Iceland
Reasons behind a collapse of a civilization on an island
Thesis Statement
The Icelandic collapse between 1075 and 1780 was caused by a climate change that formed ice which led to volcano activity and volcano activity that led to flooding.
Map of Europe
Old Map of Iceland
Map of Iceland and Nearby Countries
Reason 1: Cooling Climate
Reason 2: Volcano Eruptions
Reason 3: Flooding
Background Information
Iceland was settled by Vikings from Sweden, Ireland and Scotland. They set up a civilization with prosperous farms and plenty of Live stock. In 1560 there was a mini ice age in Europe and this heavily affected Iceland. While Greenland was basically completely destroyed, Iceland managed to survive and now is a thriving country after their economic collapse in 2008. This mini ice age killed their crops, formed ice in the sea and killed off their main food sources. They had to change the way they went about their daily life. They originally ate shellfish but because of the climate change they had to start fishing for cod to be their main food source. Over the course of 700 years the Icelandic population declined by almost half from 1075 to 1780 AD. The mini ice age almost wiped out Iceland as a whole but with enough perseverance they managed to get through it and kept the country going.