Abstract
The history of Spitsbergen/Svalbard has been characterized by a combination of masculine heroism and continuous struggle for the natural resources at the islands. In the beginning, from the 16th century, it was an international struggle for the harvesting of the whale and walrus; its value was so great that international conflicts led to the development of such doctrines as mare clausum and mare liberum ininternational law. The competition for the utilization of the coal resources led the Americans near annexation during the first decade of the 20th century before Norway received sovereignty over the islands after the first world war and the services of the Norwegian merchant fleet during that war. After the cold war the oil deposits in the Barents Sea might trigger another period of resource struggle at the islands and the oceans around them.
Highlights
Samtidig inneholdt den visse begrensninger på den norske suvereniteten; i denne sammenhengen er det nok å nevne at adgangen til å nyttiggjøre seg ressursene der nord i framtiden, som hittil, skulle være internasjonal (i hvert fall for borgerne av de maktene som tiltrådte traktaten)
E-post: roald.berg@uis.no, Summary The history of Spitsbergen/Svalbard has been characterized by a combination of masculine heroism and continuous struggle for the natural resources at the islands
From the 16th century, it was an international struggle for the harvesting of the whale and walrus; its value was so great that international conflicts led to the development of such doctrines as mare clausum and mare liberum in international law
Summary
Derfor var han og den norske regjering lettet over at russerne sa nei da spørsmålet om å forandre Spitsbergens folkerettslige status ble reist i diplomatiske former; den beskjeden er kjent som det russiske ”veto” mot norsk suverenitetsutvidelse. Svein Ivar Angell har vist hvordan tidstypiske tanker om en norsk imperialisme – inspirert av de europeiske stormaktenes programmatiske kamp om nye markeder og nye kolonier for sine varer og for sine borgere – var med på å prege det spørsmålet som til slutt underminerte den norsk-svenske unionen, nemlig konsulatspørsmålet (Angell, 2009).
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