Best Short History of Greenland Timeline

PREHISTORY OF GREENLANDS 

The first people in Greenland immigrated between 4-5000 years ago from the North American continent via Canada, when the sea froze in the small strait at Thule in northern Greenland. And a total of six different Inuit cultures have immigrated in several waves, and today’s Greenlandic population is descended from the latest immigration, the Thule culture, which came here around the 9th century e.Kr.

Norsemen and Inuit 982-c. 1400

Greenland history timeline: Greenland’s connection with Denmark arose through Norway. The emigrants from Norway to Iceland and from there to Greenland in 982 settled under the Norwegian king in 1261 as tax lands or bee countries. The Norwegian-born Viking Erik the Red (born c. 950) was one of the first settlers, and he called the island Greenland to lure settlers from Iceland and Norway.

In the 1400s, the Norse settlement ceased, while the neo-Inuit immigration from around the year 1000 spread along both coasts. The Danish kings, who from 1380 to 1814 were also kings of Norway, thereby also came into possession of the bee lands, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. However, the connection to Greenland ceased in the 1400s.

History On Greenland

• Total Greenland Area:  2.166 million km²
• Capital of Greenland:         Nuuk
• Continent of Greenland:   North America
• Language of Greenland:   Greenlandic

Religion Ration in Greenland

Religious Beliefs in Greenland.

A Brief History of Greenland and Iceland

The History of Greenland: Greenland is an autonomous part of Denmark. It is entirely dependent on Denmark’s economic support. Despite being in North America, it is considered a part of Europe. It lies between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans. It is not that no American leader has expressed such desire before Trump. In the year 1946, US President Harry Truman also offered to give Denmark 100 million dollars to buy Greenland, they could not succeed. Greenland is one of the most beautiful places in the world. 85 percent of it is covered with snow, which does not let the grass grow here. The month of August is very happy for Greenland. History of Greenland

This area looks golden in August. There is no railway system in Greenland. People living on this territory use helicopters, boats or ships to move from one place to another. Greenland is very large in terms of area, but it has a very small population (57,674). Greenland (‘land of the people’) is an autonomous constituent country under the Danish monarchy, which lies east of the Canada Arctic Archipelago between the Arctic and the Atlantic Ocean.

Although geographically a part of the continent of North America, it has been politically connected to Europe (especially Denmark) since the 18th century. In 1979 Denmark granted Greenland self-government, and in 2008 Greenland voted in favor of greater efficiency transfer to the local government. Which became effective the following year, with the Danish imperial government being limited to foreign affairs, security and economic policy only. Greenland is the world’s largest island by area. History of Greenland

Why is Greenland called Greenland

Greenland was named by a Viking named Erik the Red. Historians believe Erik chose the name Greenland as a marketing strategy. The word “green” promised people from elsewhere in the Nordics they would find lush, green fields waiting for them in the new region. Legend has is that Greenland was named by the Viking Erik the Red, who landed in Greenland in around 983 AD with a small group of settlers. 

There are many legends and stories associated with Erik the Red, who features in the Icelandic sagas. Some sources say that he was a Norwegian explorer, while others claim that he fled from Norway with his father who was exiled for murder. 

Either way, Erik and his father left Norway and sailed to Iceland, where they settled and Erik married a local woman called Thorhild from a wealthy family. However, Erik was soon exiled from Iceland too, after being convicted of the murder of two of his neighbour’s sons. Since he couldn’t return to Norway, he sailed further west still and landed in Greenland.

It’s also likely that Greenland was actually greener a thousand years ago when Erik the Red landed there, with some evidence suggesting that the island’s southern reaches were forested.  that’s why is Greenland called Greenland and Iceland called Iceland.

How Did Greenland and Iceland Get Their Names

How Did Greenland and Iceland Get Their Names: How did Greenland get its name? The name Greenland comes from Scandinavian settlers. In the Norse sagas, it is said that Erik the Red was exiled from Iceland for murder. He set out in ships to find land rumoured to be to the northwest. After settling there, he named the land Grfnland (Greenland), possibly to attract more people to settle there. Greenland was also called Gruntland (Ground-land) on early maps. Whether Green is an erroneous transcription of Grunt (ground), which refers to shallow bays, or vice-versa, is not known. The southern portion (not covered by glacier) is very green in summer.  How did Iceland and Greenland get their names?

How Did Greenland and Iceland Get Their Names : The legends say Naddador was the first Norse explorer to reach Iceland, and he named the country Snæland or “snow land” because it was snowing. Swedish Viking Garðar Svavarosson followed Naddador, and this led to the island being called Garðarshólmur (“Garðar’s Isle”). Alas, Garðar’s Isle was not so kind to its next arrival, a Viking named Flóki Vilgerðarson. Flóki’s daughter drowned en route to Iceland, then all his livestock starved to death as the winter dragged on. Depressed and frustrated, Flóki, the sagas say, climbed a mountain only to see a fjord full of icebergs, which led to the island’s new name. History of Greenland.

