Iceland review - 2014, Síða 63

ICELAND REVIEW 61
august. many, however, never returned to
France. From 1828 to 1939, a total of 400
French ships carrying over 4,000 fisher-
men were swallowed by icelandic waters.
the ocean was the final resting place
for most, but some ended up buried on
mountain slopes or in graveyards like the
one on the outskirts of Fáskrúðsfjörður.
early beginnings
the history of French seafarers in iceland
spans more than three centuries. the first
boat arrived in 1614 to hunt whale, both
for the animal’s meat and for its oil, which
was widely used in city lamps at the time,
but when they discovered an abundance
of cod, they shifted focus. at two to three
weeks, the journey from France to iceland
was only half that to newfoundland, which
until then had been their primary base
for cod fishing, allowing the fishermen
to extend their fishing time. two years
later, the first French boat arrived from
dunkerque, northern France. With the
border a mere 10 km (6 miles) away, many
Belgians would go on to join them over the
the french hospital ship Francois d’Assise docked in fáskrúðsfjörður in 1911. Hoffell mountain is in the background.
hiStorY