By James Gray

It was the Viking Eric the Red who, in AD 986, first saw Greenland’s potential.

He wanted to colonise his newly discovered island, and in a blatant piece of Tenth-Century spin-doctoring, hit on a wizard wheeze to encourage other Norse people to come to this bleak, icy and remote corner of the unknown world.

“In the summer, Erik left to settle in the country he had found, which he called Greenland, as he said people would be attracted there if it had a favourable name." (Erik the Red’s Saga)

More than a thousand years later, President Trump is proposing something similar.

“It’s a large real estate deal. Owning Greenland is vital for US security... and economic security... It’s an absolute necessity and I cannot assure you that we would not use military or economic coercion.”

That may sound outlandish. But it’s not a new ambition. America have controlled Greenland on several occasions over the centuries (most recently during the Second World War) and from time to time has offered to buy it (in 1946 for $100 million in gold bullion - around $7 billion in today’s money).

And anyhow, Denmark’s ownership of Greenland is surely itself a piece of bare-faced colonialism, as a glance at their policy of forced assimilation in the 1940s and 50s will testify. As a result it is much resented by most Greenlanders.

Greenland has been moving towards independence almost as long as it has been a colony of Denmark. They were granted Home Rule in 1979, then expanded to full self-rule with the 2009 Self-Government Act - legislation that also gives Greenland the right to declare independence.

Today, Denmark retains control only of defence, foreign affairs, and monetary policy. The 2023 Greenlandic constitution explicitly commits to independence and in his 2025 New Year speech, Greenland’s prime minister, Múte Egede, called for an end to “the shackles of colonialism” and a future shaped by Greenlanders........

© LBC