The U.S. and Greenland

Greenland, which is more than three times the size of Texas, is the world’s largest island. Its name dates back to the 10th century, when Viking explorers first settled there, and refers to the vegetation found along the southern coast. The name was also a bit of a public relations ploy to attract more Vikings to the island. In reality, 80 percent of the landmass is covered with ice. Today roughly 57,000 people live there. The population is about 90 percent Indigenous and 10 percent of Danish ancestry.

Denmark first established colonial rule over Greenland in the early 18th century. Greenland now has its own parliament that’s responsible for most domestic affairs. Denmark determines Greenland’s foreign policy and subsidizes its budget with about $620 million a year. In recent years, Greenland has steadily gained more autonomy. Under Danish law, the island has the right to call for a referendum on independence and split off. But that hasn’t happened, in part because Greenland still relies on economic support from Denmark.

Greenland is the world’s largest island. It is more than three times the size of Texas. Tenth-century Viking explorers named it Greenland because of the vegetation found along the southern coast. The name was also a bit of a public relations ploy to attract more Vikings to settle the island. In reality, 80 percent of the of the land is covered with ice. Today roughly 57,000 people live there. The population is about 90 percent Indigenous and 10 percent of Danish ancestry.

Denmark first established colonial rule over Greenland in the early 18th century. Greenland now has its own parliament that’s responsible for most domestic affairs. Its foreign policy is determined by Denmark. Greenland’s budget is supported by Denmark with about $620 million a year. In recent years, Greenland has steadily gained more self-sufficiency. Under Danish law, the island has the right to call for a vote on independence and split off. But that hasn’t happened, in part because Greenland still relies on economic support from Denmark.

Historically, American interest in Greenland has mostly centered on its geography. Situated in the far northern Atlantic Ocean, just off the eastern coast of Canada, Greenland is in a critical spot for both access to Europe and the defense of North America.

Several decades after Seward’s 1868 report, new efforts to gain control of Greenland surfaced. In 1910, the American ambassador to Denmark came up with a way for the U.S. to acquire Greenland: a complicated three-way land swap involving Germany, Denmark, and the islands in the Philippines that the U.S. then controlled. But that idea never came to fruition either.

Historically, American interest in Greenland has mostly centered on its geography. The island is in the northern Atlantic Ocean, just off the eastern coast of Canada. It is in a critical location for both access to Europe and the defense of North America.

In 1910, new efforts to gain control of Greenland surfaced. The American ambassador to Denmark came up with a way for the U.S. to acquire Greenland. It was a complicated three-way land swap involving Germany, Denmark, and the islands in the Philippines that the U.S. then controlled. But that idea was never executed.

World War II (1939-45) transformed America’s relationship with Greenland. In 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Denmark. That left Greenland isolated and undefended. Henrik Kauffmann, Denmark’s ambassador in Washington, decided he didn’t want to take orders from a Danish government under Nazi occupation.

“So he goes to the U.S. government and says he should be the representative of a free Danish government,” says Mikkel Runge Olesen of
the Danish Institute for International Studies, in Copenhagen. “But he sweetens the deal and says, ‘If you recognize me, then I have no problem granting you rights to put military bases in Greenland.’”

In 1941, Ambassador Kauffmann signed an agreement with the U.S., allowing it to establish military bases on Greenland during the war. In exchange, the U.S. promised to defend Greenland against the Nazi threat.

“The central concern was that Nazi Germany would use Greenland as a stepping stone for an attack on the American homeland,” says Otto Svendsen of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

World War II (1939-45) changed America’s relationship with Greenland. In 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Denmark. Greenland was isolated and undefended. Henrik Kauffmann, Denmark’s ambassador in Washington, decided he didn’t want to take orders from a Danish government under Nazi occupation.

“So he goes to the U.S. government and says he should be the representative of a free Danish government,” says Mikkel Runge Olesen of the Danish Institute for International Studies, in Copenhagen. “But he sweetens the deal and says, ‘If you recognize me, then I have no problem granting you rights to put military bases in Greenland.’”

