In the days since President Donald Trump first spoke of buying Greenland from Denmark, the world’s largest Island has been in the news. The President’s statement begs the question: Is Greenland that important to the United States?

I begin with some background. Greenland was settled by ancestors of the present day Inuit people around 2500 BC. Vikings first began settling southern Greenland in the late 10th century in a climatological period known as the Medieval Warm Period. However, with the beginning of the Little Ice Age in the 15th century the Viking colonies died out.

Beginning in 1721 missionaries and traders from Denmark-Norway began recolonizing southern Greenland. In 1775 Denmark-Norway declared Greenland a colony and in 1814 when Denmark and Norway separated Greenland was retained by Denmark. Robert Peary, the first man to reach the North Pole, explored much of northern Greenland between 1886 and 1909 and claimed much of that region for the United States. In 1921 Denmark declared sovereignty over all of Greenland.

Today Greenland with a population of 56,699 is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. The Greenlandic government has authority over Greenland’s internal workings while Denmark is responsible for the island’s foreign affairs, defense, citizenship, currency, and monetary policy.

The independence of Greenland is a popular idea amongst its people and under the Self-Government Act of 2009 it could come at any time after a referendum in Greenland and approval by the Danish Parliament. Last February the Greenland Government stated that independence is its goal and would be the main issue in a General Election to be held in April.

However, several factors could slow or stop any move by Greenland to declare its independence. First, Greenland is dependent on support from the Danish government in the form of a block grant, which constitutes half of the government’s revenue. Currently there is no way to replace these Danish subsidies. Further Denmark provides 65% of Greenland’s imports giving Denmark a positive balance of Trade with Greenland.

An indication of Denmark’s attitude toward an independent Greenland or a possible sale to the United States can be seen in the words of Danish King Frederick X who recently said that “we are all united and each of us committed for the kingdom of Denmark, from the Danish minority in South Schleswig and all the way to Greenland. We belong together.” The King also ordered the changing of the Royal Arms of Denmark, to include Greenland more significantly in the arms.

The recent talk of annexing or buying Greenland by the Trump administration is not the first American attempt. Secretary of State William Seward, best remembered for buying Alaska from the Russians, also attempted to make a deal with Denmark offering $5.5 million for Greenland and Iceland in 1868. In the end Seward did not make the offer because a Treaty to purchase the Danish West Indies was not approved by Congress.

In 1910 American Ambassador to Denmark Maurice Francis Egan, informed the U.S. government that friends of Egan and “persons of importance” had communicated a plan whereby the United States would trade the Philippine islands of Mindanao and Palawan for Greenland. In turn Demark would trade the Islands to Germany in return for the former Danish county of Northern Schleswig. However, this deal was never completed.

In 1940 Denmark was occupied by Germany. Because of its proximity to North America and because German vessels had been detected in the area and Germany had established a weather station in northern Greenland, the island was occupied by the U.S. Army in 1941.

As the “cold War” with the Soviet Union developed In 1946 the Joint Chiefs of Staff determined that Greenland was vital to the defense of the United States and offered Denmark $100 million in gold bullion for Greenland. Even though the sale of Greenland would have provided Denmark with much needed funds the Danish government and all her political parties rejected the offer.

The importance of Greenland to the defenses of North America is at the root of Trump’s interest in the island. Its 27,000 miles of coastline are difficult to monitor. In the years since 2006 Russian and Chinese naval vessels, including submarines have turned up unexpectedly, detected only by chance.

An important reason for a U.S. and NATO presence in Greenland is to control the GIUK Gap (Greenland-Iceland-UK Gap) and prevent a Russian Fleet from exiting the Norwegian Sea and approaching the east coast of the United States. During World War II in the Atlantic the Iceland-Greenland portion of this gap was used by the German Navy in attempts to unleash raiders, including the battleship Bismark, on Atlantic convoys routes.

The U.S. military considers Greenland vital to the air defenses of the United States and Canada. A 2022 RAND Corporation study suggested that integrating Greenland into the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) would help mitigate inadequate Danish air defenses. Also, because current military operations are dependent on polar orbiting satellites for a variety of tasks, an adequate number of arctic ground stations are necessary for accurate, consistent tracking and control on each orbit. Currently the U.S. has only two Arctic bases and needs more.

Trump’s interest in Greenland is not a passing “will of the wisp” idea but based on a careful consideration of the defensive needs of the United States and our NATO allies, including Denmark, in a world that is more dangerous. While the president has spoken of annexation as a possibility that is unlikely and was included as a means of getting the attention of the Danish government that seems to fear a greater U.S. presence in Greenland more than improving NATO’s and their own defenses.

In the end it’s possible a deal will be worked out allowing the United States a greater defensive presence in Greenland.

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident.