List of possessions of Norway

This is a list of territorial possessions of Norway.

Current possessions

Norwegian kingdom and its current possessions

Integral overseas areas of Norway, although unincorporated:

• Svalbard including Bear Island, possessions since 1920.
• Jan Mayen, possessions since 1929.

These areas are grouped for some categorization purposes as Svalbard and Jan Mayen.
Subjected to the provisions of the Svalbard Treaty.

Current dependencies of Norway are all in the southern polar region:

• Peter I Island, in Antarctica, possessions since 1929.
• Bouvet Island, in Sub-Antarctic, possessions since 1930.
• Queen Maud Land, in Antarctica, possessions since 1933.

Former kingdoms, dependencies and homelands

See also: Norwegian Empire

First fase: Norse kingdoms outside Scandinavia

Norwegian kingdom at its greatest extent, ab 1265.

See also: Norse-Gaels

• Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, kingdom from 800s to 1200s.
• Kingdom of Dublin, kingdom from 839 to 1170.
• Earldom of Orkney, earldom from 875 to 1100s.
• Duchy of Normandy, duchy ruled by Danes and Norwegians from 911 to 1259.
• Kingdom of York, kingdom ruled first by Danes and last by Norwegians from 876 to 954.
• Kingdom of Northumbria, kingdom in the south from 914 to 954.
• Republic of Iceland, state from 930 to 1262.

Second fase: Dependencies ceded to Scotland

Norwegian Empire with homeland, dependencies and possessions.

• Caithness, Norway has recognized Caithness as fully Scottish since the Treaty of Perth in 1266.
• Hebrides, colonized from 700s to 1100s, part of earldom, crown dependencies from 1100s to 1266.
• Man, colonized from 850s to 1152, part of earldom, crown dependencies from 1152 to 1266.

See also: Treaty of Perth

• Orkney, colonized from 800s to 875, earldom from 875 to 1100s, crown dependencies from 1100s to 1469.
• Shetland, colonized from 700s to 900s, earldom from 900s to 1195, crown dependencies from 1195 to 1469.

Third fase: Norwegian homelands ceded to Sweden

• Bohuslän, integrated from 800s to 1523, again from 1532 to 1658, lost since the Treaty of Roskilde.
• Idre & Särna, integrated from ??? to 1645, formally ceded in 1751, lost since the Second Treaty of Brömsebro.
• Jämtland, integrated from 1100s to 1645, lost since the Second Treaty of Brömsebro.
• Härjedalen, integrated from 1200s to 1563, again from 1570 to 1645, lost since the Second Treaty of Brömsebro.

Short ruled Danish-Swedish homelands

Norwegian kingdom at its homeland, pre 1645.

• Kungsbacka, Varberg & Falkenberg, historical Northern Halland, part of the kingdom from 1287 to 1305.

Short ruled Swedish homelands

• Västergötland, Dalsland & Värmland, part of the kingdom from 1374 to 1380.

Fourth fase: Dependencies ceded to Denmark

• Faroe Islands, settled and colonized pre 1035 and crown dependencies from 1035 to 1814.
• Greenland, colonized pre 1261 and crown dependencies from 1261 to 1814.
• Iceland, settled and colonized pre 1262 and crown dependencies from 1262 to 1814.

Ceding era dispute

The actual time for the ceding of the islands is somewhat disputed. Denmark claims it took place with the Union of Denmark and Norway in 1536, as the possessions of the Norwegian crown were claimed by the Danish king. Nevertheless, they were still referred to as "dependencies of Norway" in later official documents. Also the Treaty of Kiel states: "...and provinces, constituting the kingdom of Norway, [..], together with their dependencies (Greenland, the Faroe Isles, and Iceland, excepted); [...] shall belong in full and sovereign property to the King of Sweden,...", clearly indicating that they were until 1814 regarded as a part of Norway.

Fifth fase: Contested overseas possessions and claims in the Arctic

• German East Africa, now part of Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda.

Baron Fritz Wedel Jarlsberg, Norwegian ambassador to Paris, enjoyed a high level of popularity and influence in the French capital. Through diplomacy, he had originally intended for The Treaty of Versailles to have Germany cede German East Africa to Norway in 1919 for the loss of men and ships in WWI during which Norway had declared itself neutral. The liberal political party Venstre which was elected for government in Norway, opposed the conservative view on colonization and denied the offer which Jarlsberg had successfully secured in France.

• Fridtjof Nansen Land, now part of Russia, rejected as a claim of Soviet Union in 1926 and hold as a diplomatic claim of the islands to around 1929.

• Sverdrup Islands, now part of Canada, proclamation from 1928 and recognized by Norway as Canadian sovereignty in 1930.

• Erik the Red's Land, northeast coast of Greenland, proclamation from 1931 and awarded to Denmark in 1933.

• Inari and Petsamo, now part of Finland and Russia, claimed from Finland about 1942 to 1945 by Quisling's illegitimate puppet regime during the Nazi occupation of Norway.
• Murmansk and Arkhangelsk as Bjarmland, now part of Russia, claimed from the Soviet Union about 1942 to 1945 by the Quisling regime.

See also: Quisling regime § Territorial claims

See also

• Norgesveldet for more detailed information on Norway's former possessions
• Norse colonization of the Americas
• Danish colonial empire for Dano–Norwegian colonies
• Dependencies of Norway
• Irredentism