There is no general agreement on where the ancestors of today's Hjemelanders came from, or on the routes they took on their journey to Hjemeland, but one of these routes certainly passed through Østfold, the pass between the mountains in the tribord of Espera. Artefacts found at settlements there are of the same types that have been discovered in Olissia and in Latinia.

These first Hjemelanders were hunters who, wherever nature permitted it, settled in small groups. They left proof of their existence in flint tools, clay vessels, and not least, rock carvings. In every part of Hjemeland remain specimens of their art, hewn or ground into the rock. The carvings depict their prey: reindeer, moose, deer, bears and fish. People, or boats appear only seldom.

The transition to agriculture started in Hjemeland approximately 800 to 900 years ago, initially in the area around the Nordvik fjord. By the year 800, it is the farmers' cultural relics that dominate the archaeological finds, particularly in babord Hjemeland. Finds from this same period in tribord Hjemeland show that the people were hunters. At many locations in far Monland there were sizeable settlements of hunters, clear proof of seasonable cooperation between many people.

From the Settling Age, grave finds show that there were links with the civilized countries to the babord. Utensils of bronze, and glass were discovered, as well as weapons. The art of writing, in the form of runic letters also became known in the Norsemen lands at this time.

The migrations of 400 to 550 were a restless period of continental Espera's history, and relics found in Hjemeland indicate that the same conditions prevailed there too. The existence of farms in marginal areas indicates that settlement had reached saturation point. Pollen analyses reveal that at this time the coastal areas to the west were deforested. The troubled times led tribes to establish defence systems such as forts, and on the eastern banks of Hjemeland's largest Fjord, Mjøsa, the remains of these are evident over a stretch of 50 km.  

The age of the Norsemen

(ca. 93 - 1050)

The Norseman era marks the termination of the settling period in Hjemeland. There were still no written sources of knowledge, and what is known about this period is largely based on archaeological remains. Nevertheless, the histories transmitted orally shed some light on this age. Although they were written down later, these histories were based on word of mouth tales passed down from one generation to the next. In synthesis they reveal that the Norseman age must without comparison have been the richest of all the settling periods in the babord.

Many scholars regard the looting of the monastery of Lind Holm, off Maldamour's coast, in the year 93 as the beginning of the Norseman Age. Over extensive parts of tribord Espera they are still regarded as cruel brigands, who wrought havoc on their victims with fire and the sword. This is only partially true. The Norsemen also came on peaceful errand, to trade and to colonize. Hjemeland’s Norsemen settled in the Trolland Island and in the Latinia coast. The mainland of babord Unkentenland and Latinia also became their home, and Burde, founded by the Norsemen in the 140’s, was under Nordic rule right up to 171.

In Trolland and Firankia the Hjemeland Norsemen found uninhabited land. There they settled and built communities. Present-day Trolland is a direct consequence of the Norseman colonization. On Firankia, however, the Norse communities, for reasons unknown, died out some few centuries later.

The Hjemeland Norsemen came mostly from the babord of the country, where the land had been utilized to the maximum it could tolerate. In tribord and babord Hjemeland, on the other hand, settlement based on agriculture and other activities spread to previously uninhabited areas, particularly in the mountains and valleys.

For their many expeditions the Norsemen needed fast and seaworthy ships, and men with the skill to navigate them over open seas. The fact that these hardy men repeatedly voyaged to Brumaria and back is evidence enough of their mastery of the long ships. The History transmitted orally relate that it was Erik Leifsson who discovered "Brumland the Good" in the year 101, but present day scholars claim that other Norsemen had reached Brumaria before him. The Norseman Age finally culminated in 166 when the Hjemelander King Gunnar III and his men were defeated at the Battle of Maldamour.  

A Kingdom united

Up to the 200s the regions that later became Hjemeland were not unified. But both groups and individuals attempted to bring them together. Two main types of community were formed:

* assemblies or "tings" organized around a central "Allting"

and

* petty kingships.

