Greenlandic independence

Greenland's present population are predominantly Inuit descended from the Thule people who migrated from the North American mainland in the 13th century AD, gradually colonizing the island.

Scholars believe that the earliest known Norse settlements in Greenland originated from Iceland,[1] and that Erik the Red founded an early colony in 985.

[3][4] These Norse settlements vanished during the 14th and early 15th centuries,[5] with the Inuit being the sole occupants of the island, expanding to the southern and western coasts, and being de facto independent for over 200 years until European peoples returned.

[8] As a result, the US government signed an agreement with Henrik Kauffmann, the Danish ambassador to the US, to hand over defense and control of Greenland to the United States on 9 April 1941.

[13] Greenland was effectively independent during these years and allowed the United States to build bases on its territory, in spite of the Danish pre-war neutrality.

After the war the pre-war situation was restored, the US bases remained and Denmark, with Greenland as a part of the Kingdom, joined NATO.

[15] In 1972, at the request of the Provincial Council, Knud Hertling established a committee of Greenlandic members to study the possibility of increased local power.

Greenlanders' fears that the customs union would allow foreign firms to compete and overfish its waters were quickly realized.

After home rule was secured, a bare majority (53%) of Greenland's population voted on 23 February 1982 to leave the EEC, a process which lasted until 1985.

[26] (His opponent, Vittus Qujaukitsoq, had argued for independence even if it meant losing the large annual block grant from the Danish state.

[37][38] Greenland has never held an independence referendum, unlike neighbouring territories such as Iceland (in 1918), the Faroe Islands (in 1946) and Newfoundland (in 1948).