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FAEROE (also written FAROE or THE FAE...

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Originally appearing in Volume V10, Page 124 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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FAEROE (also written FAROE or THE FAEROES, Danish Faeroerne or Fliroerne, "the sheep islands ")  , a
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group of islands in the North Sea belonging to Denmark . They are situated between Iceland and the Shetland Islands, about zoo m . N.W. of the latter, about the intersection of 7° E. with 62° N . The
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total
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land
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area of the group is 511 sq. m., and there are twenty-one islands (excluding small rocks and reefs), of which seventeen are inhabited . The population in r88o amounted to 11,220, and in 1900 to 15,230 . The
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principal islands are Stromo, on which is the chief
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town, Thorshavn, with a population of 1656; Ostero, Sudero, Vaago, Sando and BOrd0 . They consist through-out of rocks and hills, separated from each other by narrow valleys or ravines; but, though the hills rise abruptly, there are often on their summits, or at different stages of their ascent, plains of considerable magnitude . Almost everywhere they
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present to the sea perpendicular cliffs, broken into fantastic forms, affording at every turn, to those who
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sail along the coast, the most picturesque and varied scenery . The highest hills are Slattaretindur in Ostero, and Kopende and Skellingfjeld in Stromo, which rise respectively to 2894, 2592 and 2520 ft . The sea pierces the islands in deep fjords, or separates them by narrow inlets through which tidal currents set with
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great violence, at speeds up to seven or eight knots an
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hour; and, as communications are maintained almost wholly by boat, the natives have need of expert watermanship . There are several lakes in which trout are abundant, and char aiso occur; the largest is Sorvaag Lake in Vaago, which is close to the sea, and discharges into it by a sheer fall of about 16o ft . Trees are scarce, and there is evidence that they formerly flourished where they cannot do so now .

The fundamental formation is a

series of great sheets of columnar
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basalt, 70 to 100 ft. thick, in which are intercalated thin beds of tuff . Upon the basalt rests the so-called
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Coal formation, 35 to 50 ft. thick; the
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lower
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part of this is mainly fireclay and
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sandstone, the upper part is weathered clay with thin layers of brown coal and shale . The coal is found in Sudero and in some of the other islands in sufficient quantity to make it a
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matter of exploitation . Above these beds there are layers of dolerite, 15 to 20 ft. thick, with nodular segregations and abundant cavities which are often lined with
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zeolites . As the rocks lie in a
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horizontal position, on most of the islands of the group only the basalts or dolerite are visible . The
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crater from which the volcanic rocks were outpoured probably lies off the Faeroe
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Bank some distance to the south-west of Sudero . The basalts are submarine flows which formed the basis of the land upon which grew the vegetation which gave rise to the coals; the effusion of dolerite which covered up the Coal formation was sub-aerial . The existing land features, with the fjords, are due to ice erosion in the glacial period.' The
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climate is oceanic; fogs are
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common, violent storms are frequent at all seasons .
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July and August are the only true summer months, but the winters are not very severe . It seldom freezes for more than one month, and the harbours are rarely ice-bound . The methods of agriculture are extremely
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primitive and less than 3 % of the total area is under cultivation . As the plough is
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ill-suited to the rugged
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surface of the land, the ground is usually turned up with the
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spade, care being taken not to destroy the roots of the grass, as hay is the principal crop .

Horses and cows are few, and the cows give little

milk, in consequence of the coarse hay upon which they are fed . The number of sheep, however, justifies the name of the islands, some individuals having flocks of from three to five
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hundred, and the total number in the islands considerably exceeds ten thousand . The
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northern hare (Lepus alpinus) is
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pretty abundant in Stromo and Ostero, having been introduced into the islands about 1840-1850 . The catching of the numerous sea-birds which build their nests upon the face of the cliffs forms an important source of subsistence to the inhabitants . Sometimes the fowler is let down from the top of the cliff; at other times he climbs the rocks, or, where possible, is pushed upwards by poles made for the purpose . The birds and the contents of the nests are taken in nets mounted on poles;
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shooting is not practised, lest it should permanently scare the birds away . Fowling, has some-what decreased in
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modern times, as the
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fisheries have risen in importance . The
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puffin is most commonly taken for its feathers . The
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cod fishery is especially important, dried fish being exported in large quantity, and the swim-bladders made into gelatine, and also used and exported for food . The whaling industry came into importance towards the close of the 19th century, and stations for the extraction of the oil and
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whalebone have been established at several points, under careful regulations designed to mitigate the pollution of
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water, the danger to live-stock from eating the blubber, &c . The finner
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whale is the
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species most commonly taken . The trade of the Faeroe Islands was for some time a monopoly in the hands of a mercantile house at Copenhagen, and this monopoly was afterwards assumed by the Danish government, but by the law of the 21st of March 1855 all restrictions were removed .

The produce of the whaling and fishing

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industries, woollen goods, lamb skins and feathers, are the chief exports, while in Thorshavn the preserving of fish and the manufacture of carpets are carried on to some extent . Thorshavn is situated on the S.E. side of Stromo, upon a narrow tongue of land, having creeks on each side, where
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ships may be safely moored . It is the seat of the chief government and ecclesiastical officials, and has a government house and a hospital . The houses are generally built of wood and roofed with birch bark covered with
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turf . The character of the
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people is marked by simplicity of manners, kindness and hospitality . They are healthy, and the population increases steadily . The Faeroes form an amt (county) of Denmark . They have also a
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local parliament (lagthing), consisting of the amtmann and nineteen other members . Among other duties, this
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body elects a representative to the upper house of parliament (landsthing) in Denmark; the people choose by
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vote a representative in the lower house (folkething) . The islands are included in the Danish bishopric of Zealand .
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History.—The early history of the Faeroes is not clear . It appears that about the beginning of the 9th century Grim Kamban, a
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Norwegian emigrant who had
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left his country to escape the tyranny of Harold Haarfager, settled in the islands .

It is said that a small

colony of Irish and Scottish monks were found in Siidero and dispersed by him . The Faeroes then already
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bore their name of Sheep Islands, as these animals had been found to flourish here exceedingly . Early in the 11th century Sigmund or Sigismund Bresterson, whose
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family had flourished in the
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southern islands but had been almost exterminated by See Hans von
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Post, " Om Faroarnes uppkomst," Geologiska FOreningens i
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Stockholm Forhandlingar, vol.
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xxiv . (1902).invaders from the northern, was sent from Norway, whither he had escaped, to take possession of the islands for Olaf Trygvason, king of Norway . He introduced
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Christianity, and, though he was subsequently murdered, Norwegian supremacy was upheld, and continued till 1386, when the islands were transferred to Denmark .
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English adventurers gave great trouble to the in-habitants in the 16th century, and the name of Magnus Heineson, a native of Stromo, who was sent by Frederick II. to clear the seas, is still celebrated in many songs and stories . There was formerly a bishopric at Kirkebo, S. of Thorshavn, where remains of the
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cathedral may be seen; but it was abolished at the introduction of Protestantism by Christian III . Denmark retained possession of the Faeroes at the peace of
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Kiel in 1815 . The native literature of the islands consists of the Faereyinga Saga, dealing with the period of Sigmund Bresterson, and a number of popular songs and legends of early origin .

End of Article: FAEROE (also written FAROE or THE FAEROES, Danish Faeroerne or Fliroerne, "the sheep islands ")
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FAENZA (anc. Faventia)
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