Talk:Faroe Islands

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My feeling is that it's not appropriate to have the msg:Europe box on here, when the Faroes aren't listed in that box. What does anyone else think?--ALargeElk 13:50, 21 May 2004 (UTC)

They are listed in that box in my browser. I have removed msg:amt because the faroe islands is not a countie of denmark.--Spik_dk 10:12, 28 May 2004 (UTC+1)

Contents

[edit] The governing of the Faroe Islands prior to 1948

I have updated the main article to include more information on the relationship between the Faroe Islands and Denmark, particularly the governing of Faroe Islands prior to 1948, including bits on the referendum on Sep. 14 1946. The previous version did not include much information on this. I have tried my best to keep this NPOV. --Mecil 06:48, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Dependency?

Are the Faroe Islands a Danish dependency? If the islands are a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, how can they be regarded as a dependendy which have to be bodies formally not a part of the motherland? Jakro64 16:33, 3 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Hm, maybe my English is to worse, so I don't know the exact meaning of a "dependency", but the Faroes are one of te three countries within the Danish Kingdom: Denmark, Greenland and the Faroes. Denmark is not the "motherland" of the Faroes, for the Faroese are no Danes, but form an own nation. Ofcourse there are about 5% Danish speaking people living in the Faroes, and ofcourse, the Faroese learn Danish up from the 3rd class as second language... However, the Faroes are NOT a colony of Denmark (eventhough some nationalists and people from abroad think so), but a European and Scandinavian nation. They are just not fully souvereign and no republic, for ca. 50 % of the Faroese don't want it. If they would want it, Denmark will not stop them in building an own state with full souvereignity. But before this happens (a majority for this way), I guess, they'd to explore their oil and/or merge with Iceland and Greenland. (But this is my private oppinion). Arne List 14:36, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC)
The Faroes are not a danish dependency. The Faroes are not and have never been incorporated properly into the danish kingdom altough many people think they have. The danish constitution has never been properly established as the constitution of Faroe. It would be more precise to say that the Faroes are crown possession like Isle of Man. But the fact is that the Faroes are not an internationally recognized state, so to the international community they are part of the danish state, although this is not reality. The Home Rule act of 1948 is by some experts regarded as a treaty between two independent states with one king and some political cooperation. The first words in the Home Rule Act are, my translation:"The Faroes are an independent nation within the danish kingdom accordig to this law". Meaning two independent nations or states with one king. But only one is internationally recognized. You might call the Faroes a pre-state, a word used about countries on the brink of becoming fully independent. --JJ-Hammer 16:07, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC)

The Faroe Islands are a part of the Kingdom of Denmark. They aren't a dependency, but rather are a self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark (since 1948). Before this I believe that they were indeed a dependency/colony? The official governing constitution is the Danish constitution of 5 June 1953.

I think you are confusing the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. The three communites had different relations to metropolitan Denmark.
Iceland: From 1918-1944 Iceland was a kingdom in union with the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1944 Iceland declared itself an independent republic and remains so to this day with no connection to Denmark.
Faroe Islands: Before 1948 the Faroe Islands were governed as a "normal" Danish county ("Amt") and were an integrated province of the Kingdom of Denmark. An example of this status can be seen in the fact that in 1940, following the German occupation of Denmark, the local administration on the Faroe Islands had all bank notes used on the islands stamped with the words "Færø Amt" to distinguish them from the currency of occupied Denmark. In 1948, the Faroe Islands were granted extensive home rule and still enjoy these rights. The Faroe Islands use this own bank notes issued by the National Bank of Denmark (but uses Danish coins.) The notes are in fact the standard Danish notes with a different print, and are officially considered to be standard Danish bank notes (although few Danes realise this.) Faroese bank notes can be exchanged 1:1 to standard Danish bank notes in Danish banks.
Greenland: Before 1953, Greenland was considered to be a colony of Denmark. In 1953 it was annexed to Denmark proper and became an integrated part of Denmark. In 1979, home rule was introduced in Greenland, with the home rule enjoyed by the Faroe Islands as inspiration. Greenland uses both Danish coins and bank notes. Unless specifically stated, laws passed by the Danish parliament the Folketing do not apply to the Faroe Islands and Greenland. I hope this clears things up. --Valentinian 29 June 2005 01:04 (UTC)
Thats very interesting, and sounds very similar to the policital arrangements in the United Kingdom (Iceland-Denmark relationship is similar to Scotland-England and previously Ireland-England). Is there a name for this type of political arrangement? Its quite different from federalism or the French and Portugese system (Where many colonies such as French Guiana or (previously) Brazil were considered completely part of the home nation). I recently read a book which touched on the brief federalist movement in Britian in the 1920's (It was proposed to reform the UK into a proper federation, with regional parliaments, as a solution to Irish demands for independence. These ideas are sometimes mentioned today in relation to the new Scottish and Welch assemblies) Was there any such movement in Denmark? Seabhcán 29 June 2005 12:49 (UTC)


