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| ca 1200 BC
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The first human settlers reach Norway
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| 2000 BC
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Tribes from Southern Europe migrate toward Denmark.
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| ca AD 770
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The Viking Age begins. For the next 250 years, Scandinavians set sail on frequent expeditions from the Baltic to the Irish seas and even to the Mediterranean as far as Sicily, employing superior ships and weapons and efficient military organization.
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| ca 870
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The first permanent settlers arrive in Iceland from western Norway.
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| ca 900
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King Harald Fairhair unites Norway into one kingdom.
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| 995
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King Olav I Tryggvason introduces christianity into Norway.
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| 1000
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Leif Eirikson discovers America.
King Olav I sends a mission to christianize Iceland.
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| 1016-1028
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King Olav II Haraldsson tries to complete conversion of Norway to christianity. He is killed at the battle of Stiklestad and becomes patron saint of Norway.
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| 1028-1035
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Canute (Knud) the Great is king of England, Denmark (1018) and Norway (1028).
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| 1045-1066
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King Harald III Hårdråde fights long war with the Danes
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| 1066
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King Harald III participates in and is killed during the Norman invasion of England, at Stamford Bridge.
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| 1217
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Håkon IV becomes king of Norway, beginning its "Golden Age". His many reforms modernize the Norwegian administration. Under him, the empire reaches its greatest extent when Greenland and Iceland forms unions with Norway in 1261.
The sagas are written during this time.
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| 1319-1335
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Sweden and Norway form a union
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| 1349
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The Black Death strikes Norway and kills two-thirds of the population.
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| 1370
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The Treaty of Stralsund gives the north German trading centers of the Hanseatic League free passage through Danish waters. German power increases throughout Scandinavia.
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| 1397
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The Kalmar Union is formed as a result of the dynastic ties between Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, the geographical position of the Scandinavian states, and the growing influence of Germans in the Baltic. Erik of Pomerania is crowned king of the Kalmar Union.
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| 1520
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Christian II, ruler of the Kalmar Union, executes 82 people who oppose the Scandinavian union, an event known as the "Stockholm blood bath". Sweden ssecedes from the Union three years later. Norway remains tied to Denmark and becomes a Danish province in 1536.
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| 1536
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The Reformation enters Scandinavia in the form of Lutheranism through the Hanseatic port of Bergen.
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| 1559-1648
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Norwegian trade flourishes.
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| 1660
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Peace of Copenhagen establishes modern boundaries of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
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| 1814
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Sweden, after Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig, attacks Denmark and forces the Danish surrender Norway.
May 17: the Norwegian constitution is adopted at Eidsvold.
November 4: Norway is forced to accept Act of Union with Sweden.
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| 1811
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University of Oslo is established.
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| 1884
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A parliamentary system is established in Norway.
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| 1903
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Bjørnsterjen Bjørnson is awarded the Nobel Prize for literature.
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| 1905
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The union with Sweden is dissolved.
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| 1914
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At the outbreak of World War I, Norway declares neutrality but is effectively blockaded. The Norwegian merchant fleet has great losses.
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| 1918
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Norwegian women gain the right to vote.
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| 1920
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Norway joines the League of Nations.
Novelist Knut Hamsun receives the Nobel Prize.
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| 1928
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Sigrid Undset receives the Nobel Prize for literature.
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| 1929-1937
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Norway is ruled by a labor governemnt.
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| 1939
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Norway declares neutrality in the World War II.
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| 1940
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April 9: Germany occupies Norway.
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| 1945
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Norway joins the United Nations.
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| 1946-1954
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The Norwegian statesman Trygve Lie presides as first Secretary-General of the UN.
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| 1949
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Norway becomes a member of NATO.
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| 1952
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The Nordic Council, which promotes cooperation among the Nordic parliaments, is founded.
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| 1968
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Norway discovers oil in the North Sea.
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| 1971
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North Sea oil production begins, transforming the Norwegian economy.
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| 1972
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The first referendum in Norway concerning membership in the European Economic Community returns a majority of NO-votes.
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| 1981
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Gro Harlem Brundtland becomes Norway's first female prime minister. Labor party.
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| 1991
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King Olav V dies. King Harald V ascends the throne. In his wife, Queen Sonja, Norway gets its first queen since the death of Queen Maud in 1938.
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| 1993
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Norway applies for EC membership for the second time.
Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairss Thorvald Stoltenberg is appointed peace negotiator to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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| 1994
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Norway holds the second referendum concerning EC membership, and a slight majority still holds the NO-vote.
Norway hosts the XVII Olympic Winter Games at Lillehammer.
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