North Atlantic Dependency

?(Riksmal)
North Atlantic Dependency(English)

[[Image:{{{file}}}|200px|Civil flag of North Atlantic Dependency]]
Subdivision of:	Scandinavian Realm
Cities:
Capital:	Longyearbyen
Largest:	Longyearbyen
Other:	Barentsbyen, Svalbardbyen, Sveagruva
Languages:
Official:	Riksmål
Others:	{{{others}}}
GOVERNOR:	NAME OF GOVERNOR
Area:	61.395 square kilometers
Population:	4.000 inhabittants
Established:	1918, {{{reason}}}

The North Atlantic Dependency is a territory of the Scandinavian Realm consisting of the islands of Svalbard, Bjørneøen (Bear Island), and Jan Mayen.

History

The islands now comprising North Atlantic Dependency may have been discovered by the Norse, but their certain discovery was in the 17th century. Then the islands were used as whaling ports by the Scandinavians, Dutch and Russians but no party enjoyed sovereignty. Later the islands were used for hunting mainly by Russians. In 19th and 20th centuries the coal mining started and modern towns such as the capital town Longyearbyen were established. By this time various different countries operated their mines (Americans - Longyearbyen, Batavians - Barentsburg, Russians - Grumant, Scandinavians - Pyramiden and so on). With the growing interest in polar regions as well as technological progress making such areas no longer inaccessible, Scandinavians used the opportunity created by World War I to buy out stakes in all the mines. In 1918, they declared the islands to be part of the Realm. Mining continued to be the main economic activity, although it rarely was profitable and primarily served the goal of keeping Scandinavian presence. In 1930, a military base was established. The names of towns were Scandinavianised (Barentsburg became Barentsbyen, Grumant became Svalbardbyen).

While tourism caught up in the Antarctic Dependency by the 1970s already, the North Atlantic Dependency lacked the notion of the "seventh continent" and therefore was not promoted as a tourist destination by the government. However this changed in the 1990s. The North Atlantic Dependency is not a major tourist destination, but it is possible to reach it from anywhere in Europe within a day and direct daily flights from Copenhagen make it appealing.

Geography

In Svalbard it is night about four months per year and day four months a year. The climate is Arctic, but the warm oceanic currents make the winter more mild than elsewhere at these latitudes. In summer, the average temperature rises to +6 degrees centigrade.

Demography

Scandinavians (Danes, Norwegians, Swedes) make up the majority of the population. There are also some Greenlanders and Inuits as well as people from hotter parts of the Realm (Asia and Africa).