A short history of Greenland, in six maps

AMERICA HAS a long history of buying land: it acquired more than two-fifths of its current territory that way. But Donald Trump is the first president in more than a century to publicly call for expanding American territory. His interest in taking over Greenland—perhaps by force—has unsettled America’s allies. Mr Trump has said that American control over the island’s minerals is “an absolute necessity” for national security. Climate change, which has opened sea routes, has increased Greenland’s importance. The six maps below show how geography and geopolitics have shaped Greenland’s past and may affect its future.

Greenland is larger than any American state, but 80% of it is buried beneath an ice sheet. Almost 90% of the nearly 60,000 people who live there are Inuit, descendants of the Thule who reached the island in around 1100AD. Earlier waves of migrants from Siberia began around 2500BC.

The Inuit, whose settlements stretch along the coasts, speak three main dialects, each based on long word constructions: a string of roots and suffixes can express the meaning of an entire English sentence. Kalaallisut is spoken in the west, which is the location of the capital, Nuuk, and home to most of the population. Other dialects are spoken in smaller communities along the north-western and eastern shores (see map 1).

Other people have also laid claim to the island. Vikings, led by Erik the Red, arrived in 982 (see map 2). Erik’s voyage is recounted in the “Sagas of Icelanders”, which say he called the ice-covered island “Greenland” because “men will be keener to go there if the land has a good name.”

Greenland thus became a Norse colony for several centuries. Then, mysteriously, the settlers vanished. Some historians blame the Little Ice Age, which started around 1300. Others reckon the Norse were killed by Inuit groups.

By the late 1600s many Europeans doubted that anyone still lived in Greenland. Around this time Denmark and Norway, united under one monarch, began colonial ventures (see map 3). In 1721 they sent Hans Egede, a Lutheran missionary, in search of the lost Norse. Instead he found Inuit villages that he converted to Christianity. Denmark-Norway built trading posts and forts to support the exploitation of rich marine resources and to assert claims in the Arctic. This mirrored Russia’s expansion into Siberia and Alaska, and Britain’s establishment of trading posts in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

The Denmark-Norway union ended after the Napoleonic wars of 1803-15. Norway was ceded to Sweden, and a verbal agreement allowed Denmark to keep Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. After gaining independence in 1905 Norway later challenged this deal and raised the Norwegian flag in the east of Greenland. Judges on an international court in The Hague sided with Denmark. The ruling set a precedent for adjudicating disputes over sovereignty from the Arctic to South-East Asia.

Other countries also showed interest in the Arctic. Canada eventually took possession of the Arctic Archipelago; Norway took Svalbard, a small ungoverned island rich in natural resources. In 1867 America bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2m (worth $162m today). It later purchased Denmark’s part of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean and continued for decades to discuss Greenland’s status.

When Denmark fell to Nazi Germany in 1940, its representative in Washington, DC, agreed that America would defend Greenland by establishing military bases, which were code-named “Bluie” (see map 4). Bombers flying to Europe and North Africa refuelled on the island. Its location was essential for monitoring the weather, which was crucial for the Allies. And cryolite from its mines was used in the manufacture of warplanes. After Germany’s defeat Greenland was returned to Denmark (the Truman administration made an unsuccessful secret bid to buy the island in 1946). Denmark ended Greenland’s colonial status in 1953, making it a county and granting its people Danish citizenship. America maintained its military presence: the island was strategically vital during the subsequent cold war with Russia.

Many Greenlanders pushed for independence from external powers. In 1979 they voted in favour of “home rule”, gaining broad autonomy from Denmark. Thirty years later another referendum led to the Self-Government Act, which made Kalaallisut the official language and gave more authority to the island. It gained the right to self-determination, which could lead to independence, and control over minerals. Municipalities were consolidated to help the island manage its growing responsibilities (see map 5). But Mr Trump’s territorial ambitions have slowed momentum for independence. In an election this year Greenland’s Democrats, who favour closer ties with Denmark, won a plurality in the 31-member parliament.

The biggest reason that Mr Trump covets Greenland is that it holds the largest known deposits of rare earths outside of China and has some of the largest untapped reserves of nickel and cobalt in the northern hemisphere. Of the 50 minerals deemed “critical” by the American government, 43 are found in Greenland.

Also crucial is Greenland’s role in a broader competition for the Arctic, spurred by climate change (see map 6). Polar sea routes are becoming easier to navigate as the ice cap melts. Natural resources are newly accessible and northern frontiers are increasingly vulnerable. China has plans for a “polar silk road” and has invested more than $90bn in Arctic infrastructure and assets. 

Even without a land grab, change would come. If more mining licences are issued Greenland will need to import foreign labour. Its government projects that the population could double by 2030. An Arctic resource rush could once again transform the small Inuit territory—whether its people want it or not.■