I agree there are similarities, but the Danish construction is very different from a federal state. Iceland was granted independence (in union with Denmark) in 1918 following years and years of Danish neglect of the island and increasing demands for home rule or outright independence (the results somewhat resembled the Irish Free State.) The arrangement was never a success, and Iceland didn't have an independent foreign policy. It was conducted by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen, and was, in reality, little more than promoting the interests of Icelandic fish exports and replacing the line "the King of Denmark" with "the King of Denmark and Iceland".

Home rule for the Faroe Islands was introduced in 1948 as a response to increased calls for independence there as well (though several Danish politicians opposed this, fearing the dissolution of the nation. Ultimately, they decided to consider home rule to be a lesser evil than outright Faroese independence.) Besides, the separation from Denmark proper during World War II had clearly proven that the Faroese people were capable of managing more of its own affairs than had previously been believed in Denmark. When similar wishes were expressed by Greenland in the 1970s, the issue had become less controversial and home rule was accepted by the leading political parties in Denmark.

But back to your questions (I use the Danish terms.) 1) The present construction is known as Rigsfællesskabet (literally, the Community of the Realm) and is virtually synonomous with Det Danske Rige (The Danish Realm, thus avoiding the name "Denmark".) Det Danske Rige is ruled by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II (her title Danmarks Dronning - literally Denmark's Queen is, however, considered to comprise all three territories / nations / countries depending on your point-of-view.) Internationally speaking, the word "Denmark" is usually used both regarding the territory of Denmark proper as well as the entire realm/kingdom, although several Greenlanders and Faroese resent this. It is, however, rather understandable given that the Realm comprises 5,4 million Danes, 48,000 Faroese, and 56,000 Greenlanders. An example of the relations of the three nations is the fact that Danish law allocates the Faroe Islands and Greenland two seats each in the Danish Parliament Folketinget. On the other hand, Denmark is not represented in neither the Faroese Lagting nor the Greenlandic Landsting (again, I use the Danish names).

When it comes to internal affairs, Greenland and the Faroe Islands are in effect independent nations, and Danish politicians accept this. What separates them from independent nations are two restrictions: 1) They both receive financial aid from Denmark and 2) They don't run an independent foreign policy. Recent developments indicate that the Faroe Islands and Greenland will be granted greater influence on matters regarding their own affairs, but according to the law, the final say ultimately lies in Copenhagen (in reality, Danish politicians will go to very great lengths to avoid overruling Greenland or the Faroe Islands.) If either the Faroe Islands or Greenland demand to conduct a completely independent foreign policy it will most likely mean the death of the Rigsfællesskab. Several Greenlandic and Faroese politicians have called for independence while expecting the territories to continue receiving substantial financial support from Denmark following independence (some suggesting a transition period of 25 years). This demand is refused by the vast majority of both Danes and Danish politicians. Greenlandic and Faroese politicians generally say that they wish to keep the Queen in case the two nations become independent, but many Danes consider this to be a contradiction in terms (independence = republic; the ultimate Icelandic solution.) It should also be noted that the Constitution of Denmark is not very keen on the King ruling other countries.

2) The independence granted to Iceland in 1918 was not an attempt to create a federation but more resembles the British experiment with "devolution" (in Denmark we'd probably say that the real issue was "trying keep the bits together"). There was never any talk of creating a new assembly like a senate with equal representation for the different nations, since it would mean that the three (or two) North Atlantic nations could outvote Denmark and make Danes pay through the nose. It would also be grossly unfair towards Denmark proper since Danes comprise the vast majority of the population of the Kingdom (pre-war figures including Iceland would be 94% Danes; 2005 figures excluding Iceland would be 98% Danes). Besides, before 1953 Denmark had a two-chamber parliament. The former upper house Landstinget (originally representing the Danish provinces) and the lower house Folketinget elected by proportional vote. This was considered to be a problematic construction and a third federal chamber would have made the situation even worse. --Valentinian 00:04, 22 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Faroe or Faroe Islands?

Because some people love to use the imperialistic and incorrect Faroe Islands instead of the more accurate Faroe or Faroes, two geographical articles have been created for the same country.

I think that it would be apropriate to decide which one is to be used. I prefer Faroe og Faroes, no matter which. This because islands means excatly the same as oe in Faroe.

