colony · Scandinavia and the Baltic

Danish Greenland

1721 CE – 1953 CE · capital Godthåb

Greenland as a Danish colony, from the missionary Hans Egede's arrival in 1721 to its integration into the Danish realm in 1953.

Origins

Hoping to find the lost Norse colonists, the Norwegian priest Hans Egede sailed to Greenland in 1721 with the support of Denmark-Norway and founded a mission and trading post, moving it to Godthåb (Nuuk) in 1728. Danish trading stations then spread along the west coast.

Rule and society

From 1776 the Royal Greenland Trade Department held a monopoly on trade, keeping the island closed to outsiders. The Inuit population lived by seal hunting, while the Danes bought skins, blubber and later cod. Lutheran and Moravian missions converted most Greenlanders. When Norway was ceded to Sweden in 1814, Greenland stayed Danish, and in 1933 the Permanent Court of International Justice rejected Norway's claim to East Greenland.

Decline and legacy

During the German occupation of Denmark the United States protected Greenland and built bases there. In 1953 a new Danish constitution ended colonial status and made Greenland an integral part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Home rule followed in 1979 and self-government in 2009.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Danish Greenland. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/danish-greenland
MLA
“Danish Greenland.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/danish-greenland. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Danish Greenland.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/danish-greenland.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Danish Greenland’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/danish-greenland (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