Editing Greenland (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Greenland}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of Greenland}}

===Early Palaeo-Inuit cultures===
[[File:Independence-fjord.svg|thumb|upright|Areas of Independence I and Independence II cultures around Independence Fjord|left]]
In prehistoric times, Greenland was home to several successive [[Paleo-Eskimo|Palaeo-Inuit]] cultures known primarily through archaeological finds. The earliest entry of the Palaeo-Inuit into Greenland is thought to have occurred about 2500&nbsp;BC. From about 2500&nbsp;BC to 800&nbsp;BC, southern and western Greenland was inhabited by the [[Saqqaq culture]]. Most finds of remains from that period have been around [[Disko Bay]], including the site of Saqqaq, for which the culture is named.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Grønnow |first=B. |year=1988 |title=Prehistory in permafrost: Investigations at the Saqqaq site, Qeqertasussuk, Disco Bay, West Greenland |journal=Journal of Danish Archaeology |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=24–39 |doi=10.1080/0108464X.1988.10589995}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Møbjerg |first=T. |year=1999 |title=New adaptive strategies in the Saqqaq culture of Greenland, c. 1600–1400 BC |journal=World Archaeology |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=452–65 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1999.9980423 |jstor=124963}}</ref>

From 2400&nbsp;BC to 1300&nbsp;BC, the [[Independence I culture]] existed in northern Greenland. It was a part of the [[Arctic small tool tradition|Arctic small-tool tradition]].<ref name="Greenland History">{{Cite web |title=The history of Greenland – From dog sled to snowmobile |url=http://www.greenland.com/en/about-greenland/kultur-sjael/historie.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927011214/http://www.greenland.com/en/about-greenland/kultur-sjael/historie.aspx |archive-date=27 September 2011 |access-date=10 September 2011 |publisher=Greenland.com}}</ref><ref name="Greenland Migration">{{Cite web |title=Migration to Greenland – the history of Greenland |url=http://www.greenland.com/en/about-greenland/kultur-sjael/historie/indvandringerne-til-groenland.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905074558/http://www.greenland.com/en/about-greenland/kultur-sjael/historie/indvandringerne-til-groenland.aspx |archive-date=5 September 2011 |access-date=10 September 2011 |publisher=Greenland.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rasch |first1=M. |last2=Jensen |first2=J. F. |year=1997 |title=Ancient Eskimo dwelling sites and Holocene relative sea-level changes in southern Disko Bugt, central West Greenland |journal=Polar Research |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=101–15 |bibcode=1997PolRe..16..101R |doi=10.3402/polar.v16i2.6629}}</ref> Towns, including [[Deltaterrasserne]], appeared. About 800&nbsp;BC, the Saqqaq culture disappeared and the Early [[Dorset culture]] emerged in western Greenland and the [[Independence II culture]] in northern Greenland.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ramsden |first1=P. |last2=Tuck |first2=J. A. |year=2001 |title=A Comment on the Pre-Dorset/Dorset Transition in the Eastern Arctic |url=https://www.academia.edu/231379 |url-status=live |journal=Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska |series=New Series |volume=1 |pages=7–11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408154010/https://www.academia.edu/231379 |archive-date=2022-04-08}}</ref> It is unknown whether the Dorset people ever encountered the later [[Thule people]]. The people of the Dorset culture lived mainly by hunting [[Aboriginal whaling|whales]] and [[reindeer]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Grønnow |first=B. |year=1986 |title=Recent archaeological investigations of West Greenland caribou hunting |journal=Arctic Anthropology |volume=23 |issue=1/2 |pages=57–80 |jstor=40316103}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rowley |first=G. |year=1940 |title=The Dorset culture of the eastern Arctic |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=490–99 |doi=10.1525/aa.1940.42.3.02a00080 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gulløv |first1=H. C. |title=The archaeology of shamanism |last2=Appelt |first2=M. |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |isbn=0-415-25255-5 |page=146 |chapter=Social bonding and shamanism among Late Dorset groups in High Arctic Greenland}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gulløv |first=H. C. |title=In search of the Dorset culture in the Thule culture. The Paleoo Cultures of Greenland |publisher=Copenhagen: Danish Polar Center (Publication No. 1) |year=1996 |pages=201–14}}</ref>

