How Iceland Changed the World: The Big History of a Small Island

How Iceland Changed the World: The Big History of a Small Island by Egill Bjarnason

Iceland is a small, isolated island just south of the Arctic Circle. It's influence in history has been disproportionate to the small population. It was initially populated by Scandinavians and Irish many centuries ago. (Most often Scandinavian men with Irish women.) These people later continued on to set up towns in Greenland and even in North America. 

This book does not take itself seriously. It does a great job of covering the history of Iceland with a focus on how iceland has impacted other parts of the world.

The Icelanders have been storytellers and have held onto their historic language and recorded many epics. These have allowed us to help piece together many pieces of history. Ancient Iceland had set up forms of government that would appear quite progressive today. 

The population of Iceland did not rise above 100,000 people until the 20th century. The population has been "controlled" by other countries for much of its history. However, despite only recently achieving official independence, the people have had a strong degree of autonomy. They have rarely engaged in external warfare. They have been involved in various international relations. There have been peace conferences there, and the country was influential in the establishment of Israel/Palestine. Iceland has also had the first popularly elected female leader. Recently, a large banking industry rose up and then collapsed. Iceland has historically been homogeneous. Diverse immigration and tourism are relatively new changes. How will it impact the country going forward?