History of Åland

Sweden controlled the Åland Islands from the 1200s until 1809, during which Kastelholm Castle was the focal point of many battles.

[3] Around 8000 BC the highest peaks of the then submerged archipelago rose from the Baltic Sea.

[1] Due to the post-glacial rebound after the icecaps melted, the area around Åland is still rising several millimeters per year, marginally expanding the archipelago's surface.

[6] Artifacts of human remains, pottery and animal bones were found dating as far back as the Middle Neolithic (ca.

In 1507 the Danish naval officer Søren Norby captured Kastelholm castle.

[13] During the Great Northern War, many Ålanders fled west from the advancing Russians.

[13] The Battle of Grengam took place in Åland during the Great Northern War on 7 August 1720.

[8][17] As part of the Crimean War, the Anglo-French invasion of Åland took place.

[8] British Prime Minister Palmerston had protested against this fortification some twenty years prior, without effect.

The Treaty of Paris forbade the fortification of the islands after the destruction of Bomarsund.

[18] As the result of abundant Anopheles claviger mosquitoes, malaria was endemic in Åland for at least 150 years, with severe outbreaks being recorded in the 18th century, and in 1853 and 1862.

Some attention went to the earlier Treaty of Paris when Russia, under pretext of stopping the smuggling of arms into Finland, placed considerable naval and military forces on the islands.

World War I broke out, and Russia began building fortifications on Åland.

[8][21] Fortifications would be built on Saggö, Börkö, Sålis, Frebbenby, Mellantrop, Kungsö, Korsö, Herrö, Storklobb and Kökar.

In 1919 Sweden brought the question before the Paris Peace Conference on 18 March, but the islands remained part of Finland.