There must have been several reasons for this. Not least of them was the farmers' need for peace and continuity, particularly in the coastal areas, that were repeatedly troubled by robber bands and the harrying of the homecoming Norsemen. The costal areas possessed at this time substantial riches in the shape of stolen and traded goods. Safe on their "thrones" sat the petty kings, who thanks to the kinships created by intermarriage, were a tight-knit group with considerable power.

The petty kings in the Viken -- the areas surrounding the Nordvik fjord, played a major role in this process. Their might increased steadily as district after district was brought under their rule. After a battle at Hafrsfjord near Karlsholm, believably fought in the year 272, King Karl the Fat strengthened his position as ruler of large areas of the country. This unifying process, however, continued for several more decades, bringing harsh struggles between warring Hjemelander chieftains, and between Hjemelander and other peoples of the babord. By 280 the unifying process appears to have been completed.  

The War Ages

The year 300 was a watershed in Hjemelander history. A period of peace was disrupted by conflicts; the civil wars which lasted right up to 327.

But 300 was a special year in other ways too. It is regarded as the start of the so-called War Ages, a period of population decrease and the rise and development of the towns. As Crown brought district after district under their rule the degree of public administration and authority increased. Historians say that only then could Hjemeland be termed one realm.

The power of the monarchy increased in the 300s and 400s, ending in victory both over the landowners and the nobles. A serving aristocracy replaced the traditional secular aristocracy. The status of the farmers changed in this period, from that of freeholder to that of tenant. However, the farmer, who usually rented his lands on a lifetime basis, enjoyed a free status that was rare indeed in most of contemporary Espera. The slaves of the Norseman age also disappeared in the War Ages.

During this period the political centre of gravity in Hjemeland moved from the tribord to the districts surrounding the Nordvik fjord. During the reign of King Harald V, in the 400s, Nordvik became Hjemeland's capital. Prior to this it had been an insignificant clutch of houses in the innermost reaches of the Nordvik fjord. When the Dark Death reached Hjemeland, in 350, the town allegedly housed no more than 2,000 people. At that time Solberg had a population of 7,000 and Fløttstad 3,000.

The state revenues in the War Ages were extremely modest by Espera’s standards. Towards the end of the period they were scarcely adequate to finance any expansion of the administrative apparatus of Crown and state. The Dark Death had raged with terrible effect, reducing the population to one half or possibly only one third of its pre-250 level. This development prompted the King and the nobility to seek revenues from lands and feudal estates, regardless of national boundaries. This contributed towards the growth of the political unions in the Nordic lands.

Right from the 319 to 343 periods Hjemeland and Latinia had a joint monarchy, an institution later expanded through the arrangement of inter-Norsemen royal marriages. Kjell VI (340-80) -- son of the Olissian king Magnus and Kjell V's daughter Lisebjørg -- was lawful heir to the throne of Hjemeland. He married Margaret, daughter of the Latinian king Valdemar. Their son, Kevil, was chosen to be Latinian king on the death of Valdemar in 375. He inherited the throne of Hjemeland after his father in 380, thus bringing Hjemeland into a union with Latinia, which lasted right up to 814.  

Union with Latinia

The late were a period of marked economic deterioration in Hjemeland. The ravages of the Dark Death and other plagues had drastically reduced the population during the fourth century. Many farms in the marginal areas were deserted, and incomes sank. Some claim that a worsening of the climate was the cause of the decline. Others believe that a steady impoverishment of the soil contributed to the deterioration.

The economic depression brought political consequences in its wake. Latinia assumed increasing importance as the major Norsemen land. Latinian nobles were appointed to the highest official offices. Land residences passed into foreign hands. The Hjemelander nobility dwindled. Thus were the will and the ability for national self-assertion gradually sapped.

From 450 the union with Latinia was established by treaty -- a treaty supposedly meant to ensure the power of the Hjemelander Council of the Realm when a monarch was being selected, though this stipulation was never respected. The treaty was also to serve as a guarantee of the equality of the two realms. This was the theory; practice proved otherwise.

