The History & Importance Of Greenland: Why Trump Wants To Conquer the World’s Largest Island - EXPLAINED

Key Highlights

• Its long history, combined with rising economic and strategic relevance, has once again drawn international attention, particularly from the United States. A Long and Layered HistoryHuman settlement in Greenland dates back more than 4,500 years.
• The earliest inhabitants were Paleo-Eskimo cultures such as the Saqqaq and Independence I peoples, followed later by the Dorset culture and, eventually, the Thule people, ancestors of today’s Inuit population. By analyzing old photographs from the early 1900s and comparing them with contemporary ones, researchers have mapped the retreat of some Greenland glaciers.
• (Image: NASA)European contact began in 982 CE, when Norse explorer Erik the Red established settlements in southern Greenland.
• These Viking colonies flourished for centuries but vanished by the 15th century due to climate cooling, dwindling resources, and conflicts with Inuit communities. Denmark-Norway reasserted control in 1721, marking the beginning of formal colonisation.
• After World War II — during which the US occupied Greenland to block Nazi expansion, the island was integrated into Denmark in 1953, granting residents Danish citizenship. New photos show multiple glaciers melted.