Greenland: Why does the largest island in the world belong to Denmark? Can Greenland be independent?

Welcome to pay attention to "global intelligence agents" and learn more about global history, geography and humanities. Greenland is located in the northeast of North America, covering an area of 2,654.38+0.8 million square kilometers. It is the largest island in the world. Greenland's English name "Greenland" means oasis, which sounds like a vibrant place. However, most of Greenland has long been covered with snow and ice. ▲ Although Greenland is an "oasis", it is actually a frozen land. The largest island in the world is not an independent country. Its ownership belongs neither to Canada in the west nor to Iceland in the east, but to Denmark more than 3000 kilometers away. Although the area of Greenland is equivalent to the area of 50 Danish continents, Denmark does not include Greenland when calculating its land area, that is to say, Greenland is regarded as "redundant" by Denmark. ▲ The geographical location of Greenland. The dividing line between East Greenland and Iceland is the Danish Strait, which shows the relationship between Greenland and Denmark. So, what is the relationship between Greenland and Denmark? How did Denmark occupy Greenland? 1. 1000 years ago, the original inhabitants of Greenland were Inuit, that is, Eskimos. Due to its high latitude, cold climate and hard soil, Greenland is not suitable for the development of planting industry in terms of annual accumulated temperature and soil hardness. In order to survive, Inuit people live a life of fishing and hunting. They mainly hunt arctic creatures and marine fish for a living. ▲ The Inuit people in Greenland still live a life of fishing and hunting. Before the arrival of Europeans, the residents of Greenland lived a self-sufficient life and were relatively isolated from Eurasia. However, this state was broken by a Norwegian pirate from Iceland in the 10 century. Northern Europe is located in the transition zone from the northern temperate zone to the northern frigid zone, with a cold climate and harsh living conditions for most of the year. In order to survive and develop under such harsh conditions, some Nordic residents took advantage of the fact that Scandinavia faces the European continent across the sea and went out to plunder by boat. This is the Viking who scares the whole European continent. In the process of foreign plunder, the Norwegians discovered a small island hanging in the Atlantic Ocean-Iceland in the 9th century. With the immigration of a large number of Norwegians, Iceland gradually became the territory of Norway. After the occupation of Iceland, the cold climate and icebergs on the sea seem to be obstacles for the Norwegians to move on. However, all this did not stop the Norwegian from moving forward. ▲ European Cup, Viking Roar of Iceland in the World Cup, from Viking Expedition. In 982 AD, a red-bearded pirate named Eric was expelled from Iceland for committing a crime. Eric is sailing a small boat across the Atlantic. At that time, the Atlantic Ocean was regarded by Europeans as a green sea of death, and many people thought that Eric had a narrow escape. But three years later, Eric accidentally discovered a piece of land during his voyage. According to records, because it was discovered in summer, the southwest of Greenland is covered with green tundra. On this basis, Eric called this place covered with green vegetation "Greenland", which means oasis. ▲ The first European to arrive here, Eric with red beard, broke the tranquility of Greenland. Europeans who heard of this new discovery began to move here to do business and preach, and Greenland was relatively isolated from the European continent. The situation was broken from then on. ▲ Greenland Church, the witness of European missionaries. It was not long before the Norwegians landed in Greenland for the first time. 126 1 year, Norway declared its possession of Greenland, and Greenland became the territory of Norway. Second, Norway-Denmark * * * tube Greenland In the Middle Ages, most European royal families were related by blood. After the death of the monarch, if he leaves no children, his immediate blood relatives have the right to inherit the throne. So in Europe at that time, there would be two countries with the same monarch. 1376 to 1380, under the impetus of Margaret (Queen Margaret I of Northern Europe), Margaret's son Olaf successively inherited the throne of Denmark and Norway and became the Lord of Denmark and Norway. Since then, Denmark and Norway have changed from two independent kingdoms to a United Kingdom. ▲ Margaret I, the founder of Denmark and the United Kingdom of Norway, after the establishment of the United Kingdom, Norway's overseas territories Greenland, Faroe Islands and Iceland were monopolized by Norway, becoming the same jurisdiction of Denmark and Norway and becoming the same property of the two places. Third, although Denmark nominally monopolizes the property of the United Kingdom of Greenland, it is actually jointly owned by the two countries. But in fact, the economic and political strength of the two countries determines who owns the property. Denmark has a low latitude and a relatively warm climate. Compared with Norway with high latitude, Denmark is more suitable for developing agriculture and animal husbandry. In addition, Denmark is connected with the European continent, which can not only develop maritime traffic like Norway, but also learn from the developed European civilization with convenient land transportation. So within Britain, Denmark's economic strength is far above Norway's. The economic disadvantage puts Norway at a disadvantage in the overall game with Denmark, while within Britain, Denmark occupies an absolute dominant position. ▲ Nordic map, in the Middle Ages, Denmark (red) was backed by the European continent (blue), and its economic development was better than that of Norway. Norway has become a vassal of Denmark economically and politically, and only Denmark is the leader. Greenland, Faroe Islands and Iceland, which originally belonged to Norway, also began to fall to Britain's ally Denmark. ▲ Map of Denmark-Norway Kingdom (red part), the red box shows the colonial strongholds they once occupied, in which Greenland was occupied by Denmark. 