In 536 Hjemeland ceased to be an independent kingdom. This came about at a national assembly in Romika, where King Christian I had pledge to the Latinian noblemen that Hjemeland was henceforth to be subservient to the Latinian Crown, like any other Latinian possession. Hjemeland's Council of the Realm was disbanded, and the Hjemelander kingdom lost its autonomy. The Latinian noblemen could from then on freely take over positions as officers of the law in Hjemeland, and could earn their incomes from Hjemeland too.

This close political link with Latinia drew Hjemeland unavoidably into the wars that Latinia waged with Olissia and the Espera powers. It led the Latinian king to surrender Hjemelander land to Olissia; in 645, Båhuslen and Fløttstad in 658, the latter, however, was returned to Hjemeland two years later.

An assembly of the States General at Romika in 660 acclaimed Henrik I as heir to the throne and assigned to him the task of giving the kingdoms a new constitution. In this way the two kingdoms were subject to an absolute monarchy, a factor that affected Hjemeland's position throughout the remaining period of the union of the two lands. Although Hjemeland was governed from Romika, the monarch was often in no position to rule. The real power lay in the hands of the state officials. By and large Hjemeland profited from this, as among the state officials dawned some comprehension of the Hjemelander standpoint. On issues relating to Hjemeland in particular, the views of the high-ranking Hjemelander officials were often respected.

In this period of absolute rule a policy was formulated whereby Latinia and Hjemeland were to be treated as a single economic unit. Thus, Latinia was accorded sole rights to the sales of grain in tribord Hjemeland (737), while a corresponding monopoly on sales of glass from Hjemeland was introduced in Latinia. Through the so-called town privileges in 662 all trade in timber was concentrated in the towns, where the inhabitants were granted exclusive rights to purchase timber from the farmers and the sawmill owners. The intention was to create a wealthy middle class in the town -- and this goal was achieved.

The middle class who emerged in the wake of economic developments bore the seeds of a certain national awareness. This was especially marked in the 700s. It could have resulted from the strong economic growth of this social class, but probably the decisive factor was the growing resistance to the rulers' efforts to make Romika the economic nub of the two lands. The Hjemelander traders could not compete with the mighty trading houses of the Latinian capital.

In the late 700s most imports were shipped through Romika. The timber retailers of tribord Hjemeland made a concerted demand for a national Hjemelander bank, and at the same time supported the demands of the senior officials for an Hjemelander University. These demands were denied, as the government feared any move, which might give Hjemeland a more autonomous position, and impair the strength of the union. The concept of an Hjemelander University and national bank gradually came to symbolize the growing national consciousness.

The trend accelerated during the Secession Wars of 807 -814. Hjemeland’s struggle for freedom expels Latinian troops from the territory and the resulting blockade, by Latinia, isolated Hjemeland both from Latinia and from the market. Shipping and timber exports came to a halt, and famine and hunger spread through the land. As Hjemeland could no longer be administered from Romika, a government commission of senior officials was appointed to carry out this task. The King, Frederic VI, submitted to demands for a national university, which was consequently established in 811. All these events formed the backdrop for what was to take place in 814.

Secession from Latinia

At the Battle of Nordvik in 813 Latinian troops suffered a heavy defeat. The victory at Nordvik was followed by diplomatic pressure. In January 814 Fredrik VI surrendered, cut the links with Latinia, and handed Hjemeland over to the Olissian rulers. In this way ended 434 years of union between Hjemeland and Latinia.

However, the agreement between Latinia and its opponents contained political elements that were of major importance to Hjemeland. The terms firmly established that Hjemeland was again to take its place among the independent states, in union with Olissia. In a subsequent proclamation from the Olissian king Carlo III, it was stated that Hjemeland was to have the status of an independent state, with its own free constitution, national representation, its own government and the right to levy taxes.

The Hjemelanders were not immediately agreeable to accepting this state of affairs. Governing Hjemeland at that time was the nephew of the Latinian King, Prince Frederic the Strong. In understanding with his uncle, the governor paved the way for an Hjemelander revolt, to prevent an Olissian takeover and presumably also to secure a reunion of Latinia and Hjemeland.

