Facing natural extremes
As a consequence of a large-scale volcanic outburst, the Laki eruption in 1783–1784, the focus of the world turned suddenly towards Iceland, a province of the Danish crown. The dynamic volcano in Iceland had far-reaching consequences for the outside world as the pollution was carried further by the...
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2022
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:582908913a49489ca63f7f080efc8059 2023-05-15T16:43:18+02:00 Facing natural extremes Margrét Gunnarsdóttir 2022-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.7557/4.6611 https://doaj.org/article/582908913a49489ca63f7f080efc8059 DA EN FR NO SV dan eng fre nor swe Septentrio Academic Publishing https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/1700/article/view/6611 https://doaj.org/toc/1652-4772 https://doaj.org/toc/2001-9866 doi:10.7557/4.6611 1652-4772 2001-9866 https://doaj.org/article/582908913a49489ca63f7f080efc8059 Sjuttonhundratal, Vol 19 (2022) Iceland volcano climate free trade enlightenment Modern history 1453- D204-475 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.7557/4.6611 2022-12-30T19:24:37Z As a consequence of a large-scale volcanic outburst, the Laki eruption in 1783–1784, the focus of the world turned suddenly towards Iceland, a province of the Danish crown. The dynamic volcano in Iceland had far-reaching consequences for the outside world as the pollution was carried further by the wind, causing dramatic changes in weather conditions. The temperature in Europe fell by 1.5 °C over a two-year period. Icelanders endured extreme hardship as sulphuric haze swept the country during the summer of 1783 and temperature dropped dramatically for a time. The period which followed is termed ‘The Famine of the Mist’ in Icelandic history due to the thick fog caused by the eruption and the extreme cold weather. This article will discuss the experience the people of Iceland underwent at the time. Correspondence, which is the main source of the article, gives an intimate glimpse of people’s lives during this critical period caused by the Laki eruption. The letters reveal that, albeit exhausted and traumatized, people were striving to remain optimistic. The eyes of Europe and the enlightened world of scientists were cast on Iceland during these dramatic times. Icelandic contacts with the outside world, despite Iceland being located far away in the North Atlantic, were various and flowed in more than one direction. The administration of Iceland was centred in Copenhagen where a plan for free trade was already in preparation at the outbreak of the eruption. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Laki ENVELOPE(-18.237,-18.237,64.070,64.070) 1700-tal: Nordic Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies 19 72 93 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
Danish English French Norwegian Swedish |
topic |
Iceland volcano climate free trade enlightenment Modern history 1453- D204-475 |
spellingShingle |
Iceland volcano climate free trade enlightenment Modern history 1453- D204-475 Margrét Gunnarsdóttir Facing natural extremes |
topic_facet |
Iceland volcano climate free trade enlightenment Modern history 1453- D204-475 |
description |
As a consequence of a large-scale volcanic outburst, the Laki eruption in 1783–1784, the focus of the world turned suddenly towards Iceland, a province of the Danish crown. The dynamic volcano in Iceland had far-reaching consequences for the outside world as the pollution was carried further by the wind, causing dramatic changes in weather conditions. The temperature in Europe fell by 1.5 °C over a two-year period. Icelanders endured extreme hardship as sulphuric haze swept the country during the summer of 1783 and temperature dropped dramatically for a time. The period which followed is termed ‘The Famine of the Mist’ in Icelandic history due to the thick fog caused by the eruption and the extreme cold weather. This article will discuss the experience the people of Iceland underwent at the time. Correspondence, which is the main source of the article, gives an intimate glimpse of people’s lives during this critical period caused by the Laki eruption. The letters reveal that, albeit exhausted and traumatized, people were striving to remain optimistic. The eyes of Europe and the enlightened world of scientists were cast on Iceland during these dramatic times. Icelandic contacts with the outside world, despite Iceland being located far away in the North Atlantic, were various and flowed in more than one direction. The administration of Iceland was centred in Copenhagen where a plan for free trade was already in preparation at the outbreak of the eruption. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Margrét Gunnarsdóttir |
author_facet |
Margrét Gunnarsdóttir |
author_sort |
Margrét Gunnarsdóttir |
title |
Facing natural extremes |
title_short |
Facing natural extremes |
title_full |
Facing natural extremes |
title_fullStr |
Facing natural extremes |
title_full_unstemmed |
Facing natural extremes |
title_sort |
facing natural extremes |
publisher |
Septentrio Academic Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.7557/4.6611 https://doaj.org/article/582908913a49489ca63f7f080efc8059 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-18.237,-18.237,64.070,64.070) |
geographic |
Laki |
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Laki |
genre |
Iceland North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Iceland North Atlantic |
op_source |
Sjuttonhundratal, Vol 19 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/1700/article/view/6611 https://doaj.org/toc/1652-4772 https://doaj.org/toc/2001-9866 doi:10.7557/4.6611 1652-4772 2001-9866 https://doaj.org/article/582908913a49489ca63f7f080efc8059 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7557/4.6611 |
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1700-tal: Nordic Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies |
container_volume |
19 |
container_start_page |
72 |
op_container_end_page |
93 |
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