===Norse settlement===
{{main|Norse settlements in Greenland}}
[[File:I. E. C. Rasmussen - Sommernat under den Grønlandske Kyst circa Aar 1000.jpg|left|thumb|''Summer Night Off the Greenland Coast Circa Year 1000'', by [[Carl Rasmussen]], 1875]]
From 986, the west coast was settled by [[Icelanders]] and [[Norwegians]], through a contingent of 14 boats led by Erik the Red. They formed three settlements—the [[Eastern Settlement]], the [[Western Settlement]], and the [[Ivittuut|Middle Settlement]]—on fjords near the southwestern tip of the island.<ref name=Brown2000 /><ref>Kudeba, N. (19 April 2014). Chapter 5, "Norse Explorers from Erik the Red to Leif Erikson", in ''Canadian Explorers''.</ref> They shared the island with the late Dorset culture inhabitants, who occupied the northern and western parts, and later with those of the Thule culture, who entered from the north. Norse Greenlanders submitted to Norwegian rule in 1261 under the [[Kingdom of Norway (872–1397)|Kingdom of Norway]].<ref name = Encyclopedia.com>{{cite web |title=Viking Settlers in Greenland |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/viking-settlers-greenland |website=Encyclopedia.com |access-date=2023-12-18 |language=en |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610113237/https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/viking-settlers-greenland |url-status=live}}</ref> The Kingdom of Norway entered a personal union with Denmark in 1380, and from 1397 was a part of the [[Kalmar Union]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boraas |first=Tracey |url=https://archive.org/details/sweden0000bora/page/24 |title=Sweden |publisher=Capstone Press |year=2002 |isbn=0-7368-0939-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/sweden0000bora/page/24 24]}}</ref>

The Norse settlements, such as [[Brattahlíð]], thrived for centuries, before disappearing in the 15th century, perhaps at the onset of the [[Little Ice Age]].<ref name="Diamond">{{Cite book |last=Diamond |first=Jared |title=Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed |title-link=Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed |publisher=Penguin |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-14-303655-5 |location=Harmondsworth [Eng.] |author-link=Jared Diamond}}</ref> Except for some runic inscriptions, the only contemporary records or [[historiography]] that survive from the Norse settlements are of their contact with Iceland or Norway. Medieval Norwegian sagas and historical works mention Greenland's economy, the bishops of [[Garðar, Greenland|Gardar]], and the collection of tithes. A chapter in the ''[[Konungs skuggsjá]]'' (''The King's Mirror'') describes [[Norse Greenland]]'s exports, imports, and grain cultivation.
[[File:Hvalsey Church.jpg|thumbnail|The last written records of the [[Norse Greenlanders]] are from a 1408 marriage at [[Hvalsey Church]], which is now the best-preserved Norse ruin.]]
Icelandic saga accounts of life in Greenland were composed in the 13th century and later, and are not primary sources for the history of early Norse Greenland.<ref name=Grove /> Those accounts are closer to primary for more contemporaneous accounts of late Norse Greenland. Modern understanding therefore mostly depends on the physical data from archaeological sites. Interpretation of [[Ice core|ice-core]] and clam-shell data suggests that between AD 800 and 1300 the regions around the fjords of southern Greenland had a relatively mild climate, several degrees Celsius warmer than usual in the North Atlantic<ref name="Arnold">Arnold C. (June 2010) "Cold Did In the Norse", ''Earth Magazine''. p. 9.</ref> with trees<!--"mild is vague" it makes people believe the climate was temperate; This sentence also suggests that trees stopped growing after 1300 and that trees don't grow in cold climates --> and [[herbaceous plant]]s growing and livestock being farmed. [[Barley]] was grown as a crop up to the 70th&nbsp;parallel.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Behringer |first=Wolfgang |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VqjESAAACAAJ |title=Kulturgeschichte des Klimas: Von der Eiszeit zur globalen Erwärmung |language=de |location=Munich |publisher=Dt. Taschenbuch-Verlag |date=9 September 2009 |isbn=978-3-406-52866-8 |access-date=18 September 2022 |archive-date=24 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624225857/https://books.google.com/books?id=VqjESAAACAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref> The ice cores show that Greenland has had dramatic temperature shifts many times in the past 100,000 years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alley |first1=R. |last2=Mayewski |first2=P. |last3=Peel |first3=D. |last4=Stauffer |first4=B. |year=1996 |title=Twin ice cores from Greenland reveal history of climate change, more |url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/ers_facpub/252 |url-status=live |journal=Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union |volume=77 |issue=22 |pages=209–10 |bibcode=1996EOSTr..77R.209A |doi=10.1029/96EO00142 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414125211/https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/ers_facpub/252/ |archive-date=14 April 2018 |access-date=16 August 2019}}</ref> Similarly the [[Landnámabók|Icelandic Book of Settlements]] records famines during the winters, in which "the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs".<ref name=Arnold />

