When it is Donald tramp at the beginning of January expressed his desire to take control over Greenland on the part of the United States, the newly elected American president did not bring anything new to the agenda.
In fact, Trump only fueled the centuries-old idea of an American Greenland.
Suitors from the United States have been courting the world's largest island since the 19th century.
The way Trump talked about this overseas Danish territory is new. That is, about the methods of downloading. While former American presidents limited themselves to the purchase of territory, Trump is the first in history to publicly present the idea of a potential taking over Greenland by military intervention.
"We need them for economic security," Trump said then about Greenland and the Panama Canal. Both Denmark and Panama promptly answered yes they have no intention of giving up part of their territories.
What is it about the idea of American Greenland that has historically made the territory so attractive to American officials?
The beginnings of a desire for Greenland
The first attempt by the USA to buy Greenland took place in 1867. This year, by the way, is known today for the fact that it was then that the famous trade in Alaska took place, when Russia sold that part of its territory to the USA for around seven million dollars at the time. Buoyed by the successful purchase of Alaska, Secretary of State William H. Seward also considered the acquisition of Greenland from Denmark "an idea worthy of serious consideration", writes Politico.
Art historian Jeff Ludwig, director of the museum dedicated to William Seward in New York, wrote in 2019 that in 1867, Seward dreamed of the expansion of the USA.
"Seward negotiated with his partners in Copenhagen and reached terms very similar to those for Alaska: $7,5 million for the Danish West Indies (today's Virgin Islands), but Congress rejected the deal," Ludwig pointed out.
After failing to buy one of the Caribbean archipelagos from the Danes – the Danish West Indies eventually became part of the US in 1917 for $25 million – Seward began openly lusting after Greenland.
Natural resources and geopolitical goals
The Secretary of State hired scholars and political supporters to compile a report on the virtues of the Danish colony. The final document, entitled "Report on the Resources of Iceland and Greenland" by Benjamin Pierce—which Seward had printed and distributed—was not the least bit objective in its conclusions.
On the contrary, the document was full of eulogies about the potential of the "largest island in the world" and "a country larger than half of Europe".
In addition to its size, Greenland was praised for its "unusual healthiness", abundance of game, rich fishing waters and mineral resources. One of the key parts of the report concerned geopolitics – at a time when the British were consolidating their influence in Canada, Greenland offered strategic geographic importance.
With Alaska to the west and Greenland to the east, Pierce's report argued that in this way the US would successfully bypass British America (Canada) from both the north and the Pacific.
Pierce claimed that the United States of America, bypassing Canada, would "greatly encourage British America, peacefully and joyfully, to become a part of the American Union."
Other purchase attempts
The idea of Greenland as part of American territory has outlived its originator many times over. More significant negotiations between the USA and Denmark took place in 1910 and 1946. A year after the end of World War II, Washington offered $100 million in gold bullion and a territorial exchange that would include the transfer of ownership of Alaska's Point Barrow, the northernmost point in the United States, to Denmark.
However, the Danes refused.
"Even though we owe a lot to America, I don't think we owe them the whole island," said the Danish foreign minister at the time, Gustav Rasmussen.
If the Danes had agreed then, today they would be the beneficiaries of the largest discovery of oil deposits in American history, the giant oil field in Prudhoe Bay in 1967.
Natural treasures
According to data available on the official website of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of Greenland, this island is rich in various valuable minerals, rare earth and precious metals, coal, graphite and uranium.
In addition to coal, gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, graphite, olivine, cryolite and marble have been mined in Greenland since the 18th century.
According to official estimates of this department, there is a huge potential for oil exploitation in the waters off the coast of Greenland.
In October 2013, Greenland's parliament officially changed its mining policy and opened the possibility for the extraction of uranium and other radioactive minerals on the island. This means that mining companies can now apply for the exploitation of radioactive minerals underground in Greenland.
Standard of living
Since 2009, Greenland has been a parliamentary democracy within the Kingdom of Denmark, together with the Faroe Islands.
It is also interesting that Greenland is not part of Denmark's membership in the European Union, but through its association with Denmark it has close cooperation with the EU.
Research conducted in Greenland in the past decade has shown that a significant part of Greenlanders do not want to be part of Denmark. According to a poll conducted by HS Analyze for Sermitsiak magazine in 2016, 64 percent of respondents were in favor of full independence.
A survey conducted a year later, published in the same magazine, showed that 78 percent of the population is against independence if it would mean a lower standard of living.
A survey conducted under the expert guidance of Professor Minik Rosing and David Dreyer Lassen at the University of Copenhagen in 2019 showed that 67,7 percent of the local population supports Greenland's independence in the next two decades.
The cost of living on this island is generally high. According to data from the website Numbeo, which evaluates the standard of living in different countries, food items are very expensive in Greenland - their price is, on average, as much as 60 percent higher than in continental Denmark.
On the other hand, apartment prices and rents are cheaper than in Denmark.
The cost of living for a family of four is estimated at around 37.000 crowns per month, which is around 580.000 dinars, excluding rent.
