Scandinavia: A History by Ewan Butler
Excellence in writing, this overview of Scandinavian history delivers an enlightening look at these unique humanitarian people.
After reading countless books covering Scandinavia I found this publication the most illuminating.
Excerpts;
Norsemen, is simply an alternative name for these marauders, again applied to all three Scandinavian peoples. Normandy, settled by the Danes in 911, reminds us of the Norse origins of that duchy and to this day Norwegians refer to themselves as Nordmenn. (The Norse invaders of Russia are alternately known as Varangians, derived from an old Norse word, possibly meaning “confederate,” and Ruotsi, meaning the “rowing men” in old Finnish.)
The Vikings were democrats, in a sense. Great fleets of hundreds of longships were assembled for a large expedition without any single leader being in charge of the operation. “We are all equals,” said the Norsemen proudly to the envoy of the king of France who came to Normandy inquiring for their leader, and there was some truth in this. Women were held in highest esteem by the Vikings and enjoyed rights of property and status which their sex was not to enjoy elsewhere until many centuries later.
Frederick had abolished almost all vestiges of serfdom (the Stavnsbaand was repealed in 1788) and established a credit bank to enable the newly freed peasants to buy their land. A free trade tariff act and a banking reorganization plan were instituted as liberal spurs to the growth of Denmark’s economy. Laws were passed to provide for the welfare of paupers, and Denmark denounced both the owning and trading of slaves, the first European country to take this enlightened step.
The countries of Scandinavia are humanitarian, with laws for the protection of workers, mothers, children, and old people. Few people in Scandinavia are extremely rich and none extremely poor. Class warfare and strikes are uncommon, thanks to enlightened labor relations. A minimum of seven years of education is standardized and compulsory for all, and advanced training equivalent to high school, college, and vocational schools is also provided free.
No comments:
Post a Comment