These [[Norse colonization of North America|Norse settlements]] vanished during the 14th and early 15th centuries.<ref>"[http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2003/07/17/2858655.htm Why societies collapse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120802053920/http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2003/07/17/2858655.htm |date=2 August 2012 }}". ABC Science.</ref> The demise of the Western Settlement coincides with a decrease in summer and winter temperatures. A study of North Atlantic seasonal temperature variability during the Little Ice Age showed a significant decrease in maximum summer temperatures beginning about the turn of the 14th century—as much as {{convert|6|to|8|C-change}} lower than modern summer temperatures.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Patterson |first1=W. P. |last2=Dietrich |first2=K. A. |last3=Holmden |first3=C. |last4=Andrews |first4=J. T. |date=23 March 2010 |title=Two millennia of North Atlantic seasonality and implications for Norse colonies |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=107 |issue=12 |pages=5306–5310 |bibcode=2010PNAS..107.5306P |doi=10.1073/pnas.0902522107 |pmc=2851789 |pmid=20212157 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The study also found that the lowest winter temperatures of the last 2,000 years occurred in the late 14th century and early 15th century. The Eastern Settlement was probably abandoned in the early to mid-15th century, during [[Little Ice Age|this cold period]].[[File:Dorset, Norse, and Thule cultures 900-1500.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Estimated extent of Arctic cultures in Greenland from 900 AD to 1500 AD. Coloured areas on each map indicate the extent and migration patterns over time of the [[Dorset culture|Dorset]], [[Thule people|Thule]], and [[Norse colonization of North America#Norse Greenland|Norse]] cultures.|left]]
Theories drawn from archaeological excavations at [[Herjolfsnes]] in the 1920s suggest that the condition of human bones from this period indicates that the Norse population was malnourished, possibly because of [[Erosion|soil erosion]] resulting from the Norsemen's destruction of natural vegetation in the course of farming, turf-cutting, and wood-cutting. Malnutrition may also have resulted from widespread deaths from [[pandemic]] plague;<ref name="IngstadIngstad2000">{{Cite book |last1=Ingstad |first1=Helge |url={{GBurl|Gj-I5hdpzGoC |p=28}} |title=The Viking Discovery of America: The Excavation of a Norse Settlement in L'Anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland |last2=Stine Ingstad |first2=Anne |publisher=Breakwater Books |year=2000 |isbn=1-55081-158-4 |pages=28–}}</ref> the decline in temperatures during the Little Ice Age; and armed conflicts with the ''[[Skræling]]s'' (Norse word for Inuit, meaning "wretches"<ref name="Diamond" />). Recent archaeological studies somewhat challenge the general assumption that the Norse colonization had a dramatic negative environmental effect on the vegetation. Data support traces of a possible Norse soil amendment strategy.<ref>Bishop, Rosie R., et al. "A charcoal-rich horizon at Ø69, Greenland: evidence for vegetation burning during the Norse landnám?." ''Journal of Archaeological Science'' 40.11 (2013): 3890–902</ref> More recent evidence suggests that the Norse, who never numbered more than about 2,500, gradually abandoned the Greenland settlements over the 15th century as [[walrus ivory]],<ref name="LeoneKnauf2015">{{Cite book |last1=Leone |first1=Mark P. |url={{GBurl |id=zJy4CQAAQBAJ |p=211}} |title=Historical Archaeologies of Capitalism |last2=Knauf |first2=Jocelyn E. |date=2015 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-12760-6 |page=211}}</ref> the most valuable export from Greenland, decreased in price because of competition with other sources of higher-quality ivory, and that there was actually little evidence of starvation or difficulties.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Folger |first=Tim |title=Why Did Greenland's Vikings Vanish? |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-greenland-vikings-vanished-180962119/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317033211/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-greenland-vikings-vanished-180962119/ |archive-date=17 March 2017 |access-date=13 March 2017}}</ref>

Other explanations of the disappearance of the Norse settlements have been proposed:
# Lack of support from the homeland.<ref name="IngstadIngstad2000" />
# Ship-borne marauders (such as [[Basques|Basque]], English, or German pirates), rather than ''[[Skræling]]s'', could have plundered and displaced the Greenlanders.<ref name="TriggerWashburn1996">{{Cite book |last1=Trigger |first1=Bruce G. |url={{GBurl |id=CBLPX2ARjdgC |p=331}} |title=The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas |last2=Washburn |first2=Wilcomb E. |last3=Adams |first3=Richard E. W. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1996 |isbn=0-521-57393-9 |page=331}}</ref>
# They were "the victims of hidebound thinking and of a hierarchical society dominated by the Church and the biggest land owners. In their reluctance to see themselves as anything but Europeans, the Greenlanders failed to adopt the kind of apparel that the Inuit employed as protection against the cold and damp or to borrow any of the Inuit hunting gear."<ref name="Brown2000" /><ref name="Diamond" />
# That portion of the Greenlander population willing to adopt Inuit ways and means intermarried with and assimilated into the Inuit community.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stefansson |first=Vilhjalmur |title=Unsolved Mysteries of the Arctic |publisher=The Macmillan Company |year=1938 |isbn=9781878100955 |pages=1–36 |language=en}}</ref> Much of the Greenland population is mixed Inuit and European ancestry. It was impossible in 1938 when Stefansson wrote his book to distinguish between intermarriage before the European loss of contact and after the contact was restored.
# "Norse society's structure created a conflict between the short-term interests of those in power, and the long-term interests of the society as a whole."<ref name="Diamond" />

===Thule culture (1300–present)===
The Thule people are the ancestors of the current Greenlandic population. No genes from the Palaeo-Inuit [[Dorset culture]] have been found in the present population of Greenland.<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/inuit-were-not-the-first-people-to-settle-in-the-arctic-1.2749691 "Inuit were not the first people to settle in the Arctic"], CBC News (Canada), 28 August 2014</ref> The Thule culture migrated eastward from what is now known as Alaska around 1000 AD, reaching Greenland around 1300. The Thule culture was the first to introduce to Greenland such technological innovations as [[dog sled]]s and [[toggling harpoon]]s.

