The islands lie about 80\u00a0km (50\u00a0mi) to the northeast of\u00a0Orkney<\/a>, 170\u00a0km (110\u00a0mi) from Scotland and 300\u00a0km (190\u00a0mi) west of Norway. They form part of the border between the\u00a0Atlantic Ocean<\/a>\u00a0to the west and the\u00a0North Sea<\/a>\u00a0to the east. Their total area is 1,466\u00a0km2<\/sup>\u00a0(566\u00a0sq\u00a0mi),[2]<\/a><\/sup> and the population totaled 22,920 in 2019.<\/sup>\u00a0The islands comprise the\u00a0Shetland constituency<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Scottish Parliament<\/a>. The local authority, the\u00a0Shetland Islands Council<\/a>, is one of the 32\u00a0council areas<\/a> of Scotland. The islands’ administrative center and only\u00a0burgh<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0Lerwick<\/a>, which has been the capital of Shetland since 1708, before which time the capital was\u00a0Scalloway<\/a>.<\/p>\n The largest island, known as “the Mainland<\/a>“, has an area of 967\u00a0km2<\/sup>\u00a0(373\u00a0sq\u00a0mi), making it the third-largest\u00a0Scottish island <\/a>and the\u00a0fifth-largest<\/a>\u00a0island in the\u00a0British Isles<\/a>. There are an additional 15 inhabited islands in Shetland. The archipelago has an\u00a0oceanic climate<\/a>, a complex geology, a rugged coastline, and many low, rolling hills.<\/p>\n Humans have lived in Shetland since the\u00a0Mesolithic<\/a>\u00a0period. In\u00a0early medieval times<\/a>\u00a0the islands were dominated by\u00a0Scandinavian<\/a>\u00a0influences, especially from\u00a0Norway<\/a>. The islands became part of Scotland in the 15th century. In 1707, when Scotland became part of the\u00a0Kingdom of Great Britain<\/a>, trade between Shetland and continental northern Europe decreased. The discovery of\u00a0North Sea oil<\/a>\u00a0in the 1970s significantly boosted Shetland’s economy, employment and public-sector revenues.[5]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Fishing has always been an important part of the islands\u2019 economy.<\/p>\n The local way of life reflects the Norse and Scottish heritage of the isles, including the\u00a0Up Helly Aa<\/a>\u00a0fire festivals and a strong musical tradition, especially the traditional\u00a0fiddle<\/a>\u00a0style. The islands have produced a variety of prose writers and poets, who have often written in the distinctive\u00a0Shetland dialect<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0Scots language<\/a>. Numerous areas on the islands have been set aside to protect the local\u00a0fauna<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0flora<\/a>, including a number of important seabird nesting sites. The\u00a0Shetland pony<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Shetland Sheepdog<\/a>\u00a0are two well-known\u00a0Shetland animal breeds<\/a>. Other animals with local breeds include the\u00a0Shetland sheep<\/a>,\u00a0cow<\/a>,\u00a0goose<\/a>, and\u00a0duck<\/a>. The Shetland pig, or\u00a0grice<\/a>, has been extinct since about 1930.<\/p>\n The islands’ motto, which appears on the Council’s\u00a0coat of arms<\/a>, is “Me\u00f0 l\u00f6gum skal land byggja<\/i>” (\u201cBy law shall land be built”). The phrase is of\u00a0Old Norse<\/a>\u00a0origin, is mentioned in\u00a0Nj\u00e1ls saga<\/a><\/i>, and was likely borrowed from tenets of ancient provincial Norwegian laws such as the\u00a0Frostathing Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pottery shards found at the important site of\u00a0Jarlshof<\/a>\u00a0also indicate that there was Neolithic activity there although the main settlement dates from the\u00a0Bronze Age<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0This includes a\u00a0smithy<\/a>, a cluster of\u00a0wheelhouses<\/a>\u00a0and a later broch. The site has provided evidence of habitation during various phases right up until\u00a0Viking<\/a>\u00a0times.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0Heel-shaped cairns<\/a>, are a style of\u00a0chambered cairn<\/a>\u00a0unique to Shetland, with a particularly large example in\u00a0Vementry<\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n Numerous brochs were erected during the\u00a0Iron Age<\/a>. In addition to Mousa there are significant ruins at\u00a0Clickimin<\/a>,\u00a0Culswick<\/a>,\u00a0Old Scatness<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0West Burrafirth<\/a>, although their origin and purpose is a matter of some controversy.