The Rise of Faroese Separatism: Danish-Faroese relations from 1906-1925 and the radicalization of the national- and home rule question.

Although the history of the Faroese people originates from Norway, the Faroe Islands has since 1850 been part of the Danish constitutional realm, and since 1380 been under the Danish Crown. Yet, the Faroese were both culturally and linguistically different from the Danes. Therefore, the dominating Danish culture affected the weaker Faroese culture leading to subsequent tensions between the two peoples. The Faroese awareness of cultural and political identity developed in a Danish-Nordic context from the beginning of the 19th century. This book analyses how this cultural and political awareness during the first quarter of the 20th century rapidly developed towards a separatist movement.

The argument being that it is not possible to analyse the development of Faroese politics independently of Danish politics and related international issues outside Denmark. The development of Faroese politics was rooted in Faroese concerns, however, the development of the political system must be considered in the greater context of Danish politics and international subjects relevant to Denmark.

This book presents an analysis of three major political issues in the Faroe Islands, which connect Faroese and Danish politics, the Offer from 1906, the Petition from 1917 and the Norwegian case from 1923. The conclusion is that these issues segregated the political parties in the Faroe Islands (the Unionist Party of 1906 and the Home Rule Party of 1909) and that they eventually contributed to the undermining of what originally were good relations between the Home Rule Party and the Danish authorities. Thus, the road was paved for the development of a separatist movement in the Faroe Islands. This political disagreement in Faroese politics between unionists and separatists still dominates political discourse in Faroese politics today.