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BARCELONA, Spain, Apr 01 (IPS) – “…I’m satisfied that Greenland’s significance to U.S. pursuits will develop. Due to geography, historic ties (…), the USA has the within monitor when competing for affect in Greenland (even because the Chinese language have now began making common visits)…” This quote from a diplomatic cable despatched by the U.S. embassy in Copenhagen to Washington may appear latest, maybe simply earlier than President Trump’s abrupt announcement of his intentions to “purchase” or “annex” Greenland from Denmark, however that isn’t the case.
This message is definitely seventeen years previous, courting again to Might 16, 2008. It’s one in every of a number of Greenland-related cables that got here to gentle with WikiLeaks, highlighting the truth that U.S. curiosity in Greenland is nothing new. It has been a constant theme in U.S. overseas coverage for not less than the final 150 years.
The primary documented dialogue inside the U.S. Authorities about buying Greenland dates again to 1867, the identical 12 months the U.S. bought Alaska from the Russian Empire for $7.7M.
Round that point, inner consultations happened within the U.S. Federal Authorities relating to the opportunity of shopping for Greenland (together with Iceland) for round $5.5M. The truth is, the State Division even printed a report on the matter in 1868. Nevertheless, as we all know, this proposal by no means materialized.
Extra fruitless discussions adopted in 1910, after which, abruptly, one other buy occurred in 1916. This time, the U.S. authorities purchased not Greenland however the Danish West Indies within the Caribbean (now often called the U.S. Virgin Islands) from Denmark for $25M.
The relevance of this buy within the Greenland case is substantive as a result of one provision within the worldwide treaty that formalized the deal—often called the Treaty of the Danish West Indies—acknowledged that the U.S. Authorities “is not going to object to the Danish Authorities extending their political and financial pursuits to the entire of Greenland.”
As a result of in 1916 Denmark managed important parts of Greenland however not the whole island. Nevertheless, following the West Indies cope with the U.S., and with Washington’s consent, Denmark started a collection of diplomatic actions that finally allowed it to declare full sovereignty over all of Greenland. Solely Norway contested this declare however misplaced within the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice in 1933.
In April 1940, Nazi Germany occupied Denmark, and following that, the U.S. occupied Greenland, with the intention to forestall its seizure by Germany or finally by Canada and even by the UK.
After WWII, the Danish authorities anticipated the U.S. to withdraw its troops. Nevertheless, to their shock, in 1946, the U.S. made a brand new proposal to buy Greenland, this time providing $100M. As soon as once more, the deal didn’t undergo, and regardless of Copenhagen’s diplomatic efforts, the U.S. navy stayed.
With the creation of NATO—and Denmark being one in every of its founding members—Copenhagen modified its coverage, accepting the established order. In 1951, Denmark signed an settlement permitting the U.S. to proceed its navy and protection actions in Greenland. In 1955, new severe discussions inside the U.S. authorities about one other potential supply emerged, and there may be proof that Vice President Nelson Rockefeller was behind one other unsuccessful try in 1970.
With the tip of the Chilly Battle, U.S. curiosity in Greenland dramatically decreased, and most U.S. navy bases on the island had been dismantled, aside from the one in Pituffik (then recognized by the Danish title of Thule).
With the beginning of the brand new millennium, the rising results of local weather change and the escalation of geostrategic curiosity within the Arctic area, Washington reactivated its curiosity within the largest island on the planet.
Nevertheless, this time somewhat than proposing one other buy to Denmark—after so many failed makes an attempt—the U.S. opted for a extra refined coverage, not directly supporting Greenland’s pro-independence motion. The thought was {that a} newly impartial and probably weak Greenland could possibly be extra simply influenced by the U.S.
The shock got here in 2019 when President Trump reignited public debate on the problem and even cancelled an official journey to Copenhagen on the final minute after the Danish Prime Minister publicly rejected the opportunity of promoting Greenland.
With Biden in workplace, the problem was largely forgotten—till not too long ago, when Trump introduced it again, adopting an much more aggressive method. It’s no coincidence, then, that the U.S. opened a Consulate in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, in 2020, regardless of the nation’s small inhabitants of round 50,000 individuals and a negligible variety of U.S. residents, except for the few U.S. navy personnel stationed at Pituffik.
The important thing questions listed here are: after so many failed makes an attempt by the U.S. to buy Greenland over the previous 150 years, what makes Trump imagine that he’ll succeed? Is the present White Home coverage—so aggressive and public—actually the easiest way for the U.S. to regain affect, and even safe a brand new function in Greenland? May this method, the truth is, jeopardize U.S. pursuits within the area in the long run? And final however not least, past the Danish Authorities, the Greenlanders could have one thing to say, and judging by the outcomes of the latest elections, it appears they aren’t actually within the temper to simply accept Trump’s expansionism.
Manuel Manonelles is Affiliate Professor of Worldwide Relations at Blanquerna-Ramon Llull College in Spain
© Inter Press Service (2025) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service
