Northern Isles

Many Orcadian seamen became involved in whaling in Arctic waters during the 19th century, although the boats were generally based elsewhere in Britain.

World Wars

thumb|alt=A small chapel sits in green fields under a blue sky. A body of water lies to the left. The front of the building is painted red and white and is decorated with colonnades and a small bell tower. By contrast, the main part of the building is painted grey and has a curved exterior reminiscent of a Nissen hut.|The [[Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm, built by POWs]]

Orkney was the site of a naval base at Scapa Flow, which played a major role in World War I. After the Armistice in 1918, the German High Seas Fleet was transferred in its entirety to Scapa Flow while a decision was to be made on its future; however, the German sailors opened the sea-cocks and scuttled all the ships. During World War I the 10th Cruiser Squadron was stationed at Swarbacks Minn in Shetland and during a single year from March 1917 more than 4,500 ships sailed from Lerwick as part of an escorted convoy system. In total, Shetland lost more than 500 men, a higher proportion than any other part of Britain, and there were waves of emigration in the 1920s and 1930s.

One month into World War II, the Royal Navy battleship was sunk by a German U-boat at Scapa Flow. As a result, barriers were built to close most of the access channels; these had the advantage of creating causeways enabling travellers to go from island to island by road instead of being obliged to rely on ferries. The causeways were constructed by Italian prisoners of war, who also constructed the ornate Italian Chapel. The Scapa Flow base was neglected after the war, eventually closing in 1957.

During World War II, a Norwegian naval unit nicknamed the "Shetland Bus" was established by the Special Operations Executive in the autumn of 1940 with a base first at Lunna and later in Scalloway to conduct operations around the coast of Norway. About 30 fishing vessels used by Norwegian refugees were gathered, and the Shetland Bus conducted covert operations, carrying intelligence agents, refugees, instructors for the resistance, and military supplies. It made over 200 trips across the sea, with Leif Larsen, the most highly decorated allied naval officer of the war, making 52 of them.

The problem of a declining population was significant in the post-war years, although in the last decades of the 20th century there was a recovery and life in the islands focused on growing prosperity and the emergence of a relatively classless society. Both are also within the Highlands and Islands electoral region for the Scottish Parliament.

In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, 65.4% of the constituency's electors voted for Scotland to stay part of the United Kingdom.

However, there are also two separate constituencies that elect one Member of the Scottish Parliament each for Orkney and Shetland by the first past the post system. Orkney and Shetland also have separate local Councils which are both dominated by independents.

The Orkney Movement, a political party that supported devolution for Orkney from the rest of Scotland, contested the 1987 general election as the Orkney and Shetland Movement (a coalition of the Orkney movement and its equivalent for Shetland). Their candidate, John Goodlad, came 4th with 3,095 votes, 14.5% of those cast.

Transport

thumb|alt=A large modern ferry with a blue hull and white topsides lies next to a harbour under grey skies.|[[NorthLink Ferries MV Hamnavoe at Scrabster harbour]]

Ferry services link Orkney and Shetland to the rest of Scotland, the main routes being Scrabster harbour, Thurso to Stromness and Aberdeen to Lerwick, both operated by NorthLink Ferries. Inter-island ferry services are operated by Orkney Ferries and SIC Ferries, which are operated by the respective local authorities and Northlink also run a Lerwick to Kirkwall service. Automatic lighthouses are commonly sited across the islands as an aid to navigation at various locations.

thumb|left|alt=A small dark-blue twin prop plane sits on tarmac surrounded by grass under blue skies. In the foreground an individual wearing a uniform that is similar in colour to the plane pulls a full baggage trolley towards it.|[[Britten-Norman Islander|BN2 Islander being loaded with luggage at Papa Westray Airport]]

Kirkwall Airport serves as the sole commercial airport in Orkney, which is operated by Highland and Islands Airports. Loganair provides services to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness for both Kirkwall and Sumburgh Airport.

Inter-Island flights are available from Kirkwall to several Orkney islands and from the Shetland Mainland to most of the inhabited islands including those from Tingwall Airport. There are frequent charter flights from Aberdeen to Scatsta near Sullom Voe, which are used to transport oilfield workers and this small terminal has the fifth largest number of international passengers in Scotland. The scheduled air service between Westray and Papa Westray is reputedly the shortest in the world at two minutes' duration.

Economics

The very different geologies of the two archipelagos have resulted in dissimilar local economies. In Shetland, the main revenue producers are agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, renewable energy, the petroleum industry (offshore crude oil and natural gas production), the creative industries and tourism. Oil and gas was first landed at Sullom Voe in 1978, and it has subsequently become one of the largest oil terminals in Europe. Taxes from the oil have increased public sector spending in Shetland on social welfare, art, sport, environmental measures and financial development. Three-quarters of the islands' workforce is employed in the service sector and Shetland Islands Council alone accounted for 27.9% of output in 2003. Fishing remains central to the islands' economy today, with the total catch being in 2009, valued at over £73.2 million.

thumb|left|alt=An oil platform constructed in two main parts sits in a calm blue sea. The larger section at right has a helideck, the smaller at left is flaring gas from two stacks.| [[ExxonMobil's Beryl alpha oil platform in the East Shetland Basin]]

Orkney and Shetland have significant wind and marine energy resources, and renewable energy has recently come into prominence. The European Marine Energy Centre is a Scottish Government–backed research facility that has installed a wave testing system at Billia Croo on the Orkney Mainland and a tidal power testing station on the island of Eday. This has been described as "the first of its kind in the world set up to provide developers of wave and tidal energy devices with a purpose-built performance testing facility." Billia Croo also houses an experimental underwater data center run by Microsoft.