History of Greenland and Denmark

Greenland was part of the Kingdom of Norway in 1261. In1814, the real union between Denmark and Norway was dissolved as a result of the Treaty of Kiel, and Norway was forced into a new union with Sweden. However, the old Norwegian tax countries Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland did not follow Norway, but were retained by Denmark and incorporated into the Common wealth.

Greenland was until 5 June 1953 a Danish colony. With the amendment of the Danish constitution, the island was then given the status of a Danish county. After a referendum in 1978, Greenland was granted self-government with effect from1 May 1979. In 2009, self-government was extended to most areas, except foreign and security policy. Thus, additional power and responsibility were transferred from Danish to Greenlandic political authorities. Since 2009, Greenland has gradually taken over more and more of the financial and administrative responsibility from the Danish state. 

Most of Greenland is Covered With Snow.

Greenland has many world records. It is the largest island in the world. It is the region with the lowest population density on Earth. After Antarctica, only Greenland is the area where snow sheets are always covered. Most of its 56,000 inhabitants are Inuit. They are descendants of people who came here from Canada in the 13th century. History of Greenland

Who Owns Greenland 

Greenland has its own extensive local government, but it is also part of the Realm of Denmark.

Greenland Own Rule

Greenland gave self-government authority to Greenland in 1979. In 2008 Greenlanders voted in favor of an act that gave their government even more power. Prior to being a Danish territory, Greenland had been under Norway. For some time in 1499, the Portuguese also claimed control over it.

Greenland Population

The population of Greenland is just 56 thousand. Such a population is equal to a city in England. 88 percent of the population here is of Inuit and the rest of the Danish (Danish language speakers) live there. In the last several years, the Americans and the people of Denmark have not invested much money in Greenland and its political crisis. The economic situation there is also not very good. Every day, some people gather here at a place and sell goods, due to which some cash is collected. It sells clothes, schoolbags, cakes, dried fish and randier horns. History of Greenland

Santa’s mailbox

One third of Greenland’s population lives in the capital Nuk. In the picture, you see ‘Santa’s mailbox’. Thousands of letters by the name of Saint Nicholas used to reach here around Christmas every year. Some activists used to reply to children’s letters through hand written letters. However, in 2018 ‘Mailbox’ was discontinued. History of Greenland

Melting Ice

The people of Greenland felt the impact of climate change for the first time. The rising sea level coupled with the melting ice of the Arctic made them feel the change in climate. In recent days, scientists have recorded a massive ice melting event on this island, which was predicted that it will not happen until 2070. History of Greenland

Warn about musk ox

A sign in Greenland warns tourists about the musk ox. They are famous for their intense smell. They are found only in Greenland, Northern Canada and Alaska. Their population was reduced due to indiscriminate hunting for centuries, but now hunting has been banned. Because of this, they have started appearing again. History of Greenland

Alternative Transportation

There are no roads in some areas of Greenland. Trains on ice are very expensive. In such a situation, villagers use dogs carts to move from one village to another village or sea. History of Greenland

Why does America want Greenland?

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Why is the American eye on an island with 80 percent of its glaciers covered by less than 60 thousand people? This is a legitimate question, which has not been answered by Trump yet, but citing experts (Experts Analysis), CNN has found answers to such important questions. Let us know why America’s eyes are fixed on this island. The first thing is that experts about Greenland believe that there are immense natural resources here. Plenty of possibilities have been expressed on the island of rare elements of the world like iron ore, lead, zinc, diamond, gold and uranium and oil. The second thing is that the natural wealth of the island is still untouched.

Why America Want Greenland

NASA found this year that two of the biggest glacier melting incidents occurred in Greenland’s history due to global warming. If snow melts due to global warming, mining of minerals and natural elements can be easy here.

If a Danish historian, Teg Karstead, believes that America has tried to buy Greenland before. In 1946, Secretary of State James Byrnes discussed with the Danish Foreign Minister the purchase of Greenland during the tenure of then President Harry Truman at a United Nations meeting. History also tells that when USA bought Alaska about 80 years ago, even then US wanted to buy Greenland.

America Has Bought Many Islands Before This

In 1867, America bought Alaska from Russia for 72 million dollars. At that time this deal was highly criticized and the then President was even written by historians as ‘fool’. In 1898, the US bought the Philippine Islands from Spain for $ 20 million and in 1917 from Denmark for $ 25 million on Virgin Island. Source France 24

There is also a history before this when America acquired land from other countries. In 1803, The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, which is currently about a quarter of the US. But these are very old things and in the last nearly hundred years America has not acquired any such big land from abroad. Read History of America USA

 

Read Also History Of Iceland

 

References 

1 History of Greenland (danmarkshistorien.dk)

2. History of Greenland – [Visit Greenland!]