North America · Norse and colonial ventures
Greenland
1721–present
Modern Greenland's colonial history began in 1721, when the Dano-Norwegian Lutheran missionary Hans Egede sailed to Greenland — partly in search of the lost Norse colonists (long since gone) — and established a mission and trading post near modern Nuuk (Godthåb), reasserting Danish-Norwegian sovereignty over the island. (The source table's "1734" reflects the consolidation of the colonial trade monopoly.)
- Existed
- 1721–present
- Shown on the map
- 1734–1940
- Peak area
- 2.4M km²
- Region
- North America
Overview
Modern Greenland's colonial history began in 1721, when the Dano-Norwegian Lutheran missionary Hans Egede sailed to Greenland — partly in search of the lost Norse colonists (long since gone) — and established a mission and trading post near modern Nuuk (Godthåb), reasserting Danish-Norwegian sovereignty over the island. (The source table's "1734" reflects the consolidation of the colonial trade monopoly.) Denmark governed Greenland as a closed colonial monopoly for the next two centuries, with the Royal Greenland Trading Department controlling commerce and a policy that both protected and paternalistically isolated the Kalaallit (Inuit) population, whose economy centered on seal and whale hunting.
History
Greenland's strategic importance surged in the 20th century. During World War II, with Denmark occupied by Germany, the United States effectively protected and supplied Greenland and built air bases (notably at what became Thule/Pituffik), a presence formalized in the Cold War. In 1953 Greenland ceased to be a colony and became an integral part of the Kingdom of Denmark (a Danish amt/county), its people made full Danish citizens.
Decline and legacy
The later 20th and 21st centuries brought steadily expanding self-rule: Home Rule in 1979 and much broader Self-Government (Selvstyre) in 2009, which recognized Greenlanders as a distinct people with the right to self-determination and gave the government (led by a Premier, seated at Nuuk) control over most domestic affairs, resources, and Greenlandic (Kalaallisut) as the official language, while Denmark retains foreign affairs and defense. Greenland — the world's largest island — has become a focus of geopolitical attention over Arctic shipping, rare-earth and mineral resources, and climate change, including renewed U.S. interest in acquiring or controlling it.
Common questions
- What was Greenland?
- Modern Greenland's colonial history began in 1721, when the Dano-Norwegian Lutheran missionary Hans Egede sailed to Greenland — partly in search of the lost Norse colonists (long since gone) — and established a mission and trading post near modern Nuuk (Godthåb), reasserting Danish-Norwegian sovereignty over the island. (The source table's "1734" reflects the consolidation of the colonial trade monopoly.)
- When did Greenland exist?
- Greenland existed 1721–present. On this map it is drawn 1734–1940.
- How large was Greenland?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Greenland covered about 2.4 million km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- Who ruled Greenland?
- Greenland's strategic importance surged in the 20th century. During World War II, with Denmark occupied by Germany, the United States effectively protected and supplied Greenland and built air bases (notably at what became Thule/Pituffik), a presence formalized in the Cold War.
- How did Greenland end?
- The later 20th and 21st centuries brought steadily expanding self-rule: Home Rule in 1979 and much broader Self-Government (Selvstyre) in 2009, which recognized Greenlanders as a distinct people with the right to self-determination and gave the government (led by a Premier, seated at Nuuk) control over most domestic affairs, resources, and Greenlandic (Kalaallisut) as the official language, while Denmark retains foreign affairs and defense.
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory, and states that it was written from established reference works with targeted checks on current facts, rather than from a fresh multi-source research pass. It names the English Wikipedia article for each polity and its key figures as the basis of these profiles, supplemented by Encyclopaedia Britannica, the US National Park Service and the World History Encyclopedia. The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Greenland en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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