There is an account of contact and conflict with the Norse population, as told by the Inuit. It is republished in ''The Norse Atlantic Sagas'', by Gwyn Jones. Jones reports that there is also an account of perhaps the same incident, of more doubtful provenance, told by the Norse side.

===1500–1814===
[[File:Cantino planisphere (1502).jpg|thumb|The [[Cantino planisphere]], completed by an unknown Portuguese cartographer in 1502, depicts Greenland as a Portuguese territory claimed by [[Manuel I of Portugal|King Manuel I]] .]]
[[File:Hans Egede - Johan Horner.jpg|thumb|[[Hans Egede]] (1686–1758), Lutheran missionary, credited with revitalising [[Foreign relations of Greenland|Denmark's relationship with Greenland]]]]
In 1500, King [[Manuel&nbsp;I of Portugal]] sent [[Gaspar Corte-Real]] to Greenland in search of a [[Northwest Passage]] to Asia which, according to the [[Treaty of Tordesillas]], was part of Portugal's sphere of influence. In 1501, Corte-Real returned with his brother, [[Miguel Corte-Real]]. Finding the sea frozen, they headed south and arrived in [[Labrador]] and [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]. Upon the brothers' return to Portugal, the cartographic information supplied by Corte-Real was incorporated into a new map of the world which was presented to [[Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara|Ercole I d'Este]], [[Duke of Ferrara and of Modena|Duke of Ferrara]], by Alberto Cantino in 1502. The [[Cantino planisphere|''Cantino'' planisphere]], made in Lisbon, accurately depicts the southern coastline of Greenland.<ref>Nebenzahl, Kenneth. ''Rand McNally Atlas of Columbus and The Great Discoveries'' (Rand McNally & Company; Genoa, [[Italy]]; 1990); ''The Cantino Planisphere, Lisbon, 1502'', pp. 34–37.</ref>

In 1605–1607, King [[Christian IV of Denmark and Norway]] sent a [[Christian IV's expeditions to Greenland|series of expeditions]] to Greenland and Arctic waterways to locate the lost eastern Norse settlement and assert [[Denmark-Norway|Danish-Norwegian]] sovereignty over Greenland. The expeditions were mostly unsuccessful, partly due to leaders who lacked experience with the difficult Arctic ice and weather conditions, and partly because the expedition leaders were given instructions to search for the Eastern Settlement on the east coast of Greenland just north of [[Cape Farewell, Greenland|Cape Farewell]], which is almost inaccessible due to southward [[Drift ice|drifting ice]]. The pilot on all three trips was English explorer [[James Hall (explorer)|James Hall]].

After the Norse settlements died off, Greenland came under the de&nbsp;facto control of various Inuit groups, but the Dano-Norwegian government never forgot or relinquished the claims to Greenland that it had inherited from the Norse. When it re-established contact with Greenland in the early 17th&nbsp;century, Denmark-Norway asserted its sovereignty over the island. In 1721 a joint mercantile and clerical expedition led by Dano-Norwegian missionary [[Hans Egede]] was sent to Greenland, not knowing whether a Norse civilization remained there. This expedition is part of the [[Danish colonization of the Americas|Dano-Norwegian colonization of the Americas]]. After 15&nbsp;years in Greenland, Hans Egede left his son [[Paul Egede]] in charge of the mission there and returned to Denmark, where he established a Greenland Seminary. This new colony was centred at [[Nuuk|Godthåb]] ("Good Hope") on the southwest coast. Gradually, Greenland was opened up to Danish merchants, but closed to those from other countries.

===Treaty of Kiel to World War II (1814–1945)===
{{See also|Denmark expedition|Greenland in World War II}}
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Legende børn, ca. 1878 (8473597948).jpg
| image2            = Billeder fra Grønland 11441.tif
| caption1          = Godthåb in Greenland, {{circa|1878}}
| caption2          = Pictures of Greenland, {{circa|1863}}
}}
When the union between the crowns of Denmark and Norway was dissolved in 1814, the [[Treaty of Kiel]] severed Norway's former colonies and left them under the control of the Danish monarch. Norway occupied then-uninhabited eastern Greenland as [[Erik the Red's Land]] in July 1931, claiming that it constituted ''[[terra nullius]]''. Norway and Denmark agreed to submit the matter in 1933 to the [[Permanent Court of International Justice]], which decided against Norway.<ref>[http://www.icj-cij.org/pcij/serie_AB/AB_53/01_Groenland_Oriental_Arret.pdf ''Legal Status of Eastern Greenland''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511135249/http://www.icj-cij.org/pcij/serie_AB/AB_53/01_Groenland_Oriental_Arret.pdf |date=11 May 2011 }}, PCIJ Series A/B No. 53 (1933)</ref>

