“ But although he was one of the greatest scholars Iceland has produced, he was still greater as a politician. The Danish rule had, during the centuries following the Reformation, gradually brought Iceland to the verge of economic ruin; the ancient Parliament of the island, which had degenerated to a mere shadow, had been abolished in 1800; all the revenue of Iceland went into the Danish treasury, and only very small sums were spent for the good of the island; but worst of all was the notorious monopoly which gave away the whole trade of Iceland to a single Danish trading company. ”

“ He was a man of fine appearance, with an eloquence and diplomatic gifts such as no others of his countrymen possessed, and his unselfish love of his country made itself felt in almost every branch of Icelandic life. ”

“ High schools were established at Reykjavik, and efforts made to better the trade and farming of the country. In 1871 the Danish parliament (Riksdag) passed a law defining the political position of Iceland in the Danish monarchy, which, though never recognized as valid by the Icelanders, became de facto the base of the political relations of Iceland and Denmark. At last, in 1874, when King Christian IX. visited Iceland at the festival commemorating the millenary of the colonization of Iceland from Norway, he gave to the country a Constitution, with full home rule in all internal matters. ”