It was during the 8th century when the first inhabitants of Iceland came to this large island.  These Irish monks lived on Iceland until the arrival of the Norsemen in the 9th century.  The Norsemen settled Iceland until 930 AD.  Other settlers came from the British Isles (mainly Scotland), most of them being exiles and former slaves.

            As history is told, the some 200 years that followed were fairly peaceful on Iceland.   But these peaceful times ended at the beginning of the 13 th century, when a span of battles lasting 50 years started.   At the end of this time, around 1262, King Hákon Hákonarson of Norway took advantage of the chaos and claimed Iceland as a Norwegian colony.
            With many natural disasters, widespread illnesses and mass deaths, Iceland (ruled at the time by Norway ) became a colony of Denmark 1380.   Over the next few centuries, Iceland was hurt by the Danes, pirates, as well as more natural disasters.
            A small pox epidemic devastatingly cut Iceland ’s population by nearly a third during the two year span between 1707 and 1709.  
            During the late 19 th century, many Icelanders began leaving their home and moving to Canada and the US because of many hardships.

            After Nazi Germany took control of Denmark, U.S. and British troops moved into Iceland for strategic reasons.  In 1944, the Republic of Iceland that we know today was established.