Greenland Travel
Greenland is an autonomous country within the
Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and
Atlantic Oceans, east of the
Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of
North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with
Europe (specifically
Norway and
Denmark, the colonial powers, as well as the nearby island of
Iceland) for more than a millennium.[9] In 2008, the people of Greenland passed a referendum supporting greater autonomy; 75% of votes cast were in favour. Greenland is the world's largest island,[10] over three-quarters of which is covered by the only contemporary ice sheet outside of
Antarctica. With a population of about 56,480[6] (
2013), it is the least densely populated country in the world.[11]
Greenland has been inhabited off and on for at least the last 4,
500 years by
Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now
Canada.[12][13]
Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland, beginning in the
10th century, and
Inuit peoples arrived in the
13th century.
The Norse colonies disappeared in the late
15th century. In the early
18th century,
Scandinavia and Greenland came back into contact with each other, and Denmark-Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island.
Denmark–Norway claimed Greenland for centuries. Greenland was settled by
Norwegians over a thousand years ago, who had previously settled Iceland to escape persecution from the
King of Norway and his central government. It was from Greenland and Iceland that Norwegians would set sail to discover
America almost 500 years before
Columbus and attempt to colonize land. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the
Norwegian crown until 1262.
The Kingdom of Norway was extensive and a military power until the mid-14th century. Norway was dramatically hit with a larger death toll than Denmark by the
Black Death, forcing Norway to accept a union in which the central government, university and other fundamental institutions were located in
Copenhagen. Thus, the two kingdoms' resources were directed at creating Copenhagen, which is why Norway became the weaker part and lost sovereignty over Greenland in
1814 in the dissolution of the union. Greenland thus became a
Danish colony in 1814, and a part of the
Danish Realm in
1953 under the
Constitution of Denmark.
In
1973, Greenland joined the
European Economic Community with Denmark. However, in a referendum in
1982, a majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the
EEC (later expanded into the
E.U.), which was effected in
1985. In
1979, Denmark had granted home rule to Greenland, and in 2008,
Greenlanders voted in favour of the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish royal government to the local Greenlandic government. Under the new structure, in effect since 21
June 2009,[14] Greenland can gradually assume responsibility for policing, judicial system, 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; and financial regulation and supervision, while the
Danish government retains control of foreign affairs and defence. It also retains control of monetary policy, providing an initial annual subsidy of
DKK 3.4 billion, planned to diminish gradually over time as Greenland's economy is strengthened by increased income from the extraction of natural resources.
- published: 24 Nov 2015
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