Facing natural extremes: The catastrophe of the Laki eruption in Iceland, 1783–1784
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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ftunitroemsoe:oai:ojs.henry.ub.uit.no:article/6611 2023-05-15T16:42:40+02:00 Facing natural extremes: The catastrophe of the Laki eruption in Iceland, 1783–1784 Gunnarsdóttir, Margrét 2022-12-29 application/pdf https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/1700/article/view/6611 https://doi.org/10.7557/4.6611 eng eng Septentrio Academic Publishing https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/1700/article/view/6611/6966 https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/1700/article/view/6611 doi:10.7557/4.6611 Copyright (c) 2022 Margrét Gunnarsdóttir https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 CC-BY 1700-tal: Nordic Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies; Vol. 19 (2022); 72-93 2001-9866 1652-4772 Iceland volcano climate free trade enlightenment info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Peer-reviewed article 2022 ftunitroemsoe https://doi.org/10.7557/4.6611 2023-01-05T00:03:06Z 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 University of Tromsø: Septentrio Academic Publishing Laki ENVELOPE(-18.237,-18.237,64.070,64.070) 1700-tal: Nordic Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies 19 72 93 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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University of Tromsø: Septentrio Academic Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftunitroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
Iceland volcano climate free trade enlightenment |
spellingShingle |
Iceland volcano climate free trade enlightenment Gunnarsdóttir, Margrét Facing natural extremes: The catastrophe of the Laki eruption in Iceland, 1783–1784 |
topic_facet |
Iceland volcano climate free trade enlightenment |
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 |
Gunnarsdóttir, Margrét |
author_facet |
Gunnarsdóttir, Margrét |
author_sort |
Gunnarsdóttir, Margrét |
title |
Facing natural extremes: The catastrophe of the Laki eruption in Iceland, 1783–1784 |
title_short |
Facing natural extremes: The catastrophe of the Laki eruption in Iceland, 1783–1784 |
title_full |
Facing natural extremes: The catastrophe of the Laki eruption in Iceland, 1783–1784 |
title_fullStr |
Facing natural extremes: The catastrophe of the Laki eruption in Iceland, 1783–1784 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Facing natural extremes: The catastrophe of the Laki eruption in Iceland, 1783–1784 |
title_sort |
facing natural extremes: the catastrophe of the laki eruption in iceland, 1783–1784 |
publisher |
Septentrio Academic Publishing |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/1700/article/view/6611 https://doi.org/10.7557/4.6611 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-18.237,-18.237,64.070,64.070) |
geographic |
Laki |
geographic_facet |
Laki |
genre |
Iceland North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Iceland North Atlantic |
op_source |
1700-tal: Nordic Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies; Vol. 19 (2022); 72-93 2001-9866 1652-4772 |
op_relation |
https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/1700/article/view/6611/6966 https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/1700/article/view/6611 doi:10.7557/4.6611 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2022 Margrét Gunnarsdóttir https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7557/4.6611 |
container_title |
1700-tal: Nordic Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies |
container_volume |
19 |
container_start_page |
72 |
op_container_end_page |
93 |
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1766033063844773888 |