As European leaders rallied behind Denmark and Greenland following U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed calls for American control—detailed in recent reports—a look at the island's long history explains why the Arctic territory has been unequivocally Danish since 1933 and underscores current tensions.
Greenland's story is over 1,000 years old, intertwined with Scandinavian history. Norwegian Viking Erik the Red discovered it around 982 after exile from Iceland, leading to Norse settlements in the west focused on farming and herding despite the climate. Indigenous Late Dorset people coexisted, trading with the settlers.
The 15th-century Little Ice Age forced Norse abandonment. By then, Greenland was under Norwegian rule, which Denmark had annexed in 1380. The Kalmar Union (1397–1523) linked Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, but Norway stayed Danish until 1814.
Post-Napoleonic Wars, Denmark lost Norway to Sweden via the 1814 Treaty of Kiel but kept Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroes—thanks partly to British influence averting Swedish power. Norway gained independence from Sweden in 1905.
Danish-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede restarted colonization in 1721, founding Godthaab (now Nuuk) to convert Inuit, adapting Christian texts to local life (e.g., 'daily seal' instead of bread). Greenland remained a colony until 1953, then integrated into the Kingdom, gaining home rule in 1979 and self-rule (Selvstyre) in 2009.
Denmark funds Greenland with over 5 billion DKK (~0.75 billion euros) yearly. Relations faced setbacks like the 1960s–1990s Spiral scandal, where IUDs were forcibly inserted in Inuit women for population control; PM Mette Frederiksen apologized in 2025 with compensation pledges.
Trump's social media and interview remarks—dismissing Danish security and highlighting strategic needs amid Russian/Chinese Arctic activity—have outraged Nuuk officials. Fears of U.S. control include threats to autonomy and environmental rules, like uranium mining bans, potentially uniting Denmark and Greenland further against external bids.
