Editing Halland (section)

== History ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2024}}

===Early history===
The [[Bronze Age]] was probably a period of relative prosperity in Halland. This is shown in the number of new settlements and the numerous archaeological remains. Over 1,100 tumuli and grave mounds have been found.

The [[Late Bronze Age collapse|end of the Bronze Age]] witnessed an [[Overconsumption (economics)|over-consumption of resources]]. Large areas were deforested. This might have been a result of a high demand for charcoal in smelting [[gold]] or [[bronze]] among the local elites.

The worsening climate at the beginning of the [[Iron Age]] meant that the local elites no longer could obtain [[bronze]] to the same extent as before. As a result, the social structures collapsed.

The early Iron Age social structures seem to have been relatively [[egalitarianism|egalitarian]], but from around 200 AD there was a trend in which [[village]]s formed larger communities and small [[Petty kingdom|kingdom]]s. This is likely to have been a distant influence from the growing [[Roman Empire]]. During the 5th and 6th century large free-standing farms were created; they grew larger as time passed. An example of such a farm can be found in [[Slöinge]].

It was not just the social structure that changed, so too did the [[Settlement (structural)|settlement structure]]. New villages were formed, while old ones were abandoned. The new centers that were formed became the kernel from which new areas were settled during [[medieval]] times.

===800–1645 AD===
According to information from a trader travelling from [[Skiringssal]], close to the [[Oslofjord]] to [[Hedeby]] in the 870s it can be concluded that Halland was a Danish area at that time. It would stay so for most of recorded history.

Iron extraction is known to have taken place in [[Hishult]] and [[Tvååker]]/[[Sibbarp, Varberg Municipality|Sibbarp]] during the Iron Age.

As part of the [[Scanian lands]] (then part of the Kingdom of [[Denmark]]) Halland came under the [[Scanian Law]] and participated in the Scanian [[Thing (assembly)|Thing]], one of three Things electing the Danish king. Local assemblies took place in [[Getinge]].

Halland was the scene of considerable military action from the 13th century and on as [[Sweden]], [[Denmark]] and to some degree [[Norway]] fought for supremacy in [[Scandinavia]]. The many wars made the province poor. Not only were material damages caused by military action, but the social impact of the fighting was devastating; people lacked the motivation to invest in their land and properties as it was likely to be destroyed anyway.

The county was the site of combat and plunder three times during the 13th Century: in 1256 [[Haakon IV of Norway]] invaded, followed by [[Magnus III of Sweden]] in 1277 and [[Eric VI of Denmark]] in 1294. The county came to be split in two parts for the next century, with the river [[Ätran (river)|Ätran]] forming a boundary. The lords of the two parts succeeded each other in a high tempo.

As the [[Kalmar Union]] was formed, Halland came for a brief period of time to be centrally located. According to the union treaty, the king was to be elected in [[Halmstad]].

During the rebellion of [[Engelbrekt]] in 1434 the fortress in [[Falkenberg]] was burnt down and two years later {{Interlanguage link multi|Lagaholm|sv}} was captured by the Swedes. The Swedo-Danish struggles in the early 16th century came to affect the province as well, as in 1519 when the border regions were sacked by the Swedes as a vengeance for similar Danish action in [[Västergötland]].

The Danish civil war called the [[Count's Feud]] in 1534–1536, the [[Northern Seven Years' War]] between Denmark-Norway and Sweden in 1563–1570 and the [[Kalmar War]] between [[Denmark–Norway|Denmark-Norway]] and [[Sweden]] in 1611–1613 all affected Halland. One of the major battles of the [[Northern Seven Years' War]], the [[battle of Axtorna]], took place in Halland.

===After 1645===
[[File:Fredsstenen i Brömsebro.jpg|thumb|upright|The peace stone in [[Brömsebro]] is not a [[runestone]] even if it looks like one. The stone was made in 1915 to commemorate the [[Second Treaty of Brömsebro (1645)|peace between Denmark and Sweden]] and the text is written with Latin letters. The text on the stone says "Memory of the peace in Brömsebro – [[:fr:Gaspard Coignet de La Thuilerie|Gaspard Coignet de La Thuilerie]] – [[Axel Oxenstierna]] – [[Corfitz Ulfeldt]]". The three named persons were the negotiators.  Thuilerie was an ambassador from France, Oxenstierna represented Sweden and Ulfeldt represented Denmark.]]

Halland was temporarily (for a period of 30 years) transferred to Sweden in 1645 under the terms of the [[Second Treaty of Brömsebro (1645)|Second Treaty of Brömsebro]]. The conquest was later made permanent by the ceding of the province in the [[Treaty of Roskilde]] in 1658. The last battle in Halland took place in [[Fyllebro]] on 17 August 1676, during the [[Scanian War]].

The more peaceful conditions that followed meant that the province could start to develop again. The 19th century saw the farming develop quickly to become one of the more efficient in the country by the end of the century. Parts of the province did however remain poor and [[erosion]] and blown sand remained a problem for much of the century. The county did therefore see a lot of [[emigration]], continuing well into the 20th century.

The 20th century has seen the province becoming one of the fastest growing in Sweden, as it has doubled its population since [[World War II]]. This is in part due to the northern parts, such as [[Kungsbacka]] and [[Onsala]], more or less becoming [[suburb]]s of [[Gothenburg]].

===Cities===
During Danish rule, privileges to towns in Halland were granted to:
*[[Falkenberg]] (1558)
*[[Halmstad]] (1307)
*[[Kungsbacka]] (approximately 1400)
*[[Laholm]] (approximately 1200)
*[[Varberg]] (approximately 1100)
Such [[cities in Sweden|privileges]] have no official significance nowadays.

=== Hundreds ===
[[Hundreds of Sweden]] were provincial divisions until the early 20th century, when they lost importance. Halland's hundreds were: [[Faurås Hundred]], [[Fjäre Hundred]], [[Halmstad Hundred]], [[Himle Hundred]], [[Höks Hundred]], [[Tönnersjö Hundred]], [[Viske Hundred]] and [[Årstad Hundred]].