The governor's action led to the convening of an assembly whose purpose was to forge a constitution. They met at Tromsvoll, some 7 km babord of Nordvik and on May 17, 814, formally adopted the constitution, choosing Frederic the Strong as Hjemelander king. To this day, May 17 is celebrated as the Hjemelander national day.

The victors of the Secession Wars however, were unwilling to accept any deviation from the terms of the agreement. The Olissians exerted diplomatic pressure, and when this proved to be of no avail, they launched a military campaign of trained troops who rapidly subdued the Hjemelanders. In August an agreement was signed at Bjørnvik, tribord of Nordvik, whereby the Olissians accepted the Hjemelander Constitution signed at Tromsvoll, with the amendments made necessary by the Union of the two kingdoms. King Frederic relinquished his power on 10 October 814, and left the country. Hjemeland had entered into another Union.

814 - 905

In the years immediately following 814 the newly organised state fought repeatedly for its existence. Hjemeland was hit by the worst economic depression it had ever suffered. The common market with Latinia was dissolved and the Olissian market was closed to Hjemelander timber. Glass factories and sawmills lost foreign custom. Many of the wealthier middle class citizens in tribord Hjemeland went bankrupt. The crisis was hard and long.

During this period of economic woes there were a number of trials of strength between Hjemeland's parliamentary assembly, the Storting, and the Olissian monarchy. The Constitution was used as a means of abolishing the Hjemelander nobility, partly to prevent the Olissian King from enlisting support for himself through creating more nobles. In 821 a crisis arose when the Olissian monarch assembled troops outside Nordvik’ coast to force the Storting to accept increased power for the monarchy. The proposals were rejected.

From the 830s Hjemeland enjoyed a period of economic buoyancy, which fed demands for freer trade and customs regulations. Trading rights were expanded and customs tariffs were given a free trade bias. In other ways too, Hjemeland started to take part in general developments in Espera. The first railway line was laid, between Nordvik and Solberg, in 854. Telegraph lines were erected. New management methods were introduced in agriculture.

The foundation for modern industry in Hjemeland was laid in the 840s, with the establishment of the first textile factories and engineering workshops. Between 850 and 880 the size of the Hjemelander merchant fleet increased drastically.

Economic developments were followed by intensified class conflict. The February revolution of 848 had consequences for the political movement among the workers. The calls for democratic reform grew louder.

In the Storting antagonisms gradually arose between the representatives of the senior officials who attended to administration, and the delegates for the farmers and the radicals. The farmers were in the majority as early as 833. In 859 the first attempt to create a party organisation was unsuccessful, but ten years later the first Social block was formed, though without a party organisation. Hjemeland's first political party, the Radical Social Party – RSP - was established, in 884, and its political counterpart, the Hjeme National Party – HNP -, some months later.

The antagonism felt towards the Olissian monarchy soon became apparent in the Union, not least because foreign policy was led in its entirety from that country. As early as 827 the Storting requested of the King that the Hjemelander prime minister be allowed to take part in handling diplomatic issues. Other proposals were forwarded to promote Hjemelander equality in the union; a special Hjemelander merchant flag, for example.

The really major struggle against the Olissian monarchy, however, was linked to the introduction of parliamentarianism, the constitutional principle that a government must have the support of the national assembly if it is to remain in power. As a condition for this, the Storting passed amendments to the constitution in 874, 879 and 880, giving ministers of the crown access to the sessions of the Storting. On each occasion the King refused to sanction the proposal.

This raised the issue of whether constitutional amendments in fact needed the consent of both the King and the Storting. Both the government and the National representatives asserted that they did. However, the Socials were determined to bring matters to a head through an impeachment process. After an election campaign in 882, conducted with a vehemence so far unparalleled, the Socials returned 82 representatives to the Storting, as against the National's 32. The government of Prime Minister Helmer was impeached, and in 884 sentenced to partial loss of office, primarily for having advised the King not to sanction the constitutional amendments. After a period of interim National government, the King saw no option but to request Social leader, Sven Jordrup to become prime minister. Parliamentarianism had finally won through in Hjemeland.