<\/sup>\u00a0The later Iron Age inhabitants of the\u00a0Northern Isles<\/a>\u00a0were probably Pictish, although the historical record is sparse. Hunter (2000) states in relation to King\u00a0Bridei I of the Picts<\/a>\u00a0in the sixth century AD: “As for Shetland, Orkney, Skye and the Western Isles, their inhabitants, most of whom appear to have been Pictish in culture and speech at this time, are likely to have regarded Bridei as a fairly distant presence”.<\/sup>\u00a0In 2011, the collective site, “The Crucible of Iron Age Shetland<\/a>“, including Broch of Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof, joined the UKs “Tentative List” of\u00a0World Heritage Sites<\/a>.<\/sup><\/p>\n The expanding population of\u00a0Scandinavia<\/a>\u00a0led to a shortage of available resources and arable land there and led to a period of\u00a0Viking expansion<\/a>, the\u00a0Norse<\/a>\u00a0gradually shifting their attention from plundering to invasion.<\/sup> Shetland was colonized during the late 8th and 9th centuries,<\/sup> the fate of the existing indigenous population being uncertain, though it is now seen that Modern Shetlanders have overwhelmingly Scottish DNA according to a major research project, which shows that only 20% of isles DNA is traceable to Norwegian ancestors.<\/p>\n Vikings<\/a>\u00a0then used the islands as a base for\u00a0pirate<\/a>\u00a0expeditions to Norway and the coasts of mainland Scotland. In response, Norwegian king\u00a0Harald H\u00e5rfagre<\/a>\u00a0(“Harald Fair Hair”) annexed the\u00a0Northern Isles<\/a>\u00a0(comprising Orkney and Shetland) in 875.<\/sup>\u00a0Rognvald Eysteinsson<\/a>\u00a0received\u00a0Orkney and Shetland as an earldom<\/a>\u00a0from Harald as reparation for the death of his son in battle in Scotland, and then passed the earldom on to his brother\u00a0Sigurd the Mighty<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The islands converted to\u00a0Christianity<\/a>\u00a0in the late 10th century. King\u00a0Olav Tryggvasson<\/a>\u00a0summoned the\u00a0jarl<\/a><\/i>\u00a0Sigurd the Stout<\/a>\u00a0during a visit to Orkney and said, “I order you and all your subjects to be baptised. If you refuse, I’ll have you killed on the spot and I swear I will ravage every island with fire and steel”. Unsurprisingly, Sigurd agreed and the islands became Christian at a stroke.<\/sup>\u00a0Unusually, from c. 1100 onwards the Norse\u00a0jarls<\/i>\u00a0owed allegiance both to Norway and to the Scottish crown through their holdings as\u00a0Earls of Caithness<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 1194, when\u00a0Harald Maddadsson<\/a>\u00a0was\u00a0Earl of Orkney and Shetland<\/a>, a rebellion broke out against King\u00a0Sverre Sigurdsson<\/a>\u00a0of Norway. The\u00a0\u00d8yskjeggs<\/i>\u00a0(“Island Beardies”) sailed for Norway but were beaten in the\u00a0Battle of Florv\u00e5g<\/a>\u00a0near\u00a0Bergen<\/a>. After his victory King Sverre placed Shetland under direct Norwegian rule, a state of affairs that continued for nearly two centuries.<\/sup><\/p>\n From the mid-13th century onwards Scottish monarchs increasingly sought to take control of the islands surrounding the mainland. The process was begun in earnest by\u00a0Alexander II<\/a>\u00a0and was continued by his successor\u00a0Alexander III<\/a>. This strategy eventually led to an invasion of Scotland by\u00a0Haakon Haakonsson<\/a>, King of Norway. His fleet assembled in Bressay Sound before sailing for Scotland. After the stalemate of the\u00a0Battle of Largs<\/a>, Haakon retreated to Orkney, where he died in December 1263, entertained on his deathbed by recitations of the sagas. His death halted any further Norwegian expansion in Scotland and following this ill-fated expedition, the\u00a0Hebrides and Mann<\/a>\u00a0were yielded to the Kingdom of Scotland as a result of the 1266\u00a0Treaty of Perth<\/a>, although the Scots recognized continuing Norwegian sovereignty over Orkney and Shetland.