Constructing an 'Old Norwegian Land': Spitsbergen and the early history of Norwegian Arctic Imperialism, 1896-1925.

• Main Author: Hustoft, Simen Eriksen
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Spitsbergen; ishavsimperialisme; Arctic imperialism; treaty; Svalbard; nationalism; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Fridtjof; Norway
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10852/96428; http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-98927

The history of how it was decided in 1920 that Spitsbergen (Svalbard) should become Norwegian was shaped by the construction of a historical narrative about the loss of a medieval Norwegian empire in the Arctic Ocean, and a political desire to reclaim it. This phenomenon has been commonly referred t...