Norway

#Onthisday in 1472 Norway officially handed over the Orkney and Shetland Isles to Scotland in place of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark.

Betrothed to Margaret, King James III was promised a handsome dowry for his bride. But when it became clear that Margaret’s father (Christian I, King of Denmark and Norway) was lacking the finances, the once-Scandinavian islands soon became territories of the Scottish crown.