<\/sup><\/p>\n In the 14th century, Orkney and Shetland remained a Norwegian possession, but Scottish influence was growing.\u00a0Jon Haraldsson<\/a>, who was murdered in\u00a0Thurso<\/a>\u00a0in 1231, was the last of an unbroken line of Norse jarls,<\/sup>\u00a0and thereafter the earls were Scots noblemen of the houses of\u00a0Angus<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0St Clair<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0On the death of\u00a0Haakon VI<\/a>\u00a0in 1380,<\/sup>\u00a0Norway formed a\u00a0political union<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0Denmark<\/a>, after which the interest of the royal house in the islands declined. In 1469, Shetland was\u00a0pledged<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Christian I<\/a>, in his capacity as King of Norway, as security against the payment of the\u00a0dowry<\/a>\u00a0of his daughter\u00a0Margaret<\/a>, betrothed to\u00a0James III of Scotland<\/a>. As the money was never paid, the connection with the Crown of Scotland became permanent.<\/sup>\u00a0In 1470,\u00a0William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness<\/a>\u00a0ceded his title to James III, and the following year the Northern Isles were directly absorbed to the Crown of Scotland,<\/sup>\u00a0an action confirmed by the\u00a0Parliament of Scotland<\/a>\u00a0in 1472.<\/sup> Nonetheless, Shetland’s connection with Norway has proved to be enduring.<\/p>\n From the early 15th century onward Shetlanders sold their goods through the\u00a0Hanseatic League<\/a>\u00a0of German merchantmen. The Hansa would buy shiploads of salted fish, wool and butter, and import\u00a0salt<\/a>,\u00a0cloth<\/a>,\u00a0beer<\/a>\u00a0and other goods. The late 16th century and early 17th century were dominated by the influence of the despotic\u00a0Robert Stewart<\/a>, Earl of Orkney, who was granted the islands by his half-sister\u00a0Mary Queen of Scots<\/a>, and his son\u00a0Patrick<\/a>. The latter commenced the building of\u00a0Scalloway Castle<\/a>, but after his imprisonment in 1609, the Crown annexed Orkney and Shetland again until 1643, when\u00a0Charles I<\/a>\u00a0granted them to\u00a0William Douglas, 7th Earl of Morton<\/a>. These rights were held on and off by the Mortons until 1766, when they were sold by\u00a0James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton<\/a> to Laurence Dundas.<\/sup><\/p>\n The trade with the North German towns lasted until the 1707\u00a0Act of Union<\/a>, when high salt duties prevented the German merchants from trading with Shetland. Shetland then went into an economic depression, as the local traders were not as skilled in trading salted fish. However, some local merchant-lairds took up where the German merchants had left off, and fitted out their own ships to export fish from Shetland to the Continent. For the independent farmers of Shetland this had negative consequences, as they now had to fish for these merchant-lairds.<\/p>\n Smallpox<\/a>\u00a0afflicted the islands in the 17th and 18th centuries (as it did all of Europe), but as\u00a0vaccines<\/a>\u00a0became available after 1800, health improved. The islands were very badly hit by the\u00a0potato famine of 1846<\/a>\u00a0and the government introduced a Relief Plan for the islands under the command of\u00a0Captain Robert Craigie<\/a> of the Royal Navy who stayed in Lerwick to oversee the project 1847\u20131852. During this period Craigie also did much to improve and increase roads in the islands.<\/p>\n Population increased to a maximum of 31,670 in 1861. However, British rule came at price for many ordinary people as well as traders. The Shetlanders’ nautical skills were sought by the\u00a0Royal Navy<\/a>. Some 3,000 served during the\u00a0Napoleonic wars<\/a>\u00a0from 1800 to 1815 and\u00a0press gangs<\/a>\u00a0were rife. During this period 120 men were taken from Fetlar alone, and only 20 of them returned home. By the late 19th century 90% of all Shetland was owned by just 32 people, and between 1861 and 1881 more than 8,000 Shetlanders emigrated.