Helgoland og Norðurhavsoyggjar / Heligoland and the Norwegian Islands in the North Atlantic

Abstract

Úrtak: Í 1814 kom friður í lag Stórabretlands, Svøríkis og Danmarkar millum. Stórabretland fekk frá Danmørk oynna Helgoland. Svøríki læt Danmørk svenska Pommern og Rügen móti at fáa Noreg, men í evstu stund var friðarsáttmálin broyttur, so norsku oyggjarnar í Norðurhøvum, Grønland, Føroyar og Ísland, ikki fylgdu við Noregi. Skjalatilfarið sigur lítið um, hví hetta hendi, men settar eru fram ymsar tilgitingar. Her verður tann tilgiting førd fram, at tað kann vera bretska kravið um Helgoland, sum hevur fingið Karl Johan at sleppa Norðurhavsoyggjum fyri at fáa friðin í lag beinanvegin. Á tann hátt slapp hann undan illstøðu við sameindu sínar, serliga bretar, sum vóru misnøgdir við, at hann hevði tikið seg burtur úr bardaganum ímóti Napoleon fyri at vinna Noreg.Abstract: The peace treaties of Kiel in 1814 between Denmark and the United Kingdom, and Denmark and Sweden ceded the island of Heligoland (Helgoland) to the UK and Norway to Sweden. In return for Norway, Denmark was given Pomerania and Rugen, the Swedish provinces in Germany. At the last moment, the treaty between Denmark and Sweden was changed, so the Norwegian islands in the North Atlantic, Greenland, Faroe and Iceland, should not be ceded to Sweden with Norway. The sources are rather silent on the reasons for this change. Different hypotheses have been put forward. Here the hypothesis is launched, that it is possible that the British demand for the island of Heligoland caused the Swedish crown prince and commander-in-chief Karl Johan relinquish on the islands in the North Atlantic in order to get the peace treaties signed at once so that he could prevent a conflict with his allies, especially the British, who were rather upset because he had pursued his own war aims instead of following the allies in their westward thrust in order to topple the reign of the emperor Napoleon.