The history of Jämtland dates back thousands of years, starting with the arrival of humans. As the population grew larger and started to settle down Jämtland was turned into an autonomous peasant republic, with its own law, currency and parliament. Jämtland was conquered by Norway in 1178 and stayed Norwegian for over 450 years and maintained some autonomy until it was ceded to Sweden in 1645. The province has since been Swedish for roughly 350 years, though the population did not gain Swedish citizenship until 1699.