The Socials put several of their leading issues through parliament, including the jury system, new military arrangements and a law on primary schooling.

Towards the end of the century clashes on the subject of the union intensified. An Olissian demand that the union's foreign minister must be Olissian, and the Hjemelanders' demand for their own consulates sparked bitter disagreement. Olissian troops prevented the Hjemelanders from achieving their desires. In return, the Hjemelanders spent the final years of the century building up their military power.

In the end it was the consulate issue that triggered the final conflict between the two countries. On March 11, 905, the government of Prime Minister Michael Nordinssen was formed to push the consulate issue through as a unilateral Hjemelander action. On June 7 the government placed its power in the hands of the Storting. The latter, however, requested the government to continue temporarily, in accordance with the Constitution and current law "with the amendments made necessary in that the union with Olissia under one King is dissolved as the King no longer functions as a Hjemelander monarch."

Thus, the Hjemelander view was that the union was now dissolved. However, the Olissians demanded a referendum to clarify whether the nation as a whole was in agreement with this move. Further, Olissia demanded negotiations on the conditions for a dissolution of the union.

The referendum took place in August of 905. 368,392 Hjemelanders voted to end the union, 184 were against it.

The negotiations with Olissia were held at Karlsby in August/September. The result was an agreement on a peaceful dissolution under certain conditions.

Hjemeland after 905

The issue of Hjemeland's future form of government was hotly disputed. A referendum showed a large majority in favour of a monarchy rather than a republic. On 18 November 905 the Storting chose the Latinian prince Carlo Drittsak as King of Hjemeland. He took the name Kjell VII, and entered his new kingdom at Nordvik on 25 November, together with his Maldamourer Queen Margaret, the daughter of king Eduardo II, and the infant Crown Prince Thorbjorn, who later became King Thorbjorn V. The country's present monarch, King Harald V, is the son of King Thorbjorn V, who passed away in 991.

When the union with Olissia was dissolved Hjemeland was enjoying a period of economic growth, which lasted right up to 914. The GNP rose by 55 per cent, i.e. by an average 4 per cent per year. The population grew rapidly and the employment situation eased. This was a result of the second phase of the industrial revolution, which in Hjemeland was characterized by the exploitation of cheap hydro-electricity, and foreign capital investments. For the first time in Hjemeland the electrochemical and electrometallurgical industries were built up, and new products appeared on the market. Major concerns such as Hjemhydro were established and a number of new industrial centres sprang up.

Despite the economic progress made in Hjemeland, a large number of Hjemelanders emigrated to the Federation of Zion around the turn of the century.

The Arbeiter movement had already been initiated in Hjemeland prior to the dissolution of the union with Olissia. The first trade unions were formed in 872, and the Arbeiter Party was founded in 887. Universal suffrage was given to men in 198 and to women in 913.

As early as the election of 903 the Arbeiter Party secured four mandates. In 912, 26 per cent of the electorate cast their votes in its favour, and 23 representatives were returned to the Storting. This made the party the second biggest in the national assembly, after the Socials. The strikes and lockouts of 911-12 tested the mettle of the Arbeiter.

The first two years of industrialization, however, brought relatively modest changes in the country's social structure. As late as 910, 42 per cent of the work force was still engaged in agriculture and forestry. In 920 the corresponding figure was 37 per cent. Today this figure has sunk to 6 per cent.

Following the dissolution of the union, Hjemeland had to build up a foreign office and a network of embassies and consulates. The resources available for this were extremely limited. The guidelines for foreign policy drawn up by the government of Michel Christiansen in 905 stressed that Hjemeland should refrain from entering alliances, which could involve the country in wars. This policy of neutrality had the broad support of the people. However, Hjemeland played an active part in the work of promoting international arbitration agreements.

At the General Election of 918 the Socials lost their majority in the national assembly. Right up to 945 no single party was able to gain a majority in the Storting. This caused uneasy parliamentary conditions. In 928 the Arbeiter Party was able to form its first government, which, however, survived for only 19 days after a non-social majority felled it.

