The White Falcon - 25.06.1971, Page 6

Iceland celebrates 27th year of independence
The Honorable Kriatjan Eld Jam, Presi-
dent of Ieeland and his wife.
Status of Jon Sigurdeeon standing in center-
city square overlooking the Althing.
at Jon Sigurdsson's birthday observances.
Story & photos by QM2 John Getker
Iceland celebrated her ^7th birthday last Thursday,
June 17. The day is celebrated concurrently with the
birthday of Jon Sigurdsson, a precursor of the inde-
pendence. Iceland is not really that new as an inde-
pendent nation, but the hiatus that narked her early
days of freedom and her latest liberation are filled
with a continuous struggle not only for independence
but for basic survival.
Iceland established herself as a nation in the tenth
century. This period lasted into the late 13th cen-
tury when internal strife, the decline of contact with
the remainder of Europe and numerous natural calamities
eventually forced dependence on Norway. This era of
dependence fell into total subjugation in the 15th
century under the Danish orovn. From then on, the
Icelandic people have fought a peaceful yet a never-
ending struggle against that control and the condi-
tions that brought the yoke upon them.
The late 18th century brought-Iceland to the brink
of extinction even as a dependent nation as conditions
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