When Iceland was first settled by Norwegians (but also by some Swedes and people from the Norse settlements in Britain) in the mid-9th century, approximately in 870, it was inhabited by a small number of Irish Christian anchorites known as "papar" (singular "papi"). When Scandinavians began to arrive in larger numbers, the anchorites left of their own or were driven out. The migration of Norwegians was partly in response to the politics of Harald Fairhair, who was unifying Norway under a centralised monarchy.