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Why is Greenland officially a part of Denmark? |
Travel Info Why is Greenland officially a part of Denmark? Travel Tips Greenland first became a possession of Norway in 1261. Then Norway, Sweden, and Denmark united under the Danes in 1397, and Greenland became a Danish possession. Danish colonization began in 1721, when Hans Egede, a Lutheran missionary, set up a mission on the west coast. The Danes converted the Eskimos to Christianity. When the union of Denmark and Norway ended in 1814, Greenland remained a Danish colony. Time passed and in 1951, the U.S. and Denmark signed an agreement for the joint defense of Greenland against invasion. A new Danish constitution, adopted in 1953, changed Greenland's status from a colony to a country of Denmark. Source(s): An old World Book Encyclopedia Other Travel Tips thats a silly ques..its like asking why is Lakshwadeep officially a part of india... This is an excerpt from the following website, I hope it helps: www.denmark.dk/greenland_and_t... ..."During the Viking Age, people from Northern Europe began to move west in the North Atlantic, and in 985 the Icelander Erik the Red began to colonise Greenland. The Norse community was based on agriculture and sealing and was economically dependent on contact with Europe. The society was organised as a free state controlled by the big farmers. There are signs of formal trade with the Eskimo population, and it is known that the ivory from walrus and narwhal tusks was highly valued, particularly when paying tithes to the church. The Catholic church appointed the first bishop of Greenland in 1124. In 1261, the Norse community became part of the kingdom of Norway. During the following centuries, conditions gradually deteriorated for the population of Greenland because of the island鈥檚 limited economic importance for Norway, the over-exploitation of the limited resources and the notable change in climate. When Denmark, Norway and Sweden were united in 1397, the former Norwegian possessions in the North Atlantic, including Greenland, came under Danish rule. In the 15th century, Europe received the last signs of life from the Norse community which then ceased to exist, some 500 years after it was founded. By then, the Thule culture had spread across the whole of Greenland, but in the preceding centuries the two cultures had existed side by side and there had been extensive trading and commerce. Reestablishment of Contact European interest in the rich fishing grounds around Iceland and Newfoundland led to an increase in shipping in the seas around these areas. The English were dominant, and the growing rivalry in the trade with Asia led them to wonder whether it would be possible to reach the distant markets by sailing north round America. The two Englishmen Martin Frobisher and John Davis sailed the seas between Canada and Greenland in the 1570s and 1580s, and in their attempts to find the Northwest Passage they became the first Europeans for centuries to make contact with the Eskimo population. At around the same time, the Dutch discovered large numbers of Greenland whales around the Spitzbergen area and began a commercial exploitation of whale oil and baleen. Their actions led to an international conflict concerning the rights to the open seas. The Danish king asserted his historical sovereignty over the northernmost area of the Atlantic, known as the Norwegian Sea, and increased activity in the area eventually led to the rediscovery of Greenland in 1605. The Dutch, however, continued to control the whaling industry, and at the end of the 17th century they began whaling off the coast of West Greenland. Trading Stations In 1721, Greenland was once again colonised by the Europeans. The Danish-Norwegian priest Hans Egede went to the island to convert the Norse population who, he believed, would by then have lost their Christian faith. A trading station was set up to support the missionary work and to take the trade with the Eskimos away from the Dutch. The station was also intended to act as a base for the founding of colonies along the coast. Trading stations were established along the west coast of Greenland throughout the 18th century. In 1774, all responsibility for the business was handed over to the Royal Greenland Trade Department. Inspectors were appointed in 1782 to control the trade, and standardised product prices were introduced to ensure that the population was not exploited. The Period until the Second World War The cultural and political life of the country was enhanced during the 19th century by the creation of colleges of education, the publication of the world's first newspaper written in the language of a colonial population, and a form of local administration was introduced, run by officials and a respected sealer from each district, the so-called Managers. The Greenlandic language was kept alive through education, missionary work and the creation of new literature. In the 19th century, European expeditions met new Eskimo groups outside the colonised parts of West Greenland. The Polar Eskimos were visited in 1818, and in 1823 English whalers met the people of North East Greenland for the first and last time. In 1884 the people of East Greenland