Also I think that a should be use instead of ae i.e. Faroe and not Faeroe, because it is the one used by faroese. Also this is english. The correct way to spell it would be Færøe, but no one seems to be doing that. And no one would know how to pronounce it anyway.

It seems to me that this issue must be resolved. --JJ-Hammer 19:08, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Jogvanj, the full and official name (in English) is the Faroe Islands. In Faroese the name is Føroyar, where oyar is the part that means islands. I think that it is legitimate to refer to the islands officially as the Faroe Islands, which is their official name in English. Colloquially they are called the Faroes. This isn't uncommon, for example in English the name for Deutschland is Germany. Or the Netherlands (Nederland in Dutch) is often called Holland. Quirks of history, yes, but I think that we ought to use the official English name here in the English Wikipedia.

Actually, Faroe Islands is the official name in English, but however redundant, as explained above, cause oe (from Danish ø - Færø) already means island. For the same reason, we talk about the Orkneys, which have the same norse origin. The plural form Faroes should be the one, used within all the texts (because of better style), while the name of the article(s) have to be Faroe Islands due to the official name, we cannot ignore. The singular form Faroe makes only sense in compositions like Faroemen (while Faroese is the official word for both the people and the language), Faroe boat, Faroe run (ships on Faroe run), Faroe cap (part of the male costume), and so on. This corresponds with the Danish terminology like færøbåd, færøfart, færøhue... or as I use it in German: Färöboot, Färöfahrt, Färömütze.
By the way: If i could invent an English term (now I come centuries too late): Fareys, just because the first name on a map (the Hereford map) was farei (celtic) and we know the Orkneys as well. This would underline the same roots... :-) Arne List 14:40, 15 May 2005 (UTC)
Exactly. One should be careful trying to adapt another language to English on the grounds of political correctness or well-intentioned respect. The name of the Orkney Islands also contains a pleonasm in that the last two letters in the first word, ey, has the same etymological meaning as the last word: Island. So, when an English speaker says "the Orkneys" instead of the full formal name found in maps and official documents, it's because that is the colloquial shortform. Compare "the Rockies" and "the Rocky Mountains" (or possibly even "the Aegean" and "the Aegean Sea"). See also talkpages on the names of East Timor, Côte d'Ivoire and Myanmar for further discussion. --Big Adamsky 13:16, 16 November 2005 (UTC)
If this discussion is still live in any way, you might like to see the recent debate and renaming of the article Orkney Islands. Abtract 20:04, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sheep Islands?

A good old discussion is about the meaning of Faroes. Is it really "sheep islands"? I have my doubts, and don't feel me anlone with that. There are linguists saying, it could also mean "far (away) islands". Ofcourse, the Old Norse word fær means "(woolen) lifestock" and the Faroes are full of sheep since the very first days, but as mentioned in the section above, the Hereford map mentioned them as farei an this is celtic for "far away islands". This fits to the islands also very well, cause the are far away, so far away, that they are the last place in Europe, which was detected before finally Iceland. I think, both meanings should be explained and not always and only the popular one, each other copies from each other popular description. ;-) Arne List 14:54, 15 May 2005 (UTC)

I also have doubts about the (Føroyar, meaning "Sheep Islands") ethimology. It's more likely that the name comes from Faerie, which is linked with "far away", of course. Erdelyiek 13:47, 22 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Infobox_Country

Føroyar
Flag of Faroe Islands Image:Faroe Coat of Arms 4.png
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: ?
Anthem: Tú alfagra land mítt
(My land, oh most beauteous)
Location of Faroe Islands
Capital
(and largest city)		 Tórshavn
62°00′N 06°47′W
Official languages Faroese
Government Democratic
Monarch
Prime Minister		 Margrethe II
Jóannes Eidesgaard
Area
 - Total 1,399 km² (189th)
{{{areami²}}} sq mi 
 - Water (%) 0.5
Population
 - 2004 estimate 48,228 (211th)
 - ? census  ?
 - Density 33.1/km² (138th)
{{{population_densitymi²}}}/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 1996 estimate
 - Total $700 million (?)
 - Per capita $16,000 (?)
Currency Faroese króna2 (DKK)
Time zone WET (UTC+0)
 - Summer (DST) EST (UTC+1)
Internet TLD .fo
Calling code +298
1Danish dependency. Self governing since 1948.
2Same value as Danish krone

I was thinking about inserting a Infobox_Country for the Faroe islands, but before it can be done there are a couple of question marks that need to be filled out first. Feel free to edit the infobox, when all the question marks have been replaced it can replace the table on Faroe Islands. ℚuackor 19:52, 30 May 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Postal History

Could there be an article created on Faroese Postal History? I am a keen stamp collector of the Faroe Islands, and could probably put together an article off the top of my head and with some help from the Postverk Føroya magazine.

