As one of the P5, Britain is undoubtedly a great power.
Although the glory of the "empire on which the sun never sets" has long gone, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, and few countries dare to really challenge the British.
And what about Iceland? It covers an area of only 100,000 square kilometers and has a population of less than 400,000, not to mention its international influence.
But there have been many conflicts between the two countries. These conflicts all revolve around one creature: the cod.
From the 40s of the 20th century to 1976, the "Cod War" was repeatedly launched between Iceland and the United Kingdom, and the result was that Iceland won.
So, what's going on with the Cod War?
This starts with the history and culture of Iceland.
Iceland is surrounded by the sea and is extremely rich in fish. Fish has also been Iceland's main source of food and export (economic source).
Of all the fish, cod is the most important product and can be said to be the soul of Icelanders.
There are many ways to make cod. It can be dried and served with butter, marinated (cod is one of Iceland's biggest exports), cooked or gratined.
Cod is so important to Icelanders that they certainly need to take good care of it.
However, on the eve of World War II, Icelandic fishermen discovered that British ships were fishing in their waters, and they began to worry about their cod stocks.
By 1952, Iceland had announced new regulations restricting British fishermen from trawling in Icelandic waters, and they had expanded the Icelandic fishing area from 3 to 4 nautical miles off the coast.
And the British were outraged by the new regulations. In retaliation, they imposed sanctions on Icelandic fish. Until then, the UK had been Iceland's fish export market, and you can imagine how much impact the sanctions have had on Iceland's export industry.
At this time, the USSR struck. The Soviet Union took over Iceland's fish exports, relieving Iceland of its urgent needs.
The United States, which was in a cold war with the Soviet Union, saw that the situation was not right, fearing that the Soviet Union would "take" Iceland, and began to snap up Icelandic fish, and encouraged its European allies to join the ranks.
Iceland's fish are not sold, and British sanctions are irrelevant.
By 1956, the European Economic Cooperation (EEC) was also on Iceland's side, and Britain had to surrender in the First Cod War.
Iceland pursued the victory and in September 1958 further expanded its territorial waters from 4 nautical miles to 12 nautical miles, thus taking into account the waters that had previously belonged to no one.
The British once again came up with "since ancient times", claiming that their ancestors had been fishing for cod off the coast of Iceland since at least the 15th century.
And NATO has also expressed strong protest against this. Iceland is resolute and resolute.
Britain, with the support of almost all Western European countries, insisted on continuing to fish in the former places under the protection of the warships of the Royal Navy.
To others, Iceland is not a threat. Iceland has no navy, and the coast guard has only seven small vessels, each armed with a gun, and almost all of them weigh less than 100 tons.
In contrast, the British Royal Navy was one of the most powerful navies in the world at the time, reaching the coast of Iceland in less than two days from a naval base.
But what they don't know is that Iceland is "coming for real". On 1 September 1958, the Icelandic Coast Guard attempted to arrest and seize British trawlers within the confines.
The next day, the guards boarded one of the trawlers that had deviated from the protected area of the British warship, and the ship immediately sent a distress signal, and the British Navy arrived and persuaded the Icelandic guard to leave.
The clashes did not stop, and there were even shootouts.
During a clash in November 1958, Icelandic gunboats fired at British trawlers as a warning. Then the British Navy ships intervened, stating that the British ships were operating at a range of 4 nautical miles away and did not break the law.
The Icelandic gunboats did not retreat, but ordered the soldiers to take up their guns. British fishing boats did not back down. As a result, the two sides reached a brief stalemate until more British ships arrived - and the Icelandic gunboats had to retreat.
By early 1961, the conflict had escalated tensions between the two countries and diplomatic relations were deteriorating. The Icelandic people protested to the British and did not show any face when the British ambassador visited.
Iceland has also threatened to withdraw from NATO – here we would like to talk about Iceland's importance to NATO. Iceland is a key location across the North Atlantic, and it is a presence that cannot be replaced by other member states.
In addition, if it withdraws from NATO, Iceland may ally with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, which is a big problem.
The threat was effective, and then a compromise was reached: Britain recognized Iceland's 12-nautical-mile limit and made certain concessions for the first 3 years.
The conflict between the two countries has also made other countries aware of the risks, and a new rule has emerged – any conflict between Iceland and the United Kingdom over cod will be referred directly to the International Court of Justice.
It may sound like a prudent decision, but ...... And it didn't work.
Ten years later, in September 1972, the Icelandic government again extended its fishing limit to 50 nautical miles.
This time, the Icelandic Coast Guard repeatedly fired at the British trawler and its vicinity, threatening them to leave.
They also came up with a new "secret weapon". Seven ships of the Icelandic Coast Guard are equipped with trawl wire cutters. It is said that this is the application of old minesweeping techniques to fishing. Its four forks can entangle and cut the trawl wire, and if the trawl is destroyed, the fishing boat will have to go home empty-handed. By the way, a trawl is worth $5,000.
Western European countries have once again spoken out against it. But Iceland is taking a firm stance, saying that it is fighting imperialism and fighting for economic independence.
When the trawl wire cutter comes into play, you can see the Icelandic Coast Guard vessels and trawlers ramming each other, and the second cod battle turns into a farce.
Why didn't the British Navy intervene, you say? Who made Britain have already made a commitment to NATO before.
Fortunately, in the end, only the ship was damaged, and no one was injured.
Some people may think that Iceland does not need to go toe-to-toe with the British, but this is a war about "cod".
To reiterate, Iceland's economy is completely dependent on the fishing industry, and cod is their job, and of course no one else can let it be ruined.
While Iceland and Britain are close alliances in other respects, the mention of "cod" is a tear.
In this way, under pressure from NATO, at the end of 1973, Britain surrendered again.
The battle of the cod did not end there.
In 1975, Iceland moved again as a result of changes in global law.
Despite the 50 nautical mile limit, Iceland's fish stocks are still threatened by overfishing. So, they started thinking about expanding from 50 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles, and then they actually implemented it.
History repeats itself again. British trawlers and Icelandic gunboats clashed again, and the Royal Navy had to intervene.
The clashes, though short-lived, were as chaotic as a pot of porridge, with 35 collisions occurring in just six months.
Iceland forcefully refused to negotiate and simply severed diplomatic relations with Britain.
One head two big NATO can only intervene again. Iceland threatened to withdraw forever – and Britain again gave in.
The battle of cod ended on favourable terms for Iceland. Britain accepted a new 200-nautical-mile limit and was granted limited, temporary fishing rights – better than nothing.
According to statistics, only two casualties were made: a British fisherman who was hit by a towing cable, and an Icelandic engineer who was accidentally electrocuted while repairing the hull of a ship.
Maybe you think that if you are as powerful as the UK, it shouldn't make a difference if you don't go fishing in Iceland.
But in reality, while the UK economy is less dependent on cod, the impact is no less. As a result, the large fishing ports of northern England (such as Grimsby, Hull and Fleetwood) fell into depression. Thousands of fishermen and people in related industries have lost their jobs.
At the same time, Iceland's 200 nautical miles became the standard, and fishing around the world was affected.
Even so, the situation with overfishing of cod is not improving. In 1998, the World Wildlife Fund added cod to its list of endangered species, stipulating that the number of cod that can be caught should not exceed the maximum number – there are no national or regional restrictions.
Iceland had succeeded in blocking British fishing in its own waters, but it was also subject to international law.
However, Iceland is indeed tough when it comes to their own survival, and they are well aware of their strengths, so they have been able to take advantage of Britain again and again.
That's it for the Cod Wars, what do you think about it?