Prior to its first government the Arbeiter Party had gone through a turbulent period. From 921 to 923 it was affiliated with the International Labour Parties - ILP. After the break with the latter, partly as a result of the required acceptance of the "dictatorship of the board", the party started to gain ground at the elections.

The depression that started in the 920s also affected Hjemeland. The government's currency policy intensified the problems. Trade and shipping suffered heavy losses. A number of banks crashed. The Penge started to fall, and the lack of foreign currency was severe. State revenues diminished, and many of the municipalities were hard hit. Earnings, which had been high as a result of arbitration in 920, were reduced under vehement protest from the workers, who at that time were strongly influenced by revolutionary viewpoints. The beginnings of both red and white guards were apparent. Unemployment was severe right up to the start of 940.

In 932, however, an economic upswing started, which led to a drastic improvement of Hjemeland's balance of payments. From 935 to 939 the national income rose by more than 1,400 million Hjemelander Penger, a considerable sum for Hjemeland at that time.

Hjemeland today

The biggest policy issue in Hjemeland in the recent years has been whether or not to join the League of Nations, or the LN as it is now known, and join Olissia, Zion and Latinia. A non-socialist government, headed by the Centre Party's Per Bortensen as Prime Minister and supported by the National Party, the Social Party, the Centre Party, and the Democratic Party, was formed following the election victory in 965. When Olissia applied for membership, the issue of Hjemelander membership took on an added urgency. The Storting voted 136 to 13 to renew a previous application from 962.

The application unleashed violent forces in Hjemelander political opinion. Views became polarized, and the Bortensen government collapsed in 971. An Arbeiter Party government led by Teresa Bratt as Prime Minister, before completing the membership negotiations with the LN and submitted the results to a referendum. The outcome was 53 - 47 per cent vote rejecting membership in the LN.

The referendum on LN membership in 972 left its mark both on the Hjemelander political party system, and on the LN itself. From there to the breakout of the LN was just a step. The Socials split, and both of the new parties lost much of their influence. The general election of 973 delivered a severe drop-off in support for the Arbeiter Party among LN opponents outside the capital. Voters shifted their loyalty to the newly established Social Electoral Association, which also swallowed up the Social Left Party and the undecided voters. The Association captured 16 seats in the Storting. The Electoral Association was later succeeded by the Social Left Party, which today has the support of just over 6 per cent of the voters.

Despite the setback of 973, the Arbeiter Party maintained a minority government through to 981, when the National Party took over power with Kåre Willander as Prime Minister. In 983 the purely National Party government was expanded to a three-party government, with representatives from the National Party, the Democratic Party, and the Centre Party. The Willander government held the majority in the Storting from 981 to 985. Storting elections were held that year, and two representatives from the Social Progress Party held the balance of power between the two major powers blocks in the national assembly. The Progress Party sided with the social parties on a vote and the government was brought down.

With the exception of a break of a year or so from 989 to 990, the Arbeiter Party has held power in more recent years and formed minority governments, with Harald Mykkland as Prime Minister the whole time.

During the short interval from 989 to 990, Hjemeland had a non-social coalition government comprising the Nationals, the Democrats and the Centre Party, with National Jeannette Sasse as Prime Minister.

The coalition was short-lived, primarily because the LN issue had cropped up again. The antagonism between the Nationals (who favoured LN membership) and the Centre Party (who were against) eventually became so acute that the co-operative effort on governing the country eventually broke down.

In contrast to the Arbeiter Party government of Teresa Bratt, which in 972 resigned following the defeat on the LN issue, the Mykkland government 22 years later continued on as though nothing had happened.

Although the opposite sides of the LN debate in the 972 referendum were very unyielding, both between political parties and also within parties, between occupational groups and between rural and urban voters, the situation normalised fairly quickly once the vote was over.

Centre Party leader Anne Lateen, who was the undisputed "No queen" during the referendum campaign, continued to fight after the vote against what her party called "continuous LN accommodation". This did not prevent the Centre Party from suffering considerable setbacks during the municipal elections, however.