I would have no idea where to put it though, so if people approve, where would it go? Sean Wood 16:16, 13 November 2005

[edit] Faroe or Faröe?

What's its name in English? Or both are correct? — Instantnood 19:18, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

Faröe is probably incorrect in English. The name is Føroyar in Faroese and Færøerne in Danish, so it wouldn't be logical to introduce the letter "ö" in the English name, for it does not lead to pronouncing the "o" like Danish "ø". It's different in German where the umlauts ä and ö in "Färöer" help achieve a pronunciation similar to "Færøerne". In English, the trema in "ö" does not mark an umlaut, it would rather signify a diaeresis. Keeping the original umlauts in a name like Zürich in English is a different thing. But since the "ö" in "Faröe" is neither the original spelling nor does any good for pronunciation in English, using this spelling would be rather silly in my opinion. Gestumblindi 01:54, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Faroe Islands and the cartoon crisis?

Because the Faroe Islands are part of Denmark, I wonder, how was Faroe Islands affected by the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy? Were there any specific threats from muslim extremists against, for instance, the Faroese fishing industry? Is faroese cod or wool boycotted by Saudi Arabia for example? Cyrruss 14:45, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

Not that i know of. ℚuackor 10:52, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Transportation section needs to be updated

In light of this new advancement: http://www.jp.dk/english_news/artikel:aid=3705010/ I'm not sure what islands and such they are talking about in this section that are currently connected so I can't update this section to mention the new tunnel. Daniel 13:49, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Look at Norðoyatunnilin. ℚuackor 12:31, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Demographics

Could somebody please provide some historical information about the Faroese being of Celtic descent? Enzedbrit 05:36, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] External links

Wikipedia is not a link repository or travelguide, so per WP:EL I think it makes sense to first discuss links someone wishes to add to this article. User:212.55.60.242 recently added these:

Do they make sense on the top level Faroes article, if they are suitable then surely it is on a sub-article... The article for the institution in question or the likes of Culture of the Faroe Islands, Geography of the Faroe Islands, etc /wangi 11:56, 13 June 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Vandalism?

Is the edits by 86.141.193.186 vandalism or is it fact? The only other edit that was made by that IP address was obvious vandalism. Dark jedi requiem 23:34, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] origin of the islands?

How about something on the geologic origin of the Faroes? They're in a strange position in the middle of the ocean, with no volcanoes (that anyone's mentioned). KarlM 06:27, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

I have made a Geology of the Faroe Islands stub article now. ℚuackor 22:57, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Education

Shouldn´t there be a section or an article conserning education in the Faroe Islands ? --Nua2 09:46, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Irish monks

Very little historical evidence indicates that Irish monks have ever settled in the Faroe Islands. In fact, the only source to the claim was written by Dicuil, and he only mentions some islands to the north. In fact, there is new historical research (by Arne Thorsteinsson) which proves that he never wrote about the Faroes, but instead at some point in time (I can’t remember when at the moment) someone made an error while making a transcript of Dicuil´s writings.--Nua2 10:19, 6 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Question to Faroese people

I've read here pretty much about Faroe Islands, and I liked them very much, they sort of look "magical" as a bunch of pictures showed places surrounded by fogs.

However, isnt it a bit boring to live there? Or do you enjoy the quieter life? I'd certainly like to visit the islands one day but I can't imagine a person like me living there.

Cheers

The Faroe Islands are almost exactly like everywhere else. When a German traveller who visited the Faroe Islands in 1913 noticed some modern changes on the islands he wrote: "Und so wird diser typhische Menchenschlag dem Anthropologen ebenso uinteressand werden wie wir ubrigen Europaer".

Down South, in Denmark, there are plenty of jokes indicating that the Faroe Islands are an extremely boring place to live in, however, I always fail to see the point. I hope that answers your question.Nua2 21:54, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

It does! The day I buy a sail boat, the first place to visit will be the islands. Congratulations for such a lovely place, and thank you very much for such a kind answer Mr. Nua2.

[edit] Can someone change the spelling of "defence" in the first paragraph to "defense?"

Can someone change the spelling of "defence" in the first paragraph to "defense?"

-- What on earth for? Have you read the guidelines on US/UK spelling. This is an article about a European country, and whoever started it used UK spellings. It should not be changed without good reason. Rat 01:44, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mis-translation?

The following sentence in the demographics section In the 20th Century Faroese became the host language; Danish only has the character of a traffic language. makes no sense in English. Can anyone improve it or explain it here?--JBellis 22:29, 7 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Minor edits

Just did a couple of minor edits, most of the English here is top-class but there are a few bits that could be rephrased, have done my best. Ghostreveries 17:14, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

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