Jóns Sigurðssonar forseta.
5. Viðhorf Vestfirðinga og þá sérstaklega bænarskrár ísfirðinga og
Dýrfirðinga gegn franskri nýlendustofnun.
6. Ummæli í bréfum til Jóns Sigurðssonar frá París 1856.
7. Meðferð Dýrafjarðarmálsins á Alþingi 1857, en þar voru fluttar 34
ræður um málið.
8. Málalyktir.
Summary
In the summer of 1855 the Icelandic Parliament received an enquiry from mer-
chants in the French town Dunkerque as to whether the Icelanders would grant
them a plot of land in Dýrafjörður for setting up a fishing-station. A request to
the same effect was made by the French Imperial Government to the Danish
government at the end ofjanuary 1856. The French petition was the subject of
much discussion and fierce controversy in Iceland, and was even dealt with by
Parliament in 1855 and 1857. The matter also received some attention in the
foreign press.
The present study, the first of two parts dealing with this episode in Icelandic
history, also looks at Prince Jerome Napoleon's visit to Iceland in the summer of
1856, which was felt by many to be related to the French government's desire to
establish a French colony in Iceland. The fact that while in Iceland the Prince
visited Dýrafjörður only lent credence to this rumour. The French had been
fishing in Icelandic waters for many years and when the Danish Trade Monopoly
was abolished in 1855 the French sought permission to cure their catch on shore.
The present author has examined the available correspondence between the
French and the Danish governments and also many other published and unpub-
lished sources related to this matter, both in Iceland and abroad. In a letter from
Trampe, the royal governor (stiftamtmaður) dated August llth 1855 to the Danish
Ministry for Intemal Affairs, it is stated that the French intended to treble their
fishing fleet in Icelandic waters if granted the permission to cure the catch on
shore. This increase would have meant that the French fishing population would
have numbered at least 5000 at a time when the population of Reykjavík, the
largest settlement in Iceland, was between 1300—1400 persons.