Greenland's connection to Denmark was severed on 9 April 1940, early in [[History of Greenland during World War II|World War&nbsp;II]], after Denmark was occupied by [[Nazi Germany]]. On 8 April 1941, the United States occupied Greenland to defend it against a possible invasion by Germany.<ref>{{Cite book |author=America First Committee |editor-last=Doenecke |editor-first=Justus D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bhnf0fxI260C |title=In Danger Undaunted: The Anti-Interventionist Movement of 1940–1941 |date=1990 |orig-date=8 July 1941 |publisher=Hoover Institution Press |isbn=0-8179-8841-6 |access-date=18 September 2022 |archive-date=30 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630095753/https://books.google.com/books?id=Bhnf0fxI260C |url-status=live}}</ref> The United States' occupation of Greenland continued until 1945. Greenland was able to buy goods from the United States and Canada by selling [[cryolite]] from the mine at [[Ivittuut]]. [[Greenland in World War II|In World War II]], the United States military used {{lang|en-US|[[Bluie]]|italics=yes}} as a code name for Greenland, where they kept several bases named "Bluie (East or West) (sequential numeral)".<ref name="sem">{{cite book |last=Morison |first=Samuel Eliot |year=1975 |title=History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume 1: The Battle of the Atlantic September 1939&nbsp;– May 1943 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |location=Boston |page=62}}</ref> The major air bases were [[Bluie West-1]] at [[Narsarsuaq Airport|Narsarsuaq]] and [[Bluie West-8]] at [[Kangerlussuaq Airport|Søndre Strømfjord]] (Kangerlussuaq), both of which are still used as Greenland's major international airports.

During this war, the system of government changed: [[List of governors of Greenland|Governor]] [[Eske Brun]] ruled the island under a law of 1925 that allowed governors to take control under extreme circumstances; Governor Aksel Svane was transferred to the United States to lead the commission to supply Greenland. The Danish [[Slædepatruljen Sirius|Sirius Patrol]] guarded the northeastern shores of Greenland in 1942 using dog sleds. They detected several German [[weather station]]s and alerted American troops, who destroyed the facilities. After the collapse of the Third Reich, [[Albert Speer]] briefly considered escaping in a small aeroplane to hide out in Greenland, but changed his mind and decided to surrender to the [[United States Armed Forces]].<ref>[[Albert Speer|Speer, Albert]]. ''Inside the Third Reich,'' 1971.</ref>

Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940. The [[Politics of Denmark|Danish government]] had maintained a strict monopoly of [[Economy of Greenland|Greenlandic trade]], allowing no more than small scale [[troaking|barter trading]] with British whalers. In wartime Greenland developed a sense of self-reliance through self-government and independent communication with the outside world. Despite this change, in 1946 a commission including the highest Greenlandic council, the ''[[Greenland Provincial Council|Landsrådene]]'', recommended patience and no radical reform of the system. Two years later, the first step towards a change of government was initiated when a grand commission was established. A final report (G-50) was presented in 1950, which recommended the introduction of a modern [[welfare state]] with Denmark's development as sponsor and model. In 1953, Greenland was made an equal part of the Danish Kingdom. Home rule was granted in 1979.

=== Home rule and self-rule (1945–present) ===
{{See also|Greenlandic independence}}
[[File:Margrethe II of Denmark 1966.jpg|thumb|[[Margrethe II]] of Denmark, during whose reign (1972–2024) Greenland received home-rule in 1979 and self-rule in 2009. [[Queen Margrethe II Land]] is named after her.]]
Greenland had been a protected and very isolated society until 1940.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sermitsiaq.ag/node/77393 |title=Eske Brun - det moderne Grønlands ophavsmand? |date=24 November 2010 |publisher=Sermitsiaq |access-date=19 April 2012}}</ref> Greenland was a colony, and it was believed that this society would be subjected to exploitation or even eradication if the country was opened up. Therefore, a strict monopoly on Greenlandic trade was maintained, until it was abolished in 1950.<ref>[https://danmarkshistorien.dk/vis/materiale/groenland Grønlands historie] danmarkshistorien.dk</ref> With the G-50 report from 1950, the first steps toward the modernization of Greenland were taken. Greenland was to become a modern [[welfare state]] modelled after Denmark proper.

