Faroe Islands Following the turmoil caused by the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) in 1816, the Faroe Islands became a county in the Danish Kingdom. As part of Mercantilism, Denmark maintained a monopoly over trade with the Faroe Islands and forbade their inhabitants trading with others (e.g. the geographically close Britain). The trade monopoly in the Faroe Islands was abolished in 1856, after which the area developed as a modern fishing nation with its own fishing fleet. The national awakening from 1888 initially arose from a struggle to maintain the Faroese language and was thus culturally oriented, but after 1906 it became more political
LGBT rights in the Faroe Islands or be imprisoned for up to two years." When the law took effect on 1 January 2007, the Faroe Islands became the last Northern European country to ban discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation. Prior to 2012, LGBT rights was not a high-profile issue in the Faroe Islands. The Faroe Islands had been viewed by neighboring countries and worldwide media as a homophobic country for a long time. Generally, this was because religious observance is stronger and more widespread in the Faroe Islands than any other Nordic country, and due to the lack of LGBT rights, such as recognition