History of the Faroe Islands year 1000, and became a part of the Kingdom of Norway in 1035. Norwegian rule on the islands continued until 1380, when the islands became part of the dual Denmark–Norway kingdom, under king Olaf II of Denmark. Following the 1814 Treaty of Kiel that ended the dual Denmark–Norway kingdom, the Faroe Islands remained under the administration of Denmark as a county. During World War II, after Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany, the British invaded and occupied the Faroe Islands until shortly after the end of the war. Following an, unrecognized by Denmark, independence referendum in 1946, the Faroe Islands
Fauna of the Faroe Islands might start again on the islands at some point. Several species of whales live in the waters around the Faroe Islands. Best known are the long-finned pilot whales ("Globicephala melas"), but the more exotic killer whales ("Orcinus orca") sometimes visit the Faroese fjords, and this can lead to a somewhat dangerous encounter if you are in a small boat. Harbor porpoises are the most frequently sighted cetacea. They frequent the islands year round, though it seems to be in larger numbers around the northern islands than the rest of the country. Blue whales can sometimes appear during the months of