Reykjavík Grapevine - jun 2023, Qupperneq 36

The Reykjavík Grapevine 6 / 23 36
WORDS Valur Gunnarsson
IMAGE Art Bicnick
There is a grave in Australia
dated 1841 belonging to a former
convict, police constable, gambler,
explorer and spy. If this wasn’t an
impressive enough resume, the title
under which he rests forevermore
is “King of Iceland.” Bizarrely, that
is accurate – at least in a manner
of speaking – due to events in the
summer of 1809, when this king led
something of a revolution.
In 1807, at the height of the Napole-
onic Wars, the Danish kingdom and
the British Empire found themselves
on opposing sides. After a brief en-
gagement, the Royal Navy captured
the Danish vessel Admiral Juul and
its captain, Jörgen Jörgensen, was
taken to London. Beginning a series
of strange events, Jörgensen soon
found himself released from captiv-
ity and in the employ of soap sales-
man Samuel Phelps.
Iceland had been isolated from the
Danish motherland for two years
and Phelps smelled a business op-
portunity. Jörgensen had convinced
him that Icelanders in the midst of
famine would be happy to buy what
wares he had to offer and offered to
come along as an interpreter. Phelps
would sell them food and tobacco
in exchange for tallow to sell back
home. And so two English merchant
vessels set off for Iceland, with which
they were technically at war.
The Dane Frederich Christopher,
Count of Trampe, governed the colo-
ny and turned the English away. Fam-
ine or not, Icelanders were still for-
bidden to trade with foreigners. But
the English soon returned – this time
they weren’t open to debate. The
Count was seized and interned on
their ship while the locals looked on
in puzzlement. Englishman Phelps
could not officially seize the country
without permission from His Majes-
ty’s Government. It was therefore up
to his interpreter to take charge.
REVOLUTIONARY ICELAND
Inspired by the French Revolution,
Jörgensen decided to declare a
republic, making himself its master
and commander. Houses were
searched for firearms to be req-
uisitioned and a republican guard
was formed consisting of a dozen
or so previously disadvantaged
Reykvíkians, including some re-
leased from prison. Uniforms were
sewn, the prison house turned into
a barracks and a small fortress was
constructed on the coast, defended
by six Danish cannon discovered in
storage and probably intended to
be used against Turkish raiders 200
years earlier.
Many found work for the revolution-
ary government, paid for out of the
heretofore royal Danish coffers and
foodstuffs were transported from
better-off areas to where they were
most needed. Most local dignitaries
continued on in their posts, with little
opposition to the new regime. The
first Icelandic flag was raised, dis-
playing three codfish on a blue field
and it was proclaimed that elections
would be held a year hence. Until a
popularly elected government took
office, Jörgensen would continue in
his role as Lord Protector. Perhaps
the greatest novelty in what amount-
ed to the country’s first constitution
was that everyone would have the
right to vote, irrespective of stand-
ing, which was going farther than
most revolutionaries at the time
would consider.
But as suddenly as the revolution
began, it was over. Perhaps it was
surprising that no resistance was
offered when foreign ships arrived.
The fortress did not fire a shot, nor
did the revolutionary guard, and
Jörgensen was busy holding a ball
where he attempted to bring both
royal and revolutionary dignitaries
together.
Even more surprising was who de-
posed the Lord Protector. It turned
out to be neither the Danish recon-
quering their lost territory nor Ice-
landic landowners worrying about
their privileges. Rather it was Phelps’
countrymen, the British, coming to
the aid of an enemy kingdom. Count
Trampe and Jörgensen were brought
to England as prisoners, as both
were seen as detrimental to English
interests. Meanwhile, judge Magnús
Stephensen made himself governor
of Iceland in the name of the Danish
king, but without his appointment.
Jörgensen now found himself a
prisoner of England for the second
time in as many years, but his ad-
ven tures were far from over. He
supposedly witnessed the battle of
Waterloo from the safety of a nearby
tree while serving as a British spy
before being imprisoned again for
gambling debts. This time he was
shipped to Australia, where he would
become a constable upon
his release before eventually dying
in Tasmania.
But what if Jörgensen would have
fought the British and tried to rally
the residents? In all likelihood, six
old Danish cannon and a 12-man
army would not have held off two
Royal Navy vessels, unless by some
miracle the British would have de-
cided this was not worth the effort
in order to give the country back to
the Danes.