<\/sup><\/sup>\u00a0With the passing of the\u00a0Crofters’ Act<\/a>\u00a0in 1886 the\u00a0Liberal<\/a>\u00a0prime minister\u00a0William Gladstone<\/a>\u00a0emancipated crofters from the rule of the landlords. The Act enabled those who had effectively been landowners’ serfs to become owner-occupiers of their own small farms.<\/sup>\u00a0By this time fishermen from\u00a0Holland<\/a>, who had traditionally gathered each year off the coast of Shetland to fish for\u00a0herring<\/a>, triggered an industry in the islands that boomed from around 1880 until the 1920s when stocks of the fish began to dwindle.<\/sup> The production peaked in 1905 at more than a million barrels, of which 708,000 were exported.<\/p>\n During\u00a0World War I<\/a>, many Shetlanders served in the\u00a0Gordon Highlanders<\/a>, a further 3,000 served in the Merchant Navy, and more than 1,500 in a special local naval reserve. The 10th Cruiser Squadron was stationed at Swarbacks Minn (the stretch of water to the south of Muckle Roe), and during a single year from March 1917 more than 4,500 ships sailed from Lerwick as part of an escorted convoy system. In total, Shetland lost more than 500 men, a higher proportion than any other part of Britain, and there were further waves of emigration in the 1920s and 1930s.<\/sup><\/p>\n During\u00a0World War II<\/a>, a Norwegian naval unit nicknamed the “Shetland Bus<\/a>” was established by the\u00a0Special Operations Executive<\/a>\u00a0in the autumn of 1940 with a base first at\u00a0Lunna<\/a>\u00a0and later in Scalloway to conduct operations around the coast of Norway. About 30 fishing vessels used by Norwegian refugees were gathered and the Shetland Bus conducted covert operations, carrying intelligence agents, refugees, instructors for the resistance, and military supplies. It made over 200 trips across the sea, and\u00a0Leif Larsen<\/a>, the most highly decorated\u00a0allied<\/a> naval officer of the war, made 52 of them. Several RAF airfields and sites were also established at Sullom Voe and several lighthouses suffered enemy air attacks.<\/p>\n Oil reserves discovered in the later 20th century in the seas both east and west of Shetland have provided a much-needed alternative source of income for the islands.<\/sup>\u00a0The\u00a0East Shetland Basin<\/a>\u00a0is one of Europe’s prolific petroleum provinces. As a result of the oil revenue and the cultural links with Norway, a small\u00a0Home Rule movement<\/a>\u00a0developed briefly to recast the\u00a0constitutional position of Shetland<\/a>. It saw as its models the\u00a0Isle of Man<\/a>, as well as Shetland’s closest neighbor, the Faroe Islands<\/a>, an autonomous dependency of\u00a0Denmark<\/a>.<\/p>\n Shetland is around 170\u00a0km (106\u00a0mi) north of mainland Scotland and 350\u00a0km (217\u00a0mi) west of\u00a0Bergen<\/a>,\u00a0Norway<\/a>. It covers an area of 1,468\u00a0km2<\/sup> (567\u00a0sq\u00a0mi) and has a coastline 2,702\u00a0km (1,679\u00a0mi) long.<\/p>\n Lerwick<\/a>, the capital and largest settlement, has a population of 6,958 and about half of the archipelago’s total population of 22,920 people<\/sup>\u00a0live within 16\u00a0km (9.9\u00a0mi) of the town.<\/sup><\/p>\n Scalloway<\/a> on the west coast, which was the capital until 1708, has a population of less than 1,000.<\/p>\n Only 16 of about 100 islands are inhabited. The main island of the group is known as\u00a0Mainland<\/a>. The next largest are\u00a0Yell<\/a>,\u00a0Unst<\/a>, and\u00a0Fetlar<\/a>, which lie to the north, and\u00a0Bressay<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Whalsay<\/a>, which lie to the east.\u00a0East<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0West Burra<\/a>,\u00a0Muckle Roe<\/a>,\u00a0Papa Stour<\/a>,\u00a0Trondra<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Vaila<\/a>\u00a0are smaller islands to the west of Mainland. The other inhabited islands are\u00a0Foula<\/a>\u00a028\u00a0km (17\u00a0mi) west of\u00a0Walls<\/a>,\u00a0Fair Isle<\/a>\u00a038\u00a0km (24\u00a0mi) south-west of\u00a0Sumburgh Head<\/a>, and the\u00a0Out Skerries<\/a> to the east.