By the early twentieth century, Iceland's economy had remained almost medieval, but with the economic authority established in the country, began a phase of progress at a relatively fast pace. At this point, there was still some fight for independence, in 1904 Iceland established its own government, and finally, in 1918 Denmark recognized Iceland as an independent kingdom. From then until the Second World War, there have been great economic progress, despite the Great Depression.
When Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany in April 1940, Iceland has lost connection with their head of state. A month later, Iceland has also been busy, but this time by British troops. In May 1941 the government of Iceland Sveinn Björnsson said the minister as ruler of Denmark.
In early 1944, while Denmark still occupied by the Germans, citizens of Iceland unilaterally decided to end with the Treaty of Union with Denmark. In a nationwide referendum, with 98.6% of registered voters, 95% chose the Republic. The Republic of Iceland was proclaimed at Thingvellir on June 17, 1944, being the first president Sveinn Björnsson.
Paradoxically, Iceland celebrated the creation of the Republic and the alienation of foreign laws still being occupied by foreigners. In 1941 Iceland's government was pressured by the United Kingdom and the United States asking for U.S. protection, to initially allow British troops to cease the occupation and were serving their country in another war stage.Contrary to contractual obligations, the U.S. did not take control of Iceland by the end of World War II. However, in 1946 an agreement was signed, enabling the U.S. to take control of the airport in Keflavík for 6 ½ years. After that agreement expired, Iceland became a member of NATO, and in 1951 during the Korean War, the U.S. had the permission of Iceland to station troops in the country under the aegis of NATO. The U.S. presence in the territory of Iceland, influenced in some way, more than a generation.
The english version of this article will be available soon. In the meanwhile, the text above was the result of a Google translation from portuguese version to english.