Editing Shetland (section)

=== Absorption by Scotland ===

[[File:James III and Margaret of Denmark.jpg|thumb|250px|alt=A picture on a page in an old book. A man at left wears tights and a tunic with a lion rampant design and holds a sword and sceptre. A woman at right wears a dress with an heraldic design bordered with ermine and carries a thistle in one hand and a sceptre in the other. They stand on a green surface over a legend in Scots that begins "James the Thrid of Nobil Memorie..." (sic) and notes that he "marrit the King of Denmark's dochter".|[[James III of Scotland|James III]] and [[Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland|Margaret of Denmark]], whose betrothal led to Shetland passing from Norway to Scotland.]]

In the 14th century, Orkney and Shetland remained Norwegian possessions, but Scottish influence was growing. [[Jon Haraldsson]], who was murdered in [[Thurso]] in 1231, was the last of an unbroken line of Norse jarls,<ref>Crawford, Barbara E. "Orkney in the Middle Ages" in Omand (2003) pp. 72–73</ref> and thereafter the earls were Scots noblemen of the houses of [[Earl of Angus|Angus]] and [[Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney|St Clair]].<ref>Nicolson (1972) p. 44</ref> On the death of [[Haakon VI of Norway|Haakon VI]] in 1380,<ref>[http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/H%C3%A5kon_6_Magnusson/utdypning "Håkon 6 Magnusson"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003102436/http://snl.no/.nbl_biografi/H%C3%A5kon_6_Magnusson/utdypning |date=3 October 2012 }}. Om Store Norske Leksikon, (Norwegian), Retrieved 19 January 2013</ref> Norway formed a [[Kalmar Union|political union]] with Denmark, after which the interest of the royal house in the islands declined.<ref name="Sch13"/> In 1469, both [[Orkney]] and Shetland was [[pledge (law)|pledged]] by [[Christian I of Denmark|Christian I]], in his capacity as King of Norway, as security against the payment of the [[dowry]] of his daughter [[Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland|Margaret]], betrothed to [[James III of Scotland]]. As the money was never paid, the connection with the Crown of Scotland became permanent.{{#tag:ref|Historians have expressed different views on whether Christian I and James III and their advisors actually expected the dowry would eventually be paid in money, or whether there was a tacit understanding between them that the transfer of the islands as the security was the more likely outcome.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Crawford |first1=Barbara E. |title=The Pawning of Orkney and Shetland: A reconsideration of the events of 1460–9 |journal=The Scottish Historical Review |date=April 1969 |volume=48 |issue=145 |page=38 |jstor=25528787 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25528787 |access-date=9 October 2024}}</ref> Christian had apparently proceeded without the knowledge of the Norwegian {{lang|no|[[Rigsraadet]]}} (Council of the Realm), initially pawning Orkney for 50,000 Rhenish [[guilder]]s. On 28 May 1470, he also pawned Shetland for 8,000 Rhenish guilders.<ref>[http://www.ub.uib.no/avdeling/spes/diplom/1509.htm "Diplom fra Shetland datert 24.november 1509"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505033602/http://www.ub.uib.no/avdeling/spes/diplom/1509.htm|date=5 May 2011}}, Bergen University, (Norwegian), Retrieved 13 September 2009</ref> He had secured a clause in the contract which gave future kings of Norway the right to redeem the islands for a fixed sum of 210 kg of gold or 2,310&nbsp;kg of silver. Several attempts were made during the 17th and 18th centuries to redeem the islands, without success.<ref>[http://universitas.uio.no/Arkiv/1996/16okt96/norsk.htm "Norsken som døde"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724185409/http://universitas.uio.no/Arkiv/1996/16okt96/norsk.htm |date=24 July 2011 }}. Universitas, Norsken som døde, (Norwegian), Retrieved 13 September 2009</ref>|group="Note"}} In 1470, [[William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness]], ceded his title to James III, and the following year the Northern Isles were directly absorbed by the Crown of Scotland,<ref>Nicolson (1972) p. 45</ref> an action confirmed by the [[Parliament of Scotland]] in 1472.<ref>Thomson (2008) p. 204</ref> Nonetheless, Shetland's connection with Norway has proved to be enduring.{{#tag:ref|After Norway became [[Dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden|independent again in 1905]], the Shetland authorities sent a letter to King [[Haakon VII of Norway|Haakon VII]] in which they stated: "Today no 'foreign' flag is more familiar or more welcome in our voes and havens than that of Norway, and Shetlanders continue to look upon Norway as their mother-land, and recall with pride and affection the time when their forefathers were under the rule of the Kings of Norway".<ref name=Sch13/> |group="Note"}}

From the early 15th century onward Shetlanders sold their goods through the [[Hanseatic League]] of German merchantmen. The Hansa would buy shiploads of salted fish, wool and butter, and import [[salt]], [[cloth]], [[beer]] and other goods. The late 16th century and early 17th century were dominated by the influence of the despotic [[Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney|Robert Stewart]], Earl of Orkney, who was granted the islands by his half-sister [[Mary, Queen of Scots|Mary Queen of Scots]], and his son [[Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney|Patrick]]. The latter commenced the building of [[Scalloway Castle]], but after his imprisonment in 1609, the Crown annexed Orkney and Shetland again until 1643, when [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] granted them to [[William Douglas, 7th Earl of Morton]]. These rights were held on and off by the Mortons until 1766, when they were sold by [[James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton]] to [[Sir Lawrence Dundas, 1st Baronet|Laurence Dundas]].<ref>Schei (2006) pp. 14–16</ref><ref>Nicolson (1972) pp. 56–57</ref>