1534, Denmark simply abolished the kingdom status of Norway and turned Norway into a province of Denmark. Norway has lost its independent status and has no right to talk about territorial division. Greenland changed from Norwegian territory to Danish territory. 177 1 year, Danish businessmen established a commercial base in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, with the permission of the Danish royal family. From then on, the Danish royal family monopolized all the trade activities in Greenland, and Denmark became the de facto master of Greenland. /kloc-At the beginning of the 0/9th century, Europe was plunged into a protracted Napoleonic War, and Denmark stood on Napoleon's side. After Napoleon's defeat, Denmark, which stood in the wrong team, was severely punished. 18 14, Sweden, one of the anti-French alliance, signed the Kiel Treaty with Denmark, and Denmark ceded part of Norway to Sweden. Since then, Greenland has nothing to do with Norway and has officially become the territory of Denmark. The signing of the Kiel Treaty caused dissatisfaction in Norway. 18 14 years, Norway declared its independence, 17 May, the constitution was amended, and Norway became a constitutional monarchy. This is Norway's first independence in modern times. However, Norway's independence lasted only three months before it was suppressed by the Swedish army, and Sweden and Norway established the United Kingdom. ▲ After the signing of the Kiel Treaty, the map of Sweden-Norway United Kingdom covered almost the whole Scandinavia. In order to appease Norway, Sweden gave Norway all rights except diplomacy. However, the rift between the two places cannot be solved by granting a high degree of autonomy. From 65438 to 0905, Norway gained its independence from Sweden by referendum. After independence, Norway has not recognized Denmark's ownership of Greenland. After years of disputes, 193 1 year, Denmark and Norway went to court on the ownership of Greenland. 1933, the then International Court of Justice under the League of Nations arbitrated Greenland, and Denmark won the case. Greenland belongs to Denmark, which is based on international law. ▲ The League of Nations was founded after World War I and was replaced by the United Nations after World War II. 1933, the League of Nations allocated Greenland to Denmark. Fourth, Denmark-Greenland broke up happily? After the end of World War II, with the successive decline of the old colonial countries, the global wave of independence was set off, and the local residents of Greenland began to seek independence under the influence of modern concepts. Although Greenland is huge, its population is less than 76,000. More than 80% of Greenland is a mixture of Inuit and early Europeans, and only one sixth is Danish. Since Denmark established its rule here for more than 200 years, most important positions of * * * have been held by Danes. Therefore, after World War II, the voices calling for Greenland's independence are endless. 1953, after a political game, Greenland became a state of Denmark, and Denmark gave Greenlanders equal voting rights. However, this did not quell the voice of Greenland independence. 1979, Denmark decided to grant Greenland more autonomy, and Greenland basically achieved autonomy except for national defense, foreign affairs and some financial rights. In June 2009, Greenland officially achieved autonomy, and Denmark only reserved some diplomatic and defense rights. When Greenland won autonomy step by step, Denmark no longer counted Greenland when calculating its land area. ▲ Although the referendum on Greenland autonomy in 2008 won most of the autonomy, some Greenland politicians and people were not satisfied. They want Greenland to break away from Denmark and establish a truly * * * country. At the beginning of the 20th century, the discovery of oil and other mineral resources around Greenland made some politicians think that Greenland could be independent from Denmark. ▲ Distribution map of mineral resources in Greenland However, it is undeniable that Greenland is vast and sparsely populated. Although rich in resources, most of them are covered by ice sheets due to the high latitude. It is difficult and expensive to develop resources in Greenland. It is estimated that it will cost $7 billion to develop oil fields in Greenland. However, Greenland's economy is still dominated by fisheries, and its economic strength is weak. Although the per capita GDP is as high as $48,000, the total GDP is about $3 billion, which is equivalent to Denmark's1100. ▲ Offshore oil field (North Sea), for Greenland with weak economic strength, independent exploitation is to expect Denmark to provide Greenland with a subsidy of 350 million US dollars every year, so that Greenland can barely maintain its operation. Greenland is still not self-sufficient in finance and food, and needs Danish subsidies every year. Green land wants to be exploited independently, but it is short of money and people. For Denmark, owning Greenland can not only be rich in resources, but also open the key to the North Pole for its future. This has formed that Greenland today is not independent from Denmark, but has become Denmark's "supernumerary". Author: Eagle Editor: Thomas (Tang)