Secession in Norway?

I was just reading the My Little Norway blog and saw something interesting. It looks like there are the beginnings of a secession movement developing within northern Norway.

Apparently following Tromsø having its 2018 Olympic bid denied a gentleman named Håkon Winther has begun leading a movement to make Northern Norway a separate state. While the movement is still in its infancy, it is starting to get a little traction. Mr. Winther has started a Facebook group for supporters of his cause and it already has 6,000 members. This may not seem like a lot, but remember the northern part of Norway only has about 460,000 total residents. Mr. Winther also has started his own political party in anticipation of success. If you want to read more about it, you can read the full story by clicking here (LGT My Little Norway).

Sounds a little crazy doesn't it? Actually, the idea of secession is as old as time itself. Groups of people who differ in opinion with their neighbors have been splitting up land and geographic lines for coutless centuries, whether it was done under the name of secession or not.

In fact, in the 19th and 20th centuries alone there were more than 30 secession movements around the world. Think about that--a secession every 6 years.

Heck, even the United States has a long history of secession. Think Texas; think The Civil War; think Key West, Florida. Wait--what?

That's right, on April 23rd, 1982 Key West seceded from the Union and declared itself the Conch Republic--independant from the U.S.

Now some will say it was done mostly tongue-in-cheek, but for a few days it was as real as the initial cause of the conflict. The point being that in you have enough people coming together under the banner of geographic identity, you never know what might happen.