History

Early history

In geological terms, Iceland is a young island.
It started to form about 20 million years ago from a series of volcanic eruptions on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The Iceland hotspot is likely partly responsible for the island's creation and continued existence.Iceland remained for a long time one of the world's last larger islands uninhabited by humans.

 It has been suggested that the land called Thule by the Greek merchant Pytheas was actually Iceland, although it seems highly unlikely considering Pytheas' description of it as an agricultural country with plenty of milk, honey, and fruit.

The exact date that humans first reached the island is uncertain. Ancient Roman coins dating to the 3rd century have been found in Iceland, but it is unknown whether they were brought there at that time, or came later with Viking settlers, having circulated as currency already for centuries.There is some literary evidence that Irish monks had settled in Iceland before the arrival of the Norse.

However, there is no archaeological evidence to support such settlement. The 12th-century scholar Ari Þorgilsson wrote in his book, Íslendingabók, that small bells, corresponding to those used by Irish monks, were found by the settlers. No such artifacts have been discovered by archaeologists, however.Some Icelanders claimed descent from Kjarvalr Írakonungr at the time of the Landnámabók's creation.Source: Wikipedia.

First settler

The first permanent settler in Iceland is usually considered to have been a Norwegian chieftain namedIngólfur Arnarson. According to the story, he threw two carved pillars overboard as he neared land, vowing to settle wherever they landed. He then sailed along the coast until the pillars were found in the southwestern peninsula, now known as Reykjanesskagi. There he settled with his family around 874, in a place he named Reykjavík (Bay of Smokes) due to the geothermal steam rising from the earth. This very place would eventually become the capital and the largest city of modern Iceland. It is recognized, however, that Ingólfur Arnarson may not have been the first one to settle permanently in Iceland — that may have been Náttfari, a slave of Garðar Svavarsson who stayed behind when his r retukjavík around 870.

Settlement

Ingólfur was followed by many more Norse chieftains, their families and slaves who settled all the inhabitable areas of the island in the next decades.
These people were primarily of Norwegian,Irish and Scottish origin, the Irish and Scots being mainly slaves and servants of the Norse chiefs according to the Icelandic sagas and Landnámabók and other documents.
A common explanation for this exodus from Norway is that people were fleeing the harsh rule of the Norwegian kingHaraldur Harfagri (Harald the Fair-haired), who is believed to have been uniting some parts of modern Norway during the period. It is also believed that the western fjords of Norway were simply overcrowded in this period.The settlement of Iceland is thoroughly recorded in the aforementionedLandnámabók, although it should be remembered that the book was compiled in the early 12th century when at least 200 years had passed from the age of settlement. Ari Þorgilsson'sÍslendingabók is generally considered more reliable as a source and is probably somewhat older, but it is far less thorough. It does say that Iceland was fully settled within 60 years, which likely means that all territory had been claimed by various settlers.

Little Ice Age 

Around the time Iceland became a vassal state of Norway, a climate shift occurred—a phenomenon now called the Little Ice Age. Areas near the Arctic Circle such as Iceland and Greenland began to have shorter growing seasons and colder winters. Since Iceland had marginal farmland in good times, the climate change resulted in hardship for population. It became more difficult to raise barley, the primary cereal crop, and livestock required additional fodder to survive longer and colder winters. Icelanders began to trade for grain from continental Europe — an expensive proposition. Fortunately, Church fast days increased demand for dried codfish, which was easily caught and prepared for export, and cod trade became an important part of the economy.

 

a "Viking"  boat 

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