New Iceland ( is, Nýja Ísland ) is the name of a region on

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg (french: Lac Winnipeg, oj, ᐑᓂᐸᑲᒥᐠᓴᑯ˙ᑯᐣ, italics=no, Weenipagamiksaguygun) is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Its southern end is about north of ...

in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nor ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

which was named for settlers from

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

. It was settled in 1875.

Background

In 1875, over 200 Icelanders immigrated to

establishing the New Iceland colony along the west shore of

in Manitoba, the first part of a large wave of immigrants who settled on the Canadian prairies. The more general migration followed an offer from

Lord Dufferin Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (21 June 182612 February 1902) was a British public servant and prominent member of Victorian society. In his youth he was a popular figure in the court of Queen Vict ...

of land in Manitoba to establish what amounted to a "free state".William H. Swatos, Jr. and Loftur Reimar Gissurarson, ''Icelandic Spiritualism: Mediumship and Modernity in Iceland'', New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction, 1996,
p. 53
Due to harsh environmental and economic conditions in

, including the eruption of Mount Askja, some 20,000 Icelanders left their homeland between 1870 and 1915—roughly a quarter of the population of Iceland. In 1875 a large group of Icelandic immigrants migrated from

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, leaving Kinmount, Ontario, on 25 September 1875, for

Gimli, Manitoba Gimli is an unincorporated community in the Rural Municipality of Gimli on the west side of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. The community's first European settlers were Icelanders who were part of the New Iceland settlement in Manitoba. The com ...

, on the shores of

. One of the main reasons for the choice of the colony site was "the abundance of fish" in Lake Winnipeg, but according to ''The Icelandic People in Manitoba'', their first attempts at fishing on Lake Winnipeg were not successful, partly because they set their nets too close to the shore. Moreover, the "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, the immigrants eventually learned to handle the ax, prepare the soil, fish through ice, and hunt game. They also learned how to drain the land, grow crops, and build better houses. These Icelandic settlers, known in their native language as ''Vestur-Íslendingar'' (meaning Icelanders in the West; initially many Icelanders did not see emigration as a change of country, and there was some discussion of moving the entire population), called their settlement "New Iceland", and the region remains a symbolic centre of the Icelandic heritage in Canada today.

Other information

*According to

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...

(

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

), Manitoba is home to the largest Icelandic population outside of Iceland. There are about 26,000 people with Icelandic ancestry living in Manitoba, making up about 2 per cent of the total population of the province. About 35 per cent of the

Icelandic Canadian Icelandic Canadians are Canadian citizens of Icelandic ancestry or Iceland-born people who reside in Canada. Canada has the largest ethnic Icelandic population outside Iceland, with about 101,795 people of full or partial Icelandic descent as ...

population lives in Manitoba. *Currently many ethnic festivals related to New Iceland, such as Íslendingadagurinn, are held in these areas, and also the weekly newspaper ''Lögberg-Heimskringla''Combining ''Heimskringla'' ('Globe'), founded in 1886, and ''Lögberg'' ('Law-Mound'), founded in 1888; Swatos and Gissurarson
p. 57
is printed in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

. *The

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Gimli, Manitoba Gimli is an unincorporated community in the Rural Municipality of Gimli on the west side of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. The community's first European settlers were Icelanders who were part of the New Iceland settlement in Manitoba. The com ...

, was within the "Icelandic Reserve" granted to Icelandic settlers by the Government of Canada in 1875. Contrary to popular misconception, New Iceland was never a "republic", though the settlers did organize their own local government, which until December 1881 was outside the boundaries of Manitoba. The reserve, at that time within the District of Keewatin, Northwest Territory, was always under Canadian jurisdiction, and the Icelanders were keenly aware of their new loyalties and obligations as Canadians and British subjects—as evidenced during speeches made at Gimli during the visit of Lord Dufferin, Governor General of Canada, in 1877.

References

Bibliography

* Guðjón Angrímsson (1997), ''Nýja Ísland: Saga of the journey to New Iceland'' * David Arnason (1994), ''The new Icelanders: A North American community'' * Kristin Olafson-Jenkyns (2001), ''The Culinary Saga of New Iceland: Recipes from the Shores of Lake Winnipeg''

External links

''Manitoba Historical Society - Icelandic Settlement''New Iceland Heritage Museum
*
Lögberg-Heimskringla
'
Icelandic Festival (Íslendingadagurinn)Facts about Icelandic Canadians
{{authority control Icelandic-Canadian culture in Manitoba Places in Canada settled by Icelanders Geography of Manitoba History of Manitoba by location 19th century in Iceland Populated places established in 1875 1875 establishments in Canada

Background

Other information

See also

References

Bibliography

External links