Shetland Islands

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"Shetland" redirects here. For other uses, see Shetland (disambiguation).

Template:Infobox Scotland council area The Shetland Islands, also called Shetland (archaically spelled Zetland) formerly called Hjaltland, comprise one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is an archipelago between the Orkney Islands and the Faroe Islands, north of mainland Scotland, with a total area of approximately 1466 km². It forms part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The administrative centre and only burgh is Lerwick.

Shetland is also a lieutenancy area, and comprises the Shetland constituency of the Scottish Parliament, and was formerly a county.

1 Composition
2 History
3 Notable places
4 Economy
5 Language
6 Media
7 Notable Shetlanders
8 Shetland Islands on film
9 Council political composition
10 See also
11 External links

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Composition

Out of the approximately 100 islands, only twelve are inhabited. The main island of the group is known as Mainland.

The other inhabited islands are: Bressay, Burra, Fetlar, Foula, Muckle Roe, Papa Stour, Trondra, Vaila, Unst, Whalsay, Yell in the main Shetland group, plus Fair Isle and Out Skerries (see below).

Other , uninhabited, islands include:

Fair Isle lies approximately halfway between Shetland and Orkney, but it is administered as part of Shetland and is often counted as part of the island group. The Outer Skerries lie east of the main group. Due to the islands' location, in summer there is almost perpetual daylight and on clear winter nights, the aurora borealis can sometimes be seen in the sky.

Template:Infobox Scotland traditional county

Image:Flag of Shetland.svg	Image:Shetland coat of arms.jpg
(In Detail)	(Coat of Arms)
Motto Með lögum skal land byggja

Image:ScotlandShetlandIslands.png

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History

The old Gaelic name for the Shetland Isles (Innse Cat, "Islands of the Cat People") suggests that the original inhabitants were the same tribal group who inhabited Caithness ("Cat People's Headland", ) and Sutherland (Cataibh, "Cat People's Land"). Missionaries arrived around the 7th century and began converting the population to Christianity. Sometime in the 9th century, Shetland was invaded by the Norse and became a Norwegian colony for approximately 500 years, but ownership of Shetland, along with Orkney, defaulted to the crown of Scotland on 20 February 1472 following non-payment of the marriage dowry of Margaret of Denmark, queen of James III of Scotland.

During World War II, boats from the Shetland Islands provided a relief service to occupied Norway, known as the "Shetland bus".

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Notable places

Clickimin broch
Fort Charlotte
Jarlshof archaeological site
Mousa Broch
Old Scatness archaeological site
Scalloway Castle
St Ninian's Isle
Sullom Voe oil terminal
Sumburgh Head
Skaw, the most northerly settlement in the United Kingdom.

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Economy

Traditionally, the economic activities of Shetland were primarily agricultural, especially the raising of Shetland sheep, known for their unusually fine wool, along with the Shetland Sheepdog as well as the Shetland pony. Crops raised include oats and barley; however, the cold, windswept islands make for a harsh environment for most plants. Crofting, the farming of small plots of land on a legally restricted tenancy basis, is still practiced and viewed as a key Shetland tradition as well as important source of income.

More recently, oil reserves discovered in the 20th century out to sea have provided a much needed alternative source of income for the islands. The East Shetland Basin is becoming one of Europe's largest oil fields. Oil produced there is landed at the Sullom Voe terminal in Shetland.

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Language

The Pictish language was replaced by Norn, which was replaced by the Northern Dialect of Scots, which in turn is being replaced by Scottish English.

As Norn was gradually replaced by Scots, the original Scandinavian name of the islands, Hjaltland (high land) became Ȝetland (the initial letter being the old Scots letter, yogh (which can also be found in the forename Menzies, e.g. Menzies Campbell.) This sounded almost identical to the original Norn sound, 'hj'). When the letter yogh was discontinued, it was often replaced by the similar-looking letter 'z', hence Zetland, the mispronounced form used to describe the pre-1975 county council.

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Media

Shetland is served by a single weekly local newspaper, The Shetland Times, published every Friday. Radio Shetland, the local opt-out of BBC Radio Scotland, and well as SIBC, a commercial radio station, broadcast daily.

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Notable Shetlanders

Arthur Anderson (1792-1868), co-founder of P&O
Tom Anderson MBE, a fiddler, composer, folklorist and teacher who was a profoundly influential figure in the development of Shetland music
Ian Bairnson (b. 1953), session guitarist (The Alan Parsons Project)
Aly Bain (b. 1946), fiddle player.
Morgan Goodlad (b. 1950), controversial Chief Executive of Shetland Islands Council (see, for example, Private Eye No 1144 p27, or this story from the Sunday Herald.)
Sir Herbert John Clifford Grierson (1866-1960), a literary scholar and critic
Norman Lamont (b. 1942), Conservative MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 to 1993.
Steven Robertson, a theatre and film actor
Robert Stout (1844 - 1930), Prime Minister of New Zealand on two occasions in the late 19th century
Astrid Williamson, musician
Sandra Voe (b. 1936), actress appearing in many small film and TV roles (including Coronation Street) and mother of Pulp keyboard player Candida Doyle.
Neil from Seven Up!

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Shetland Islands on film

Michael Powell made The Edge of the World in 1937. This film is a dramatisation based on the true story of the evacuation of the last thirty-six inhabitants of the remote island of St Kilda on 29 August 1930. St Kilda lies in the Atlantic Ocean, ten miles (16 km) off the west coast of Scotland, and west of the Outer Hebrides; the inhabitants spoke Gaelic. Powell was unable to get permission to film on St. Kilda. Undaunted, he made the film over four months during the summer of 1936 on the island of Foula, in the Shetland Isles. Despite the fact that the Foula islanders speak the Norse-tinged dialect of Shetland, the film loses none of its power.

The Edge of the World (1937) dramatizes the evacuation of the Islands and the ensuing tragedy.
Return To The Edge Of The World (1978) was a documentary capturing a reunion of cast and crew of 1937's The Edge Of The World, 40 years after the fact, as they revisit the island.
{{{2|{{{title|Shetland Islands}}}}}} at The Internet Movie Database
Devil's Gate (2003).