<\/p>\n The uninhabited islands include\u00a0Mousa<\/a>, known for the\u00a0Broch of Mousa<\/a>, the finest preserved example in the world of an\u00a0Iron Age<\/a>\u00a0broch<\/a>;\u00a0Noss<\/a>\u00a0to the east of\u00a0Bressay<\/a>, which has been a national nature reserve since 1955;\u00a0St Ninian’s Isle<\/a>, connected to Mainland by the largest active\u00a0tombolo<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0United Kingdom<\/a>; and\u00a0Out Stack<\/a>, the\u00a0northernmost<\/a>\u00a0point of the\u00a0British Isles<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Shetland’s location means that it provides a number of such records:\u00a0Muness<\/a>\u00a0is the most northerly castle in the United Kingdom and\u00a0Skaw<\/a>\u00a0the most northerly settlement.<\/p>\n Today, the main revenue producers in Shetland are\u00a0agriculture<\/a>,\u00a0aquaculture<\/a>,\u00a0fishing<\/a>,\u00a0renewable energy<\/a>, the\u00a0petroleum industry<\/a>\u00a0(crude oil<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0natural gas<\/a>\u00a0production), the\u00a0creative industries<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0tourism<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Unst also has a\u00a0rocket launch pad<\/a>\u00a0called the\u00a0Shetland Space Centre<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0A February 2021 news item indicated that a rocket manufacturer from Germany, HyImpulse Technologies, planned to launch spacecraft powered by hydrogen from the Space Centre, starting in 2023.<\/sup> During the previous month, the Space Centre had filed plans with Council for a “satellite launch facility and associated infrastructure”.<\/p>\n As of February 2021, information on the Promote Shetland Web site indicated that “Shetland is less reliant on tourism than many Scottish islands” and that oil was an important sector of the economy. The “process of gradually transitioning from oil to clean renewable energy … production of clean hydrogen” was also emphasized. Fishing remained the primary sector and was expected to grow.<\/p>\n Transport between islands is primarily by ferry, and Shetland Islands Council operates various\u00a0inter-island services<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Shetland is also served by a domestic connection from Lerwick to\u00a0Aberdeen<\/a>\u00a0on mainland Scotland. This service, which takes about 12 hours, is operated by\u00a0NorthLink Ferries<\/a>. Some services also call at\u00a0Kirkwall<\/a>, Orkney, which increases the journey time between\u00a0Aberdeen<\/a> and Lerwick by 2 hours.\u00a0There are plans for road tunnels to some of the islands, especially\u00a0Bressay<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Whalsay<\/a>; however, it is hard to convince the mainland government to finance them.<\/p>\n Sumburgh Airport<\/a>, the main airport in Shetland, is located close to Sumburgh Head, 40\u00a0km (25\u00a0mi) south of Lerwick.\u00a0Loganair<\/a>\u00a0operates flights to other parts of Scotland up to ten times a day, the destinations being\u00a0Kirkwall<\/a>,\u00a0Aberdeen<\/a>,\u00a0Inverness<\/a>,\u00a0Glasgow<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Edinburgh<\/a>.<\/sup>\u00a0Lerwick\/Tingwall Airport<\/a>\u00a0is located 11\u00a0km (6.8\u00a0mi) west of Lerwick. Operated by Directflight Limited in partnership with Shetland Islands Council, it is devoted to inter-island flights from the Shetland Mainland to\u00a0Fair Isle<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Foula<\/a>.<\/p>\n Scatsta Airport<\/a>\u00a0was an airport near\u00a0Sullom Voe<\/a>\u00a0which allowed frequent charter flights from\u00a0Aberdeen<\/a> to transport oilfield workers. The airport closed on 30 June 2020.<\/p>\n Public bus services are operated in\u00a0Mainland<\/a>,\u00a0Whalsay<\/a>,\u00a0Burra<\/a>,\u00a0Unst<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Yell<\/a>.<\/p>\n The archipelago is exposed to wind and tide, and there are numerous sites of wrecked ships.<\/sup>\u00a0Lighthouses<\/a>\u00a0are sited as an aid to navigation at various locations.