GREENLAND

Brief History of Greenland

Greenland is the worlds largest island and is a part of the North American continent.  The island has been inhabited for the past 20,000 to 30000 years where a migration is believed to have taken place from Asia to America via a land bridge across the Bering Strait and then to Greenland.

In 982 A.D. the first Europeans came to Greenland. The Viking, Erik the Red, settled down and for the next 500 years settlements grew living on trade with Europe and farming.  It was from one of those settlements that the Viking, Leif the Happy, ventured out and discovered Vineland or what is now known as America. After 500 years, all traces of the settlers vanished and it is believed that they either died due to climate change or joined the local Eskimo tribes.

In 1721, a Danish priest by the name Hans Egede came to Greenland expecting to meet up with the Nordic settlement there, but he could not find anyone but the local Eskimos. He then set forth on a mission to bring the tribes in under Christianity and thus a Danish Colony in Greenland was established.

During World War 2 all connections with Denmark was severed due to the German occupation of Denmark. The colony on Greenland established ties with the American government and several Airbases was established on the west coast.

After the war, Greenland's status as a colony ended and it became a part of Denmark as a county.  This status lasted until 1979 when an autonomous rule under the Danish Kingdom was established.

Facts about Greenland

Currently there are around 56,000 inhabitants of Greenland, a mix of locals and Danes mainly spread out on the west coast.  The Island is 2,175,600 Sq. km.  341.700 Sq km of the total land mass is ice free land.

Greenland has an autonomous rule under the Danish kingdom and the capital is Nuuk.

The government of Greenland handles all domestic affairs.  Administrations such as police, the justice system, defense and foreign affairs are being run by the Danish government in Copenhagen.

More basic information and statistics on Greenland can be found here.