Culture

thumb|230px|Jarl squad for the South Mainland [[Up Helly Aa, one of several of Shetland's Viking fire festivals.]]

The Northern Isles have a rich source of folklore. There are many Orcadian tales concerning trows, a form of troll that draws on the islands' Scandinavian connections. Local customs in the past included marriage ceremonies at the Odin Stone that forms part of the Stones of Stenness.

The best known literary figures from modern Orkney are the poet Edwin Muir, the poet and novelist George Mackay Brown and the novelist Eric Linklater.

Shetland has a strong tradition of local music. The Forty Fiddlers was formed in the 1950s to promote the traditional fiddle style, which is a vibrant part of local culture today. Notable exponents of Shetland folk music include Aly Bain and the late Tom Anderson and Peerie Willie Johnson. Thomas Fraser was a country musician who never released a commercial recording during his life, but whose work has become popular more than 20 years after his untimely death in 1978.

Language

The Norn language, formerly spoken in the islands, is descendant of Old Norse brought by the Vikings in the 9th century. Since 1468-1469, after Orkney and Shetland were absorbed by the Kingdom of Scotland, Norn gradually began to fade as the influx of Scots-speaking settlers migrated to the islands. Norn as such became an extinct language around 1850, after the death of its last-known speaker Walter Sutherland. The local dialects of the Scots language, collectively known as Insular Scots, are distinctive and retain strong Nordic influences.

Main settlements

List of the main centres of population in the Orkney and Shetland islands as of 2020, with populations of over 500.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Settlement

!Island

!Population

!Area (km2)

!Old Norse name

!Picture

| Kirkwall

| Mainland, Orkney

| 10,020

| 4.01

| Kirkjuvágr

| 100px

| Lerwick

| Mainland, Shetland

| 6,760

| 3.15

| Leirvik

| 100px

| Stromness

| Mainland, Orkney

| 2,490

| 1.21

| Straumnes

| 100px

| Scalloway

| Mainland, Shetland

| 1,170

| Skálivágr

| 100px

| Symbister

| Whalsay, Shetland

| 797

| Sunnbólstaðr

| 100px

| Brae

| Mainland, Shetland

| 750

| Breiðeið

| Brae,_the_marina_from_the_east_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2742231|100px

| St Margaret's Hope

| South Ronaldsay, Orkney

| 600

| 0.42

| Hjop

| St_Margaret's_Hope_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2047202|100px

| Pierowall

| Westray, Orkney

| 570

| Hofn

| The_bay_at_Pierowall_-_geograph.org.uk_-_405236|100px

| Finstown

| Mainland, Orkney

| 550

| Fjörðr

| Finstown,_view_across_the_bay_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2631321|100px

Island names

The etymology of the island names is dominated by Norse influence. There follows a listing of the derivation of all the inhabited islands in the Northern Isles.

Shetland

The oldest version of the modern name Shetland is Hetlandensis recorded in 1190 becoming Hetland in 1431 after various intermediate transformations. This then became Hjaltland in the 16th century. As Shetland's Norn was gradually replaced by Scots Hjaltland became '. When use of 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. However the earlier name is Innse Chat – the island of the cats (or the cat tribe) as referred to in early Irish literature and it is just possible that this forms part of the Norse name.

The location of "Thule", first mentioned by Pytheas of Massilia when he visited Britain sometime between 322 and 285 BC

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Island

!Derivation

!Language

!Meaning

!Alternatives

| Bressay

| Breiðøy

|Norse

|broad island

| Bruray

|Norse

| east isle

| Norse: bruarøy – "bridge island"

| Norse: feoerøy – "far-off isle". or "fat land". See also Funzie Girt.

| Foula

| Fugløy

|Norse

| bird island

| Housay

| Húsøy

| Norse

| house isle

| Papa Stour

| Papøy Stóra

|Celtic/Norse

|big island of the priests

| Trondra

| Norse

| boar island

|Norse: "Þrondr's isle" or "Þraendir's isle". The first is a personal name, the second a tribal name from the Trondheim area.

| Vaila

| Valøy

|Norse

| falcon island

|Norse: "horse island", "battlefield island" or "round island"

| Yell

|Unknown

|Pre-Celtic?

|Unknown

|Norse: í Ála – "deep furrow"

