Greenland (Denmark)

This article is about the specific polity Greenland (Denmark) and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.

If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics

Denmark and Norway were untied until 1814. The Treaty of Kiel transferred Norway to the King of Sweden, on the winning side of the Napoleonic Wars, whereas Denmark retained the Faroe Islands, along with Greenland and Iceland.

Establishment

January 1814: Between 1035 and 1814, the Faroe Islands were part of the Kingdom of Norway, which was in a personal union with Denmark from 1450. In 1814, the Treaty of Kiel transferred Norway to the King of Sweden, on the winning side of the Napoleonic Wars, whereas Denmark retained the Faroe Islands, along with Greenland and Iceland.

Chronology

Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation

1. French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars

Were a series of conflicts between France and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompass first the French Revolutionary Wars against the newly declared French Republic and from 1803 onwards the Napoleonic Wars against First Consul and later Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. They include the Coalition Wars as a subset: seven wars waged by various military alliances of great European powers, known as Coalitions, against Revolutionary France - later the First French Empire - and its allies.

1.1.War of the Sixth Coalition

Was a war between France and a a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States. The coalition emerged after the decimation of the French army in the French invasion of Russia. The coalition ultimately invaded France and forced Napoleon to abdicate and go into exile.

2. World War II

Was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945 (it started sooner in certain regions) between the Axis Powers (mainly Germany, Japan and Italy) and the Allies (mainly the Soviet Union, the U.S.A., the U.K., China and France). It was the war with more fatalities in history. The war in Asia began when Japan invaded China on July 7, 1937. The war in Europe began when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. The war ended with the complete defeat of the Axis powers, which were occupied by the Allies.

2.1.World War II (Western Front)

Was the Western European theatre of World War II.

2.1.1.Administrative changes of occupied Denmark and its possessions during World War II

Were the administrative territorial changes of Denmark (occupied by Germany) and its overseas territories (free from German occupation) during World War II.

April 1941: On 9 April 1941, the Danish envoy to the United States, Henrik Kauffmann, signed a treaty with the U.S. authorizing it to defend Greenland and construct military stations there. Kauffmann was supported in this decision by the Danish diplomats in the United States and the local authorities in Greenland. Signing this treaty "in the name of the King" was a clear violation of his diplomatic powers, but Kauffmann argued that he would not receive orders from an occupied Copenhagen.

May 1945: On 5 May 1945, Greenlanders celebrated the liberation of Denmark in Nuuk. The Greenland Administration under Eske Brun surrendered its emergency powers and again came under direct control from Copenhagen.

3. Further events (Unrelated to Any War)

July 1931: Erik the Red's Land was the name given by Norwegians to an area on the coast of eastern Greenland occupied by Norway in the early 1930s. It was named after Erik the Red, the founder of the first Norse or Vikings settlements in Greenland in the 10th century.

April 1933: The Permanent Court of International Justice ruled against Norway in 1933, and the country subsequently abandoned its claims over Greenland.