Why Is Greenland Part of the Kingdom of Denmark? A Short History

Summary

Why is Greenland part of the Kingdom of Denmark? A Short History From the Vikings to Trump: Greenland’s historic development negates recent White House territorial demands. Mikkel Runge Olesen Photo from the town of Qaqortoq (then Julianehaab) between 1889 and 1910. Julianehaab (Qaqortoq) was founded in 1775 by the Norwegian farmer Anders Olesen and soon became an important center for trade. Today Qaqortoq is the central town in south Greenland. The first Nordic presence in Greenland dates back to Erik the Red, a Norse Viking banished from Iceland for manslaughter, who sought a new future in Greenland around the end of the 10th century. The name “Greenland” referred to the vegetation around Southern Greenland’s fjords, but the name was likely also given in an attempt to lure more Norse settlers to Erik’s settlement in Southeast Greenland. The Norse settlements in Greenland became part of a North Atlantic empire ruled from Norway.The Norse stayed in Greenland for centuries. At the start of the 15th century, they disappeared with little trace. There are numerous possible reasons, including: a colder climate that made the island less habitable and conflict with the Inuit, who began to arrive in the areas that were populated by the Norse.In 1721, Hans Egede, a Norwegian priest and missionary with support from the united Dano-Norwegian crown, reestablished contact with Greenland. A concern at the time was that the Norse settlers had missed the Reformation and were still Catholics. When Hans Egede arrived, however, he found only the Inuit, by then firmly established in most of Greenland, and he decided to focus his efforts on converting them to Christianity.That marked the beginning of the colonial period. It was a slow start, and Norwegian-Danish influence in Greenland had to compete with other foreign powers, notably the Dutch. In a process that spanned generations, the Inuit were converted to Christianity, and Greenland was both politically and economically tied to Den...