New Iceland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New Iceland (Icelandic: Nýja Ísland listen ) is an area where Icelanders settled in the 19th century. The area as it is today is in Manitoba, Canada. The Icelandic heritage still can be found easily in this area.
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[edit] Background
Due to harsh environmental and economic conditions in Iceland, for example volcanic eruptions, a considerable number of Icelanders left their homeland during the 19th century. Eventually, the main group of Icelandic settlers migrating from Ontario to Manitoba left Kinmount on September 25, 1875. One of the main reasons for the choice of Lake Winnipeg as the colony site was “the abundance of fish,” but according to the Icelandic people in Manitoba, “their first attempts at fishing on Lake Winnipeg were not successful.” For this reason, many Icelanders in their first years were hungry; moreover, their first “winter of 1875–1876 was one of the coldest on record in Manitoba, and the settlers’ clothes, including the leather shoes from Ontario, were not suitable for the rigorous weather.” However, immigrants eventually learned to handle the axe, how to prepare the soil, fish through ice and hunt game. They learned how to dry the land, build better houses, etc. They, the people from Iceland (or Vestur-Íslendingar, which means Western Icelanders in the Icelandic language) called their habitation New Iceland, and the region is the center of Icelandic heritage in Canada today.
[edit] Other information
- According to Statistics Canada, Manitoba is home to the largest Icelandic population outside of Iceland.[1] There are about 26,000 people with Icelandic ancestry living in Manitoba,[2] making up about 2% of the total population of Manitoba. About 35% of the Icelandic Canadian population lives in Manitoba.[3]
- Currently many ethnic festivals related to New Iceland, such as Íslendingadagurinn, are held in these areas, and also Lögberg-Heimksringla is printed in Winnipeg.
- In the University of Manitoba, there is an Icelandic Department, and students can learn the Icelandic language and literature there.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
[edit] Bibliography
- Angrímsson Guðjón (1997), Nýja Ísland: Saga of the journey to New Iceland ISBN 978-0888012555
- Arnason David (1994), The new Icelanders: A North American community ISBN 0888011865
- Kristin Olafson-Jenkyns (2001), The Culinary Saga of New Iceland: Recipes from the Shores of Lake Winnipeg ISBN 0968911900
