But taking a more serious look at the Greenland issue. Two things I want to address:
National Security.
This is what Trump says is the reason the USA must have Greenland. But this is bullshit.
Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and they are a founding member of Nato. They have been close allies to the USA since WW2 and are so loyal they even sent troops to the ill conceived invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. In fact, per capita, they have had more of their soldiers killed in Afghanistan than the USA, and the only reason they went there is because of the USA after 9/11 pointing to Article 5 of the NATO treaty which states that when one member state is attacked, all others should assist.
When Trump says he's not so sure other NATO members would come to the rescue of the USA it shows he hasn't studied history. The only NATO member thus far to get Article 5 assistance from other member states is the USA. And yes, Denmark showed up.
Anyway, Denmark has allowed the USA to station troops on Greenland more or less as they see fit. During the peak of the cold war the US had some 30 military bases there. They have since closed all but one, but Denmark has been clear that they're fine with the USA reviving the old bases they once had. Thus the national security aspects are already taken care of. The US can station pretty much as many soldiers, ships and aircraft as they please on Greenland under the current treaties they have with eachother.
On the other hand, if the USA were to take Greenland against Denmark's will, that is the end of NATO.
All the European mamber states will side with Denmark, There has been talk of shutting down US military bases in Europe if this should happen, as they can no longer be considered a security guarantee, but more of a security threat.
There is also talk of stationing troops from France, Germany and the UK on Greenland as soon as possible to signal that they stand with Denmark. Or at least that these nations start patrolling Greenland with ships and aircraft, to provide security against foreign invasions.
The Danish claim to Greenland.
Scandinavian settlements on Greenland began in 985.
The people on Iceland had long known of the island, and regularily visited to hunt walrus since the mid 9th century, but the first settlement was by Erik the Red, who moved there with his followers after having been bannished from Iceland for killing some guy. It was Erik that named it Greenland in a PR move to try to attract as many settlers as possible. He talked about the lush green grass of the meadows that was perfectly suited for sheep.
When the vikings arrived there most of Greenland was uninhabited. The Dorset people, who also lived in northern Canada had some settlements on the northerns shores of the iceland. They probably did not have much interaction with the Scandinavian settlers as they lived very far from eachother.
Within decades the Norse settlement on Greenland also spread to Vinland. The exact whereabouts of Vinland is unknown. It is probably the southern shores of St Lawrence's Bay, but the only settlement that has actually been found was on New Foundland. The description of Vinland in the sagas tell of wild grapes though, and that hints at the more southernly location than that. Also, while excavating the settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows the archeologists found butternuts, that supposedly also only grow to the south of St Lawrence's Bay. Anyway, the colony in Vinland only lasted a few decades, because they kept having issues with the locals, and decided it wasn't worth it. They kept going to Markland (Labrador) for logging though, as there are no trees on Greenland. There are some 22 different objects found in the Greenland settlements that are made of North American wood, dating from the late 9th century and up to the 14th century, proving that the Scandinavians living on Greenland visited Labrador on a fairly regular basis.
If these people were Danes can be debated. The people who settled on Iceland came from Norway, the people who settled on Greenland came from Iceland. Typically Iceland , Greenland and the Faroe Islands were seen as belonging to the Kingdom of Norway. But as early as 961 the Danish king Harald Bluetooth conquered Norway, albeit his title was mostly just a formality, and he lost control of it within a decade or so, but his son, Swen Forkbeard conquered it again and held it from 1000-1013. And then HIS son, king Cnut the Great, who also ruled England, ruled over Norway from 1028-1035. After that Norway (including Greenland) was independent for the most part until the 14th century. Haakon Magnusson, who died in 1319 had no sons, but a daughter, Ingeborg, who married duke Erik Magnusson, brother to the Swedish king. Their son Magnus Eriksson ended up inheriting both the Swedish and Norwegian thrones. His eldest son was to become king of Sweden and his second son king of Norway, but the eldest died and suddenly the second son was crown prince to both thrones. He married the youngest daughter of the Danish king, Margarethe, and with the Black Death and everything a lot of people died and Margarethe ended up ruling Sweden, Norway and Denmark in the so-called Kalmar Union that lasted from 1380 till 1520. Well, other regents than her of course for most of its run, but yeah. In 1520, after the Blood Bath of Stockholm, Sweden left the Union, but Norway stayed Danish till 1814, when it became Swedish. But in the 1814 peace negotiations Denmark insisted that Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands were to remain Danish. And so they have remained till this day.
So basically, you could argue that Greenland was Norwegian from 985 till 1380 and then Danish since then. Starting in the early 12th century Greenland became its own diocese with the first bishop being Arnaldur, who was ordained in 1124 and served at Garðar cathedral.
The Inuit arrrived around the year 1200 or shortly thereafter. It is not known exactly what happened, but the Dorset people disappeared around that time, and the Inuit are not related to them. The Inuit originally settled in the far north of Greenland, where the Dorset people used to live, but spread southward as well. They did interact and trade with the Scandinavians, but the two groups lived separetly from eachother.
After the Black Death, which killed off almost 50% of the Scandinavian population, the Greenland settlement slowly started to die out. There were fewer ships venturing this far out, and there were better pastures to be had on the Scandinavian mainland. Also, walrus ivory was starting to get replaced by elephant ivory at the courts of continental Europe, further undermining the Greenland economy. There are records of a wedding at the Gardar Cathedral in the early 15th century, but after that it is rather quiet. A problem is that the Greenland records were destroyed in the fire of Copenhagen in 1728. Anyway, a ship arriving in 1540 found a dead man lying face down near the Eastern Settlement, but no living Greenlanders. Danish ships started visiting there again in the early 18th century and established a new colony there in the early 19th century.
So, yes, you
could claim it was colonized by the Danes in the 18th/19th century, but it was actually re-colonisation of a place where they had lived since the 10th century. And Danish kings (and queens) have claimed Greenland since 1380.
