Vistarband

Life of a laborer

It was common for Icelanders to work as farm laborers when they were young, and then, if they were able to rent land, to start their own farm and marry. But lifelong servitude was the fate of many, especially women. Most Icelandic farms were leased, and farmers were not required to reside there for more than one year at a time. The same applied to the vistarband; no laborer was required to stay with the same farmer for more than one year at a time. Thus while the vistarband was similar in some ways to serfdom, it differed in that those subject to it were at least technically able to leave the land where they worked.

If a farmer did not fulfill his responsibilities to a laborer, the laborer could appeal to the local district head (hreppstjóri ), but a laborer could not leave the farm without the farmer's permission.

Free workers

It was sometimes possible to escape the vistarband by becoming a free worker (lausamaður ). Free workers could sell their labor to employers on their own terms. Until 1783 property of the value of at least ten cows was required to become a free worker. Becoming a free worker was banned from 1783 to 1863. When it was permitted again after 1863 it was only under strictly limited conditions. After the growth of small-scale fishing in Iceland in the late 19th century the laws were changed in 1894, and free worker status became accessible for most landless Icelanders.

Liberal democratic governments in Denmark pushed Iceland to adopt freedom of occupation during the 19th century. However, Icelandic elites and parliamentarians resisted implementing freedom of occupation, saying that the vistarband arrangement benefitted both laborers and employers. Icelandic historian Guðmundur Hálfdanarson argues that liberal democratic reforms during the 19th century in the Danish kingdom motivated Icelandic elites, who perceived these liberal democratic reforms as threats to their power and status, to push for greater Icelandic autonomy within the Danish kingdom.