Even if we imagine Jörgensen hold-
ing out, by the end of the war in 1814
the English would have made sure
the country was returned to Danish
hands. Britain would not have fought
republicanism on the mainland for
the best part of a quarter century
only to see it pop up in Iceland. This
might have created a dangerous
precedent. So an independent Ice-
land in 1809 was unlikely. But anoth-
er opportunity presented itself.
BRITISH ICELAND
Sir Joseph Banks of the Royal Acad-
emy in London, who had previously
visited Iceland and had an affinity for
the place, managed to have Iceland,
Greenland and the Faroes excluded
from the British naval blockade in
1810, thereby likely averting famine.
By the end of the Napoleonic Wars,
it was clear that Iceland, though still
ruled from Copenhagen, had irrevo-
cably moved into the British sphere
of influence. Why wasn't it incorpo-
rated fully as the British Empire was
expanding again after the loss of its
American colonies?
The idea had surfaced in 1785 when
it was suggested that Iceland be-
come a British penal colony. Per-
haps sentencing convicts to Iceland
was deemed too harsh a punish-
ment, and in any case the idea was
impracticable since Britain was not
at war with Denmark at the time.
When war did break out in 1807,
an nexing Iceland was put back on
the table. This was egged on by
Sir Joseph Banks who complained
about Danish misrule and thought
that Icelanders could develop as a
people under English guidance, as
well as provide resources such as
sulphur and fish to the empire.
What if this had taken place? Instead
of moaning about Danish historical
injustices, Iceland patriots would
have had to take a greater interest
in current affairs. The 19th century
would have been an era of progress
as would turn out to be the case,
but perhaps even more so as the
in dus trial revolution was centred on
Britain. Nevertheless, as the century
wore on, many in Iceland would have
begun to clamour for independence.
But the tone would have been differ-
ent. Instead of emphasising how the
Sagas had preserved Nordic histo-
ry in order to garner respect from
the larger Scandinavian countries,
connections with Saxon and Viking
England would be held up as exam-
ples of past glories. British scholars
would have shown a mild interest
in the Icelandic Sagas, but perhaps
more as works of noble savages
than common ancestors.
Whether the English would have
done much to improve matters,
as Sir Joseph Banks anticipated,
is open to debate. In the optimis-
tic scenario, English capital would
have flooded in, fishing boats been
acquired, fish factories established
and fishing turned into a major in-
dustry, enabling the country to rise
from desperate poverty much soon-
er. Young Icelanders would have
aspired to go to Oxford and Cam-
bridge to study and a railway might
even have been built – which we still
haven’t gotten around to.
Or perhaps, more likely, the fish
would have been gobbled up by
British boats and processed in
home ports, as was to be the case
until the Cod Wars of the later 20th
century put an end to it. A British
naval base would have been estab-
lished to ward off attention from the
Germans and the French. Perhaps
this would have continued operating
in the later half of the 20th century,
leading to a different outcome in
those fishing disputes.
The Danes agreed to home rule
in 1904 and Iceland became sov-
ereign in 1918 without much fuss.
Ireland had to fight harder for their
independence and perhaps Lon-
don would not want an Icelandic
example of self-rule to egg them on.
Things would have taken longer in
this scenario and perhaps Iceland
could have become independent in
the interwar era but remain under
the British crown, like Australia,
New Zealand or Canada. Maybe we
would have celebrated a new king
this year. Or perhaps the idea of a
republic would surface again…
Are you enjoying Valur Gunnarsson’s
reimagining of historical events?
Then you’ll love his new book, with
each chapter offering an expanded
in-depth exploration of how Iceland
could be different today if only key
historical happenings hadn’t played
out the way they did.
What If Vikings Had Conquered the
World? And Other Questions of
Icelandic and Nordic History is out
June 1 through Salka Publishing. Pre-
order your copy at shop.grapevine.is
starting May 19.
And check out the Grapevine’s Alter-
native History Of Iceland podcast for
more hypothetical hijinks.
Alternate Reality What If Iceland Had Joined The
British Empire?
Another alternative history thought exercise to wrap your mind around
The fortress did not fire a shot,
nor did the revolutionary guard,
and Jörgensen was busy hold-
ing a ball where he attempted
to bring both royal and revolu-
tionary dignitaries together.
British scholars would have
shown a mild interest in the
Icelandic Sagas, but perhaps
more as works of noble sav-
ages than common ancestors.