In 1941, Ambassador Kauffmann signed an agreement with the U.S. It allowed the installation of military bases on Greenland during the war. In exchange, the U.S. promised to defend Greenland against the Nazi threat.

“The central concern was that Nazi Germany would use Greenland as a stepping stone for an attack on the American homeland,” says Otto Svendsen of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

But it also became a strategic station for American troops and supplies heading to the war in Europe. In those days, many planes couldn’t fly all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. During the war, more than 10,000 U.S. and Allied planes stopped on the island to refuel on their way to bomb Germany.

Greenland was also an ideal place to keep an eye on German submarines and to track weather that helped determine battle conditions in Europe. And it had important mineral reserves that were critical to the American war effort, including cryolite, which was used to process the aluminum that the U.S. needed to build planes.

The U.S. used Greenland as an important strategic station for American troops and supplies heading to the war in Europe. During the war, more than 10,000 U.S. and Allied planes stopped on the island to refuel on their way to bomb Germany.

Greenland was also an ideal place to keep an eye on German submarines. Weather could be tracked from there to help determine battle conditions in Europe. There were important mineral reserves on the island that were critical to the American war effort, including cryolite, which was used to process the aluminum that the U.S. needed to build planes.

By the end of the war, the U.S. military considered Greenland essential to American defense, and American military planners wanted to keep troops on the bases they’d built there. In 1946, a year after the end of World War II, President Harry S. Truman made a secret offer to Denmark to buy Greenland for $100 million in gold.

Denmark declined. “While we owe much to America, I do not feel that we owe them the whole island of Greenland,” Danish Foreign Minister Gustav Rasmussen told the U.S. ambassador to Denmark. But as the Cold War solidified and the threat the Soviet Union posed to Europe grew more obvious in the postwar years, Denmark became more willing to let American troops stay in Greenland. And in 1951, Denmark signed an agreement that granted the U.S. nearly unlimited military freedom on the island. It remains in effect today.

With the deal in hand, the U.S. made Greenland a key part of its Cold War defense strategy. Eventually, the U.S. built more than a dozen military bases as well as radar and weather monitoring stations across the territory.

In 1959, the U.S. started constructing Camp Century,
a research facility built deep under Greenland’s snow and ice. The project called for a giant complex of bunkers dozens of feet underground, meant to house nuclear missiles that could survive a Soviet first strike. The plan was to test whether nuclear missiles could be hidden and launched from beneath the surface.

“It was Cold War ambition at its wildest,” says Peter Ernstved Rasmussen, a Danish defense analyst. “They built a nuclear-powered base in one of the most hostile environments on Earth just to see if it could be done.”

Ultimately, the U.S. deemed the project unfeasible and abandoned it in 1966. At the peak of the U.S. military presence in Greenland during the Cold War, some 10,000 Americans were stationed there. But after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and the Cold War ended, the cost of a large presence on an Arctic island made little sense.

The U.S. closed most installations in Greenland over the next decade, with U.S. activity consolidating into Pituffik Space Base, a major air base built in 1951. It’s now staffed by about 150 people in the U.S. Space Force and Air Force, and it remains one of the most strategically important military sites in the world.

“It is quite literally the outermost eye of American defense,” says Rasmussen, the analyst. “Pituffik is where the U.S. can detect a [missile] launch, calculate the trajectory, and activate its missile defense systems. It’s irreplaceable.”

By the end of the war, the U.S. military considered Greenland essential to American defense. American military planners wanted to keep troops on the bases they’d built there. In 1946, a year after the end of World War II, President Harry S. Truman made a secret offer to Denmark to buy Greenland for $100 million in gold.

Denmark declined. “While we owe much to America, I do not feel that we owe them the whole island of Greenland,” Danish Foreign Minister Gustav Rasmussen told the U.S. ambassador to Denmark. But after the war, the threat the Soviet Union posed to Europe became more obvious. In 1951, Denmark signed an agreement that let American troops stay in Greenland and offered nearly unlimited military freedom on the island. It remains in effect today.

