Lapland: History of the Far North from Prehistory to the Present by Adrian E. Markham explores one of Europe's most remarkable regions, tracing the deep story of the Sámi homeland from the retreat of the Ice Age to the cultural and political landscape of today. Markham follows the evolution of northern life across thousands of years, from the continent's earliest hunters to the modern communities balancing tradition, identity, and rapid change.
Drawing on archaeology, linguistics, oral traditions, and extensive fieldwork, Markham reveals how reindeer herding, shamanic belief, siida governance, and far-reaching trade networks shaped a sophisticated Arctic society long before written sources appear. He examines encounters with Norse, Swedish, and Novgorodian powers, the pressures of Christianization, and the centuries of taxation and border-making that transformed Sámi lands into the northern frontiers of several expanding states.
The narrative moves through the upheavals of the twentieth century-evacuations, scorched-earth destruction, and postwar reconstruction-and into the era of political revival, language renewal, and new assertions of Indigenous rights. Markham follows the rise of the Sámi parliaments, the challenges posed by forestry, mining, and climate change, and the cultural resurgence visible in schools, literature, festivals, and media across Sápmi.
Richly detailed and grounded in credible research, Lapland: History of the Far North from Prehistory to the Present offers a sweeping yet intimate portrait of the people, landscapes, and ideas that continue to define Europe's Arctic world.