Orkney

Pytheas described Great Britain as being triangular in shape, with a northern tip called Orcas. This may have referred to Dunnet Head, from which Orkney is visible. Writing in the 1st century AD, the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela called the Orkney islands Orcades, as did Tacitus in AD 98 "Orc" is usually interpreted as a Pictish tribal name meaning "young pig" or "young boar". The old Irish Gaelic name for the islands was Insi Orc ("island of the pigs"). The ogham script on the Buckquoy spindle-whorl is also cited as evidence for the pre-Norse existence of Old Irish in Orkney. The Pictish association with Orkney is lent weight by the Norse name for the Pentland Firth – Pettaland-fjörðr i.e "Pictland Firth". An alternative name for Orkney is recorded in 1300—Hrossey, meaning "horse isle" and this may also contain a Pictish element of ros meaning "moor" or "plain". The first written record dates from 1375 in a reference to Scalpandisay, which may suggest a derivation from "judge's island". Another suggestion is "Hyalpandi's island", although no one of that name is known to have been associated with Shapinsay.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Island

!Derivation

!Language

!Meaning

!Alternatives

| Auskerry

| Østr sker

| Norse

| east skerry

| Burray

|Borgrøy

| Norse

| broch island

| Eday

| Eidøy

|Norse

| isthmus island

| Egilsay

| Égillsey

| Norse or Gaelic

| Egil's island

| Possibly from Gaelic eaglais – church island

| Flotta

|Flottøy

|Norse

| flat, grassy isle

| Gairsay

| Gáreksøy

|Norse

|Gárekr's isle

| Graemsay

| Grims-øy

|Norse

| Grim's island

| Holm of Grimbister

| Norse

|Small and rounded islet of Grim's farm

| Hoy

| Háøy

| Norse

|high island

| Inner Holm

| English/Norse

|inner rounded islet

| North Ronaldsay

| Rinansøy

|Norse

| Uncertain – possibly "Ringa's isle"

| Orkney Mainland

| Orcades

| Various

| isle(s) of the young pig

| The Norse name is literally "little priest isle"

| The Norse name is literally "big priest isle"

| Sanday

| Sandøy

|Norse

|sand island

| Shapinsay

|Unknown

| Possibly "helpful island"

| Westray

| Vestrøy

| Norse

| western island

| Wyre

| Vigr

|Norse

| spear-like island

Uninhabited islands

Stroma, from the Norse Straumøy means "current island"

or "island in the tidal stream", The Norse holmr, meaning "a small islet" has become "Holm" in English and there are numerous examples of this use including Corn Holm, Thieves Holm and Little Holm. "Muckle" meaning large or big is one of few Scots words in the island names of the Nordreyar and appears in Muckle Roe and Muckle Flugga in Shetland and Muckle Green Holm and Muckle Skerry in Orkney. Many small islets and skerries have Scots or Insular Scots names such as Da Skerries o da Rokness and Da Buddle Stane in Shetland, and Kirk Rocks in Orkney.

References

;Notes

;Footnotes

;General references

Armit, Ian (2006) Scotland's Hidden History. Stroud. Tempus.
Ballin Smith, B. and Banks, I. (eds) (2002) In the Shadow of the Brochs, the Iron Age in Scotland. Stroud. Tempus.
Clarkson, Tim (2008) The Picts: A History. Stroud. The History Press.
Gammeltoft, Peder (2010) "Shetland and Orkney Island-Names – A Dynamic Group". Northern Lights, Northern Words. Selected Papers from the FRLSU Conference, Kirkwall 2009, edited by Robert McColl Millar.
General Register Office for Scotland (28 November 2003) Occasional Paper No 10: Statistics for Inhabited Islands. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
Gillen, Con (2003) Geology and landscapes of Scotland. Harpenden. Terra Publishing.
Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins.
Omand, Donald (ed.) (2003) The Orkney Book. Edinburgh. Birlinn.
Nicolson, James R. (1972) Shetland. Newton Abbott. David & Charles.
Sandnes, Berit (2003) From Starafjall to Starling Hill: An investigation of the formation and development of Old Norse place-names in Orkney. (pdf) Doctoral Dissertation, NTU Trondheim.
Sandnes, Berit (2010) "Linguistic patterns in the place-names of Norway and the Northern Isles" Northern Lights, Northern Words. Selected Papers from the FRLSU Conference, Kirkwall 2009, edited by Robert McColl Millar.
Schei, Liv Kjørsvik (2006) The Shetland Isles. Grantown-on-Spey. Colin Baxter Photography.
Shetland Islands Council (2010) "Shetland in Statistics 2010" (pdf) Economic Development Unit. Lerwick. Retrieved 6 March 2011
Thomson, William P. L. (2008) The New History of Orkney Edinburgh. Birlinn.
Turner, Val (1998) Ancient Shetland. London. B. T. Batsford/Historic Scotland.
Wickham-Jones, Caroline (2007) Orkney: A Historical Guide. Edinburgh. Birlinn.
Watson, W. J. (1994) The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland. Edinburgh. Birlinn. . First published 1926.