After the deal, the U.S. made Greenland a key part of its Cold War defense strategy. Eventually, the U.S. built more than a dozen military bases as well as radar and weather monitoring stations across the territory.

In 1959, the U.S. started constructing Camp Century. The research facility was built deep under Greenland’s snow and ice. The bunkers were meant to store nuclear missiles that could survive a Soviet first strike. The plan was to test whether nuclear missiles could be hidden and launched from beneath the surface.

“It was Cold War ambition at its wildest,” says Peter Ernstved Rasmussen, a Danish defense analyst. “They built a nuclear-powered base in one of the most hostile environments on Earth just to see if it could be done.”

In 1966, the U.S. abandoned the project. At the peak of U.S. military presence in Greenland, during the Cold War, some 10,000 Americans were stationed there. Then the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and the Cold War ended. The cost of a large presence on an Arctic island did not make sense.

The U.S. closed most bases in Greenland over the next decade. It moved the remaining activity to Pituffik Space Base, a major air base built in 1951. About 150 people in the U.S. Space Force and Air Force work at the base. It remains one of the most strategically important military sites in the world.

“It is quite literally the outermost eye of American defense,” says Rasmussen, the analyst. “Pituffik is where the U.S. can detect a [missile] launch, calculate the trajectory, and activate its missile defense systems. It’s irreplaceable.”

Today Greenland’s strategic significance is increasing as a result of climate change. As global warming melts the ice sheet that covers 80 percent of the island, demand has exploded for Greenland’s potentially abundant reserves of hard-to-find minerals that had been locked under the frozen landscape for millennia. These rare earth minerals are used in wind turbines, electric motors, and many common electronic devices such as smartphones.

China now has a near monopoly on the global production and sale of these minerals. So the realization that Greenland could be a rival supplier has set off a frantic race for control of Greenland’s hidden treasure. At the same time, melting ice in the Arctic Circle has opened new shipping routes, which are expected to become increasingly popular in coming decades.

But Greenland’s melting ice also comes with significant risk to the rest of the planet. In the 1960s, American researchers in Greenland drilled the world’s first ice core, a cylindrical sample taken from deep within an ice sheet. This sample has revealed much of what we now know about the past 100,000 years of Earth’s climate, says Paul Bierman, an environmental studies professor at the University of Vermont. That research shows that much of Greenland’s ice sheet melted in the distant past during a warm period in Earth’s climate. If it were to melt again, scientists estimate it could raise sea levels as much as 24 feet, which would flood coastal cities all over the world.

“Greenland’s greatest strategic value isn’t its location or its potential mineral resources,” says Bierman. “It’s all the ice that it’s keeping on land and out of the ocean.”

Today Greenland’s strategic significance is increasing as a result of climate change. Global warming has melted the ice sheet that covers 80 percent of the island. Minerals that were locked under the frozen landscape are now accessible. The demand has exploded for Greenland’s potentially abundant reserves. These rare earth minerals are used in wind turbines, electric motors, and many common electronic devices such as smartphones.

China now has a near monopoly on the global production and sale of these minerals. The idea that Greenland could be a rival supplier has set off a frantic race for control of the resources. New shipping routes are open because of the melting ice in the Arctic Circle. These routes are expected to become increasingly popular in coming decades.

But Greenland’s melting ice also comes with significant risk to the rest of the planet. In the 1960s, American researchers in Greenland drilled the world’s first ice core, a cylindrical sample taken from deep within an ice sheet. This sample has revealed much of what we now know about the past 100,000 years of Earth’s climate, says Paul Bierman, an environmental studies professor at the University of Vermont. The research shows that much of Greenland’s ice sheet melted during a past warm period in Earth’s climate. Scientists estimate that if it happens again, it could raise sea levels as much as 24 feet. This change in sea level would cause coastal cities all over the world to flood.

“Greenland’s greatest strategic value isn’t its location or its potential mineral resources,” says Bierman. “It’s all the ice that it’s keeping on land and out of the ocean.”

With reporting by Michael Crowley of The New York Times.

With reporting by Michael Crowley of The New York Times.