Figure 1.--This photograph is mot dated, but looks to have been taken round the turn of the 20th century in Voe, Shetlands. It depicts the Johnson family: George and Eliza with their five children, (L to R) James, Barbara, Mary Ann, George and John. Note that the boys are wearing sailor suits. This rather suggests a british as opposed tgo acottih orintation. We arer not sure how portraits like this were taken. We suspect that a photographer from a studio was going dor to door.

The Scottish islands are mostly located along the western coast, the Inner and Outer Hebrides. There are akso northern Isles further off the coast--the Orkneys abd the Shetlands. The Shetlands in old Norse were Hjaltland and formerly Zetland. The Shetlands are an archipelago in the North Atlantic but well south of the Arctic Circle. Thy are located between Scotland, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. The Sheland's are Britain's northern-most territory, essentially the northern tip of Scotlsnd. They are about 50 miles northeast of Orkney and 110 miles notyh of Scotlnd. During the summer. the sun barely sets. A few hours of twilight are referred to as ‘Simmer Dim’. Durung the Winter the Aurora Borialis the night sky comes alive. The Shetlands are part of the losely defined marine border between the North Sea to the east anbd the North Atlantic to the west. The largest island is 'the Mainland'. It is the fifth-largest British island. There are 15 oyher inhabited islands. The Shetlands has what isescribed as an oceanic climate. There is a cragy rugged coastline> The teraine is primarily low, rolling hills. Humans first reached the Shetlands furing the Mesolithic period or Middle Stone Age (!0,000-8,000 BC. That was just at the begginning of the Agricultural Revolution. Give sea conditions in the North Stlsntic, that must have been quite an undertaking at the time. No one knowswhat kind of vessels were involved. The people muat have come from come from Scotland. The same neolithic people reached the islands that would became the Picts. DNA studies have found the popupation is largely of Pictish ancestry. With the Norse outburst (9th centry AD) the islnds became dominted by the Norse, primarily from Norway which is understandble given the geograpjy. The Norse had real substantiak vessels. Six centuries of Norse control has left a Scanbdinavian imprint. One of the most important Norse tradition is the Up Helly Aa fire festivals. There is also a strong musical tradition--the most notable is the destinmctive fiddle style. James III as a result of marriage to Margaret of Denmark, resulted in the Shetlands being transferred from Norway to Scotlnd (1469). The ilnds were here dowary. The Shetlands played an role in Workd War II, especially with comndo raids on German-occupied Norway. The Island's fishing boats were used to create the ‘Shetland Bus’. Many Norwegian refugees in Britain were centered in the Shetland Islands.

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Created: 7:29 AM 7/4/2016
Last updated: 7:29 AM 7/4/2016