With the 1953 Danish constitution, Greenland's colonial status ended, and the island was incorporated into the Danish realm as an [[amt (country subdivision)|''amt'']] (county), and thus fully integrated into Denmark like all other Danish counties. Danish citizenship was extended to Greenlanders. Danish policies toward Greenland consisted of a strategy of cultural assimilation — or de-Greenlandification. During this period, the Danish government promoted the exclusive use of the Danish language in official matters, and required Greenlanders to go to Denmark for their post-secondary education. Many Greenlandic children grew up in boarding schools in southern Denmark, and some lost their cultural ties to Greenland. While the policies "succeeded" in the sense of shifting Greenlanders from being primarily subsistence hunters into being urbanized wage earners, the Greenlandic elite began to reassert a Greenlandic cultural identity. A movement developed in favour of independence, reaching its peak in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Loukacheva |first=Natalia |year=2007 |url={{GBurl |id=HzPzwrUYdgkC |p=29}} |title=The Arctic Promise: Legal and Political Autonomy of Greenland and Nunavut |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413025807/https://books.google.com/books?id=HzPzwrUYdgkC&pg=PA25 |archive-date=13 April 2016 |url-status=live |publisher=University of Toronto Press |page=25 |isbn=978-0-8020-9486-5}}</ref>

As in metropolitan Denmark, Greenland has seen significant expansion of the welfare state in the postwar era. Education and healthcare are free, and [[LGBTQ rights in Greenland]] are some of the most extensive in the Americas and the world. In 1987, the [[University of Greenland]] was founded to provide Greenlanders with higher education in their own language and country.

Following World War II, the United States developed a [[Geopolitics|geopolitical]] interest in Greenland and in 1946 offered to [[Proposed United States purchase of Greenland|buy the island from Denmark]] for $100,000,000; Denmark firmly rejected the offer, as Greenland was seen as an integral part of the Danish kingdom, important to its history and national identity.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=27 January 1947 |title=Deepfreeze Defense |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,778870,00.html |url-status=dead |access-date=14 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221020734/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,778870,00.html |archive-date=21 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=John J. |date=7 May 2001 |title=Let's Buy Greenland! — A complete missile-defense plan |work=National Review |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/nr_comment/nr_comment050701b.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107010850/http://www.nationalreview.com/nr_comment/nr_comment050701b.shtml |archive-date=7 January 2010}}</ref> In 1951 Denmark and the United States signed the Greenland Defense Agreement, which allowed the United States to keep its military bases in Greenland, and to establish new bases or "defence areas" if deemed necessary by [[NATO]]. The U.S. military could freely use and move between these defence areas, but was not to infringe upon Danish sovereignty in Greenland.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |chapter=The Greenland Issue |author1-first=Erik |author1-last=Beukel |title=Phasing Out the Colonial Status of Greenland, 1945–54: A Historical Study |volume=37 |series=Meddelelser om Grønland |issn=0106-1062 |editor1-first=Jens Elo |editor1-last=Rytter |publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press |year=2010 |pages=56–57 |isbn=978-87-635-2587-9}}</ref> The United States greatly expanded [[Thule Air Base]] between 1951 and 1953 as part of a unified NATO defence strategy. The local population of three nearby villages was moved more than {{convert|100|km|mi|abbr=in}} away in the winter. The United States tried to construct a subterranean network of secret [[Missile launch facility|nuclear missile launch sites]] in the Greenlandic ice cap, named [[Project Iceworm]].<ref>Weiss, Erik D. “Cold War Under the Ice: The Army’s Bid for a Long-Range Nuclear Role, 1959–1963.” ''Journal of Cold War Studies'', vol. 3, no. 3, 2001, pp. 31–58. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/26925134 JSTOR website] Retrieved 12 Apr. 2025.</ref> According to documents declassified in 1996,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Petersen |first=Nikolaj |date=17 December 2007 |title=The Iceman That Never Came |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03468750701449554 |journal=Scandinavian Journal of History |publisher=Scandinavian Journal of History Volume 33, 2008 – Issue 1 |volume=33 |pages=75–98 |doi=10.1080/03468750701449554 |access-date=15 August 2020 |s2cid=142526881 |archive-date=24 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324002002/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03468750701449554 |url-status=live}}</ref> this project was managed from [[Camp Century]] from 1960 to 1966 before abandonment as unworkable.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 August 2016 |title=A Radioactive Cold War Military Base Will Soon Emerge From Greenland's Melting Ice |work=Smithsonian |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/radioactive-cold-war-military-base-will-soon-emerge-greenlands-melting-ice-180960036/ |url-status=live |access-date=20 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820163632/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/radioactive-cold-war-military-base-will-soon-emerge-greenlands-melting-ice-180960036/ |archive-date=20 August 2019}}</ref> The missiles were never fielded, and necessary consent from the Danish Government to do so was never sought. The Danish government was not aware of the programme's mission until 1997, when they discovered it while looking in the declassified documents for records related to the [[1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash|crash of a nuclear-equipped B-52 bomber]] near the Thule air base in 1968.<ref name="h-bomb"/>

