In the mid-19th century the life in the outer archipelago changed because the technical development made it easier to earn a living. New fishing methods, such as hook and drift nets, no longer required a joint effort from the whole village. Their deployment made it possible for people to live outside the villages. The new settlements led to fast population growth. In the beginning of the 20th century, the work opportunities in mainland and towns began to attract the people of the archipelago. The poorest crofter’s cottages were deserted first. However, the outer archipelago was still inhabited until the 1950s. Cows, horses and sheep stopped grazing the islands and former fields as a result of the emigration. This led to a gradual forestification of the former fields and meadows and to a decline in the state of the buildings in archipelago. Around the 1970s the population started to grow again as the town people found the “summer paradise”.