Editing Svalbard (section)

==== Svalbard Treaty====
{{Main|Svalbard Treaty}}

By the 1890s, Svalbard had become a destination for [[Arctic tourism]], coal deposits had been found, and the islands were being used as a base for [[Arctic exploration]].<ref>Arlov (1996): 239</ref> The first mining was along Isfjorden by Norwegians in 1899; by 1904, British interests had established themselves in [[Adventfjorden]] and started the first year-round operations.<ref>Arlov (1996): 249</ref> Production in Longyearbyen, by US interests, started in 1908;<ref>Arlov (1996): 261</ref> and Store Norske established itself in 1916, as did other Norwegian interests during the [[First World War]], in part by buying US interests.<ref>Arlov (1996): 273</ref>

[[File:Proposed flag of Svalbard, Norway (1930).svg|thumb|A proposed flag of Svalbard from 1930.<ref name="Jan Oskar Engene">{{cite web |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/sj-arms.html |title=Svalbard flag proposal (Norway) |author=Jan Oskar Engene |date=7 February 1996 |work=Flags of the World |access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref> It consists of the lion from the [[Coat of arms of Norway|Norwegian coat of arms]] on a background of blue and white [[vair]], possibly symbolising the Arctic landscape of the archipelago. Svalbard does not currently use a distinct flag.]]

Discussions to establish the sovereignty of the archipelago commenced in the 1910s,<ref>Arlov (1996): 288</ref> but were interrupted by [[World War I]].<ref>Arlov (1996): 294</ref> On 9 February 1920, following the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]], the [[Svalbard Treaty]] was signed, granting full sovereignty to Norway. However, all signatory countries were granted non-discriminatory rights to fishing, hunting, and mineral resources.<ref>Arlov (1996): 305–306</ref> The treaty took effect on 14 August 1925, at the same time as the [[Svalbard Act]] regulated the archipelago and the first [[Governor of Svalbard|governor]], [[Johannes Gerckens Bassøe]], took office.<ref>Arlov (1996): 319</ref>

The archipelago has traditionally been known as Spitsbergen, and the main island as West Spitsbergen. During the 1920s, Norway renamed the archipelago Svalbard, and the main island became Spitsbergen.<ref>Umbreit (2005): XI–XII</ref> [[Kvitøya]], [[Kong Karls Land]], [[Hopen (Svalbard)|Hopen]], and [[Bear Island (Norway)|Bjørnøya]] were not regarded as part of the Spitsbergen archipelago.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://miljo.npolar.no/placenames/pages/detaile.asp?placeNameID=813614P |title=Place names of Svalbard |website=[[Norwegian Polar Institute]] |access-date=24 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606113449/http://miljo.npolar.no/placenames/pages/detaile.asp?placeNameID=813614P |archive-date=6 June 2011 }}</ref> Russians have traditionally called the archipelago ''Grumant'' ({{lang|ru|Грумант}}).<ref>Arlov (1996): 51</ref> The [[Soviet Union]] retained the name Spitsbergen ({{lang|ru|Шпицберген}}) to support undocumented claims that Russians were the first to discover the island.<ref>Fløgstad (2007): 18</ref><ref>Arlov (1996): 50</ref>

In 1928, Italian explorer [[Umberto Nobile]] and the crew of the airship ''Italia'' crashed on the icepack off the coast of [[Foynøya|Foyn Island]]. The subsequent rescue attempts were covered extensively in the press and Svalbard received short-lived fame as a result.<ref>Cross (2002): 84-85; 128-130</ref>