In 1973, an amicable [[Whisky War|border dispute between Denmark and Canada]] arose over the ownership of [[Hans Island]], a small island in [[Nares Strait]] directly between Greenland and the Canadian territory of [[Nunavut]]. The island remained in dispute until 2022, when both countries agreed to split the disputed island roughly in half.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Murphy |first1=Matt |title=Whisky Wars: Denmark and Canada strike deal to end 50-year row over Arctic island |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61801682 |website=BBC |access-date=10 January 2025 |date=14 June 2022}}</ref>

Due to political complications in relation to Denmark's entry into the European Common Market in 1972, Denmark began to seek a different status for Greenland, resulting in the Home Rule Act of 1979. [[1979 Greenlandic home rule referendum|A referendum]] was held on 17 January 1979. This gave Greenland limited autonomy, with [[Parliament of Greenland|its own legislature]] taking control of some internal policies, while the [[Folketing|Parliament of Denmark]] maintained full control of external policies, security, and natural resources. The law came into effect on 1 May 1979. The [[List of Danish monarchs|Danish monarch]] remains Greenland's [[head of state]]. In 1985, Greenland [[Withdrawal of Greenland from the European Communities|left the European Economic Community]] (EEC), as it did not agree with the [[European Economic Community|EEC]]'s commercial fishing regulations and an EEC ban on [[pinniped|sealskin]] products.<ref>[[#Stern|Stern]], pp. 55–56</ref>

Greenland voters approved a [[2008 Greenlandic self-government referendum|referendum on greater autonomy]] on 25 November 2008.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cowell |first=Alan |date=26 November 2008 |title=Greenland Vote Favors Independence |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/world/europe/27greenland.html |url-status=live |access-date=4 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417043301/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/world/europe/27greenland.html |archive-date=17 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=26 November 2008 |title=Vejledende folkeafstemning om selvstyre ? 25-11-2008 |url=http://www.valg.gl/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208143857/http://www.valg.gl/ |archive-date=8 December 2008 |access-date=26 November 2008 |publisher=SermitValg |language=kl}}</ref> According to one study, the 2008 vote created what "can be seen as a system between home rule and full independence".<ref>{{Cite web |title=CIDOB – Secession and Counter-secession. An International Relations Perspective |url=https://www.cidob.org/en/publications/publication_series/monographs/monographs/secession_and_counter_secession_an_international_relations_perspective |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127014249/https://www.cidob.org/en/publications/publication_series/monographs/monographs/secession_and_counter_secession_an_international_relations_perspective |archive-date=27 January 2018 |access-date=19 May 2018 |website=CIDOB |page=70}}</ref> On 21 June 2009, Greenland gained self-rule with provisions for assuming responsibility for self-government of its [[judiciary|judicial affairs]], policing matters, and [[natural resource]]s. Also, Greenlanders were recognized as a separate people under [[international law]].<ref name="stm.dk">[http://www.stm.dk/_p_13090.html Description of the Greenlandic Self-Government Act on the webpage of the Danish Ministry of State] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922104912/http://www.stm.dk/_p_13090.html |date=22 September 2014 }} "The Self-Government Act provides for the Self-Government authorities to assume a number of new fields of responsibility, such as administration of justice, including the establishment of courts of law; the prison and probation service; the police; the field relating to company law, accounting and auditing; mineral resource activities; aviation; law of legal capacity, family law and succession law; aliens and border controls; the working environment; as well as financial regulation and supervision, cf. Schedule I and II in the Annex to the Self-Government Act."</ref> Denmark maintains control of the territory's [[Foreign policy|foreign affairs]] and defence matters, and upholds an annual block grant of 3.2&nbsp;billion Danish kroner. As Greenland begins to collect revenues from its natural resources, this grant will gradually be diminished; this is generally considered to be a step toward the territory's eventual full independence from Denmark.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greenland/5594140/Greenland-takes-step-toward-independence-from-Denmark.html Greenland takes step toward independence from Denmark] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718214954/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greenland/5594140/Greenland-takes-step-toward-independence-from-Denmark.html |date=18 July 2018 }}. ''The Daily Telegraph'' (21 June 2009). Retrieved 29 September 2012.</ref> In 2012, [[Greenlandic language|Greenlandic]] was declared the sole official language of Greenland at a historic ceremony.<ref name = selvstyre /><ref name="law" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=20 June 2009 |title=Nearly independent day |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |url=http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13854765 |url-status=live |access-date=20 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625014014/http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13854765 |archive-date=25 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 June 2009 |title=Greenland set for self-rule |url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25659553-26040,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624151256/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0%2C25197%2C25659553-26040%2C00.html |archive-date=24 June 2009 |access-date=20 June 2009 |website=[[The Australian]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Boswell |first=Randy |date=19 June 2009 |title=Greenland takes big step towards full independence |url=http://www.canada.com/news/Greenland+takes+step+towards+full+independence/1713910/story.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624150211/http://www.canada.com/news/Greenland%2Btakes%2Bstep%2Btowards%2Bfull%2Bindependence/1713910/story.html |archive-date=24 June 2009 |access-date=20 June 2009 |website=Canwest News Services |publisher=Canada.com}}</ref> In February 2024, Naalakkersuisut released a policy document outlining the territory's goal of asserting greater autonomy in international affairs. The strategy emphasizes Greenland's right to influence decisions that impact its future. Key objectives include strengthening relations with Arctic North America, promoting regional peace, enhancing security cooperation within the Kingdom of Denmark and NATO, and addressing the growing global interest in the Arctic from major powers such as the United States, Canada, Russia, and China.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://paartoq.gl/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Greenlands_Foreign_-Security_and_Defense_Policy_2024_2033.pdf |author=Naalakkersuisut/Government of Greenland, Ministry for Statehood and Foreign Affairs |title=Greenland's Foreign, Security and Defense Policy 2024-2033{{mdash}}an Arctic Strategy |date=February 2024 |translator-last=Cohen |translator-first=Paul}}</ref>

