Could Orkney Islands Become Norwegian Again?

A motion will be discussed by the Orkney Council on Tuesday on different forms of governance for the islands. The islands are now part of Scotland in the United Kingdom, but the motion is to see whether this can change. One of the proposals is to make the islands a Crown Dependency, like Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man. Another is to make it a dependency of Norway again, which it was for many centuries until 1472.

The Orkney Islands lie a little north of the north coast of Scotland. I believe it is less well known than the Shetland Islands, which lies further north, and which has the dog breed Shetland Sheepdog named after it. The Shetland Islands were also Norwegian until 1472.

It will be interesting to see the result of the discussions. National borders are never fixed for all time, it is fun when something changes.