More than 150,000 Scandinavians settled in the region between 1890 and 1910 ― many attracted to the fishing, logging, and farming industries.
People started settling in Scandinavia and calling it home soon after the region emerged out of the icy grip of the last ice age around 12,000 years ago. Archaeological finds show that people lived in the area 11,700 years ago.
Scandinavia is an incredibly clean place, which gives cities like Copenhagen and Stockholm a wonderful sense of good quality. Renowned for their green policies, the Scandinavian countries are world leaders in living eco- friendly, so be prepared to recycle and conserve energy!
We know that our species originated in Africa and likely reached Europe from the southeast no later than 42,000 years ago. … When the ice sheet retreated, some of these hunter gatherers eventually colonised Scandinavia from the south about 11,700 years ago, making it one of the last areas of Europe to be inhabited.
By the middle of the century, the time was ripe for mass immigration, and Scandinavians began arriving in American ports in large numbers. Each group of immigrants-those from Sweden, from Norway, from Denmark, Finland, and Iceland-would take a different path to life in the United States.
Why did the Swedish immigrate to America?
A strong population growth in Sweden increased the pressure on a society that was fundamentally agricultural in nature, and moving to North America provided the Swedish emigrants with economic opportunity not available in the homeland.
The Vikings travelled thousands of miles across the sea from their homeland of Scandinavia where they were farmers, fishermen, seafarers and traders. Some historians believe the Vikings left their homes because of over crowding. There was not enough good land for everyone to share.
Perhaps the most popular stereotype about the region’s population is that everyone – men and women – is blonde-haired and blue-eyed. … It is true that the percentage of blonde-haired people is a little higher in Scandinavia than in the rest of the world, but it is a long way from being a majority.
However, it has been explained to me that the reason Scandinavians (as well as Celts) have light skin, hair and eyes is that this a natural selection that allows for the greater absorption of Vitamin D in environments where sunshine can be rare for large parts of the year.
Scandinavia is attractive but not an easy option
However, moving to Denmark, Norway or Sweden as an American citizen is not easy. Unless you are fortunate enough to fall in love with a Scandinavian, you’ll need to excel in your field to obtain a work permit and master the local language to stay long-term.
Norway is currently the sixth richest country in the world when measured by GDP per capita. Norway’s GDP per capita is around $69,000, according to IMF estimates. Neighbour’s and Sweden and Denmark both make the top 20 with GDP’s of around $55,000 and $61,000 respectively.
Do Vikings exist?
Vikings is the modern name given to seafaring people primarily from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and settled throughout parts of Europe.
The reason they didn’t expand any more than that is because of the Germanic tribes living there who opposed them. The cost to benefit ratio wasn’t good enough for them to proceed. They eventually stopped trying to subdue the tribes and walled them off and themselves in. The Romans never even saw Scandinavia.
A small percentage of Scandinavian DNA can easily be explained by distant ancestors who settled in foreign lands. If your Scandinavian ethnicity is more than 20%, though, you probably have strong and fairly recent ties to the region. If you haven’t found them yet, keep looking.
Did Vikings have blue eyes?
Turns out they didn’t much resemble Thor or Ragnar Lothbrok.
It turns out most Vikings weren’t as fair-haired and blue-eyed as legend and pop culture have led people to believe. According to a new study on the DNA of over 400 Viking remains, most Vikings had dark hair and dark eyes.