Since 2019, U.S. President [[Donald Trump]] has claimed that the [[Proposed United States acquisition of Greenland|U.S. should control Greenland]],<ref name="stm.dk"/> stating that its residents "want to be with us", despite 85% opposition by Greenlandic adults.<ref>{{cite news |title=Poll: 85% of Greenlanders don't want to join the U.S. |url=https://www.axios.com/2025/01/29/greenland-poll-join-us-trump-message |agency=Axios}}</ref> The Danish government called Trump's claims "absurd" and confirmed that Greenland is not for sale. Denmark plans to spend an extra $2 billion on Arctic defence, and Greenland's government is moving to ban foreign political funding. Prime Minister [[Mette Frederiksen]] has emphasized that Greenland, part of Denmark, is not for sale.<ref>{{cite news |title=European leaders ponder 'cruel paradox' of U.S. threatening tariffs and a possible land grab |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/european-leaders-ponder-cruel-paradox-of-u-s-threatening-tariffs-and-a-possible-land-grab |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=PBS}}</ref> Denmark's Minister of Defence [[Troels Lund Poulsen]] has emphasized that Trump will ''not'' get Greenland, and that he cannot demand a part of Denmark's territory.<ref>{{cite news |title=Danmarks forsvarsminister om Grønland: – Trump kan ikke bare diktere |url=https://www.aftenposten.no/verden/i/aldxr7/danmarks-forsvarsminister-om-groenland-trump-kan-ikke-bare-diktere |access-date=5 March 2025 |work=Aftenposten}}</ref> The Greenland government has accused the United States of foreign interference in its affairs.<ref>{{cite news |title=Greenland accuses US of 'foreign interference' ahead of second lady's visit |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/03/24/greenland-accuses-us-of-foreign-interference_6739464_4.html |access-date=25 March 2025 |work=Le Monde}}</ref> Greenland's then-prime minister [[Múte Bourup Egede]] said "until recently, we could trust the Americans, who were our allies and friends, and with whom we enjoyed working very closely, but that time is over."<ref>{{cite news |title=Greenland Furious, Will Boycott US Second Lady's Visit Amid Buyout Threats |url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/greenland-furious-will-boycott-us-second-ladys-visit-amid-buyout-threats-7999773 |access-date=25 March 2025}}</ref> Greenland's new prime minister [[Jens-Frederik Nielsen]] said Trump will ''not'' "get" Greenland.<ref>{{cite news |title=Greenland's Prime Minister Says the U.S. Will Not 'Get' the Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/us/politics/greenland-prime-minister-trump.html |access-date=31 March 2025 |work=NYT|date=31 March 2025 |last1=Zhuang |first1=Yan }}</ref> Under the [[Danish Penal Code]], activities that unlawfully threaten Denmark’s sovereignty or constitutional order, including through foreign interference or attempts to alter territorial integrity by illegal means, are criminalized under provisions relating to national security and crimes against the state.<ref>{{cite web |title=Straffeloven (Danish Penal Code) |url=https://www.retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2022/1260 |publisher=retsinformation.dk |access-date=11 April 2025}}</ref> In April 2025, a plan by the United States for undermining the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark through a campaign of foreign interference and [[disinformation]] on social media became known.<ref>{{cite news |title=USA har planen klar for å overta Grønland |url=https://www.aftenposten.no/verden/i/3MO7zv/new-york-times-usa-har-planen-klar-for-aa-overta-groenland |access-date=11 April 2025 |work=[[Aftenposten]]}}</ref> [[Pituffik Space Base]] commander Susannah Meyers said the [[Donald Trump|Trump]] regime's threats against the Kingdom of Denmark "are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base."<ref>{{cite news |title=US fires Greenland military base chief for 'undermining' Vance |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/creq99l218do |access-date=17 April 2025 |work=BBC}}</ref>