The country of the week is Iceland so here is a story about an early liberal decolonisation adventure and the guy behind it. Jørgen Jørgensen, or Jörundur hundadagakonungur (the dog-days king) was a Danish privateer during the Gunboat War. In 1808 he was taken prisoner of war by the British and brought to London where he was released on parole on conditions that he didn't leave the country.

In London Jørgensen became acquainted with a merchant and suggested a voyage to trade with Iceland. At that time Iceland was a possession of Denmark-Norway and the island suffered food shortages and deprivations due to a Danish trading monopoly and the state of war between Denmark and Britain that made trade difficult. The climatic situation in Iceland had been bad during the 18th century and the eruption of the volcano Laki in 1783 that resulted in 80% of the island's livestock dying from eating poisoned grass and a quarter of the Icelandic population dying from famine. Jørgensen and his partners hoped to exploit the dire situation to make a large profit. The first voyage was unsuccessful though as the Danish governor of Iceland refused to trade due to the war.

Jørgensen and his business partner attempted another voyage in June of 1809 but once more the Danish governor refused to let them trade. In response Jørgensen and members of crew from the ship sailed to Reykjavik where they arrested the governor and took him back to their ship. Jørgensen proclaimed himself protector of Iceland and declared the abolition of Danish rule. Jørgensen confiscated all public funds and stockpiles, Danish debts were annulled and the people was promised independence, liberal democracy and restoration of the Althing, Iceland's traditional legislative and judicial parliament that had been abolished by the Danish crown in 1800.

Little came of these reforms though. Two months later a British warship arrived and seeing the situation, the captain negotiated Jørgensens surrender where he agreed to be taken back to London, and annul all his decrees. Government was left in the hands of local officials as the Danish governor travelled with the warship back to London to explain the situation.

In London Jørgensen was imprisoned for breaking his parole and released a year later. His heavy drinking and gambling eventually landed him in debtor's prison. He then travelled Europe and worked as a spy and translator for the British in Germany and France. Returning to London he got in trouble with the law again and was transported to Tasmania where he proved himself useful to the colonial regime and would end up taking part in the genocide of the indigenous population as a constable. He has been called the founder of Hobart, the capital of Tasmania where he is still commemorated as a local hero.

Jørgensen left few lasting traces on Iceland if any and it doesn't seem like he ever made much effort to engage the people of Iceland in his revolution. In typical liberal fashion he saw himself more as a saviour who was bringing the benighted peasants into civilization. Consequently, his rule crumbled the first time it met resistance.

Iceland would eventually gain its independence through a process starting with the emergence of a liberal national-romantic independence movement in the 1830's led by Danish-educated intellectuals. The Althing was restored as a consultative body in 1843. In 1875 the Althing gained limited legislative power over internal Icelandic affairs, although the Danish king still directly appointed some members and often would veto legislation. In 1880 Iceland was allowed to trade freely with all nations.

In 1918 Iceland nominally became a sovereign state although it remained in a personal union with the Danish king who would rule both nations. Denmark would represent Iceland diplomatically and militarily. In 1940 the Nazi occupation of Denmark and the loss of communication with Copenhagen meant that Iceland became de facto independent. The last ties to Denmark were severed in 1944 when Icelanders voted to end the personal union and declare a republic.