near Ammassalik were also visited for the first time. In 1878, a commission was set up to conduct research into the geography and geology of Greenland. Knud Rasmussen (1879-1933) later became one of the most distinguished Danish-Greenland researchers, and the first person to document the cultural connections between the various Eskimo cultures. His Fifth Thule Expedition, which ended with the long sledge journey from Greenland to the Pacific in 1921-24, is well known internationally. The Greenland identity was restored by the cultural awakening which took place just after the turn of the century. The mission was replaced by the Greenland Church, and provincial councils were set up to replace the earlier political institutions. The Greenland Trade organisation took over from the Royal Greenland Trade Department. The milder climate led to a decrease in sealing and the introduction of the new industries of fishing and sheep farming. In 1917, the USA acknowledged Denmark鈥檚 sovereignty over the Thule area in northern Greenland. In 1931, Norway occupied parts of East Greenland having declared that Danish sovereignty did not apply to the uninhabited areas. In 1933, the International Court at The Hague finally awarded Denmark sovereignty over the whole of Greenland. The Occupation and the Relationship with the USA When the Germans occupied Denmark in 1940, the link with Greenland was broken. Henrik Kauffmann, the Danish ambassador to the USA, signed an agreement in which the USA acknowledged Danish sovereignty over the island and agreed to provide both supplies and protection for the duration of the war. In 1941, bases were set up in both West and East Greenland to provide air cover for the Atlantic convoys. The revenues from the increased production of cryolite and the products that were sold covered the costs associated with the USA presence on the island. After the end of the Second World War, Denmark continued the foreign policy which arose from the co-operation with the USA and the kingdom鈥檚 membership of NATO. The Base Treaty of 1941 was replaced by the Treaty on the Protection of Greenland in 1951. The USA was given permission to build the large Thule Air Base and maintained its bases near S酶ndre Str酶mfjord in West Greenland and Kulusuk in East Greenland. Today only the Thule Air Base is under American control, while the country鈥檚 other airports are maintained by Greenland鈥檚 Home Rule administration. Greenland as an Integral Part of Denmark Following the war, the politicians of Greenland demanded economic investments and declared that they wanted the country to be opened up to the world. A White Paper was subsequently published in 1950. It suggested that Greenland鈥檚 administration be replaced by a national council known as the Landsr氓d, and that the Royal Greenland Trade Department鈥檚 monopoly be lifted. In 1952, the Landsr氓d approved the proposal for the new constitution which made Greenland an integral part of Denmark. The proposal was approved in Denmark in 1953 in the constitutional referendum, and two representatives from Greenland were given seats in the Danish Folketing. The country was opened up to private investment, and a thorough overhaul of the infrastructure, the health service and the social services was begun. Decolonisation In 1964 a select committee issued a White Paper containing a ten-year plan for the social and industrial development of the country. This was followed by a series of new laws passed by the Danish Folketing. A new Civil Servants Act decreed that pay for equal work would depend on whether the recipient was born in Denmark or in Greenland. The act hereby established a difference between Danish and Greenlandic salaries which benefited the Danish minority in Greenland and caused wide-spread opposition. The so-called Birth Place Criterion was seen as discriminatory, and a new political party known as the Inuit Party was created in 1966 to introduce economic equality for all groups. The party did not, however, last very long. Two factors characterise the first decades of decolonisation: The rising numbers of ethnic Danes 鈥?up to a fifth of the total population 鈥?and the increased interest of the local population in the political affairs of the country. Since 1967, the democratically elected Landsr氓d council has chosen its own Greenlandic chairman. In 1975, the local government reform meant that municipal councils acquired power in local matters and control of their own tax revenues. The ten-year plan gave priority to the development of the urban communities; in 1950, 25% of the population lived in the towns, but 25 years after the reform this had risen to 75%. The Greenland economy was not able to finance this policy of concentration, partly because the revenues from the fishing industry dwindled as a result of declining supplies. Once again, the island felt the effects of a climatic change. In the 1970s, new sources of income had to be found through increased mineral and oil exploration." www.denmark.dk/greenland_and_t... Greenland was a colony of Denmark, through some unions between Norway, Denmark and Sweden during the course of history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/greenland#s... |
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