This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
From the Viking age onwards, the Nordics have fought each other,
formed unions with each other and ruled over each other. Sweden ruled
over Finland for over 600 years, Denmark ruled over southern Sweden
also for over 600 years (or, alternatively, Sweden has ruled over
eastern Denmark for the past 300 years) and over Norway for nearly 500
years, while Norway ruled over Iceland for some 200 years and Denmark
yet another 500 years, and the list goes on (but Finland hasn't ruled
over anybody, and is very envious because of that :-> . Unavoidably,
this has caused some anti-pathies, but it has also made the Nordic
cultures more uniform.
 
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