Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (Norway)

Last modified: 2000-01-21 by phil nelson
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• Geography and politics
• Status of the flag

• Arms of Svalbard
• Norway
• Bouvet Island

Svalbard (Spitzbergen) and Jan Mayen are two distinct dependencies of Norway, put here together according to the ISO-3166.

Until 1994 Jan Mayen and Svalbard was governed by the Sysselmann (Governor) of Svalbard. Maybe this is the reason why they share an ISO-code. From August 1994 the administration of Jan Mayen was taken over by the Fylkesmann (County Governor) of Nordland. As others have noted, Jan Mayen has permanently staffed defence and meteorological stations.

Jan Mayen is an integral part of the Kingdom of Norway, just like Svalbard is. Consequently, neither are dependencies in the usual sense of that term. The only Norwegian dependencies are Bouvet Island, Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land. All three dependencies are situated in Antarctica and have no permanent inhabitants.

Just for the record, the Norwegian dependencies in the Arctic are Svalbard (Spitzbergen) and Jan Mayen in the Arctic. The national flag of Norway is the appropriate flag.

Neither Jan Mayen, nor Svalbard, nor the Antarctic dependencies have flags of their own.

Whaling

Some time ago I saw a flag associated with Svalbard (perhaps in the Norman flags poster). It was horizontal a three band with a whale in center. I don't remember exactly and I can't found the drawing that I make then, but seems that I recollect Y-W-B with a whale. Today I have more details about the flag: the upper stripe is red (quoted as "rood" in dutch) and rest is according my description. I can't understand the article (being in dutch) but seems that is a flag related with Wilhem Barentz and the Nederlandsche Noordsche compagnie (c. 1600).
Jaume Ollé, 28 July 1999

The Dutch Noordsche Compagnie (Nordic Company) was founded 27 January 1614 by patent from the States General. It received the monopoly for whaling in the area between Nova Zembla and Street Davis.On Spitsbergen (Dutch for Svalbard) the settlement Smerenburg was founded. The company was dissolved in 1642, due to competition from both the Danish Islandic Company and Dutch cities who broke the monopoly. In 1645 the States General gave the whaling free for competition.
Source: Nijhoffs Geschiedenis-lexicon Nederland en België, 1981.

I've seen twice small (unclear) depictions of paintings with the Dutch tricolour and the whale in the centre, waving on what seems to be a whaling station. However I don't have further information, and I still have some questions:

1) was it the flag of the Dutch Nordic Company, or of private whalers?

2) on the photo's of the paintings I saw, in one the whale is facing the hoist of the flag, on the other facing the fly. Which is correct (I presume the first)?

3) is the whale spirting water or not?

4) did the upper stripe change from orange to red, like the national flag itself, or did only one of these versions exist? (BTW, I think the yellow mentioned by Jaume must have been light orange).