History of Jämtland
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The history of Jämtland dates back thousands of years, starting with the arrival of humans. During the middle ages, Jämtland was an autonomous peasant republic, with its own law, currency and parliament. Jämtland was conquered by Norway in 1178 and stayed Norwegian for over 450 years, maintaining some autonomy until it was ceded to Sweden in 1645. The province has since been Swedish for roughly 350 years, though the population did not gain Swedish citizenship until 1699.
Historically Jämtland was a special territory between Norway and Sweden. During the unrest period in Jämtland's history (1563–1677) it shifted alignment between the two states no less than 13 times. As Jämtland is linked to lands both west and east, particularly to Trøndelag in Norway, it was of great importance for the Jamts to maintain good relationships in both directions.