North Eastern Atlantic

Between Iceland and the Faroe Islands lies a broad reach of the North Atlantic, crossed by sailors and settlers travelling west from northern Europe. Norse settlement spread through the Faroes and Iceland in the ninth century, linking the islands to a wider maritime world. Centuries later Danish merchants controlled much of Iceland's overseas trade under a monopoly established in 1602. Ships carrying fish and provisions had to cross these open waters between scattered harbors and the kingdoms to the east.