<\/p>\n The\u00a0flag of\u00a0Shetland<\/a>\u00a0is a white or silver\u00a0Nordic cross<\/a> on a blue background. The flag uses the colors of the\u00a0flag of Scotland<\/a>, but in the form of the Nordic cross in order to symbolize Shetland’s historical and cultural ties with Scandinavia. As with all Scottish flags, its proportions and color shades are not fixed.\u00a0It was created by Roy Gr\u00f8nneberg and Bill Adams in 1969, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the transfer of the islands from\u00a0Norway<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Kalmar Union<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Scotland<\/a>\u00a0and the 500 years before as part of Norway.<\/p>\n The flag is widely used privately by Shetlanders both on land and sea and is now seen as a symbol of the\u00a0Shetland<\/a>\u00a0identity. In 2007 a “Shetland Flag Day” was introduced by the Council, who hope the day will be used to “celebrate all things Shetland”.<\/sup>\u00a0After almost forty years of unofficial use, the flag was formally granted by the\u00a0Lord Lyon King of Arms<\/a>,<\/sup>\u00a0the heraldic authority of Scotland, on 1 February 2005,<\/sup>\u00a0in time for the\u00a0Island Games<\/a> in July 2005 in Shetland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The flag of Shetland is a white or silver Nordic cross on a blue background. The flag uses the colors of the flag of Scotland, but in the form of the Nordic cross in order to symbolize Shetland’s historical and cultural ties with Scandinavia. As with all Scottish flags, its proportions and color shades are not fixed. It was created by Roy Gr\u00f8nneberg and Bill Adams in 1969, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the transfer of the islands from Norway in the Kalmar Union to Scotland and the 500 years before as part of Norway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[66,59,26,5,7,29,60,13],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9450"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9668,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9450\/revisions\/9668"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/09\/Shetland-and-Shetland-within-Scotland-158x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/09\/Lerwick-300x200.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
Prehistory:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/c\/c7\/Jarlshof_20080821_-_aisled_roundhouse_and_broch.jpg\/290px-Jarlshof_20080821_-_aisled_roundhouse_and_broch.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Scandinavian Colonization:<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/c\/c0\/Shetland_%28boxed%29_with_surrounding_lands.png\/290px-Shetland_%28boxed%29_with_surrounding_lands.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"A](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/d\/d4\/Flateyjarbok_Haraldr_Halfdan.jpg\/290px-Flateyjarbok_Haraldr_Halfdan.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Increased Scottish Interest:<\/span><\/h3>\n
Absorption by Scotland:<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/2\/2a\/James_III_and_Margaret_of_Denmark.jpg\/290px-James_III_and_Margaret_of_Denmark.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>18th and 19th Centuries:<\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/f\/f7\/Wind_Bound_Lerwick_around_1880.jpg\/290px-Wind_Bound_Lerwick_around_1880.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/b\/b5\/County_Buildings%2C_King_Erik_Street%2C_Lerwick_%28geograph_5160230%29.jpg\/290px-County_Buildings%2C_King_Erik_Street%2C_Lerwick_%28geograph_5160230%29.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>20th century<\/span>[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/b\/b5\/Leif_Larsen.jpg\/290px-Leif_Larsen.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/09\/Detailed-Map-of-Shetland-274x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/09\/Apache-Corporations-Beryl-alpha-oil-platform-in-the-East-Shetland-Basin-300x222.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/09\/Sumburgh-Airport-300x159.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Flag of Shetland:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/09\/Flag-of-Shetland-300x180.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>