Erik the Red's Land
Encyclopedia
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
settlement
s in Greenland in the 10th century. The Permanent Court of International Justice
ruled against Norway in 1933 and the country subsequently abandoned its claims.
around the year 1000. There were two main Norse settlements on Greenland, but both were on the southwestern coast of the island, far away from the area that later became Eirik the Red's Land. From the 1260s the Norse colony in Greenland recognized the King of Norway as its overlord. When Norway was under Danish rule, as part of Denmark-Norway, from the Middle Ages until 1814, official documents made it clear that Greenland was part of Norway. However, contact with the settlements there was lost in the late Middle Ages and the Norse population died out, possibly around 1500.
Centuries later a Dano-Norwegian evangelist, Hans Egede
, heard about a Viking
colony on Greenland. He then asked King Frederick IV of Denmark
for permission to try to find the long-lost colony and eventually to establish a Protestant Christian mission there to convert the population of the land, who were presumed, if any survived, to still be Catholic
or to have completely lost the Christian faith. Egede reached Greenland in 1721 and found no Norse population there. He then started his mission among the Inuit
people. This led to his becoming known as "The Apostle of Greenland" and appointed Bishop of Greenland. He founded the current capital of Greenland, called Godthaab. In 1723 Det Bergenske Grønlandskompani (The Bergen Greenland Company) received a concession for all trade with Greenland.
For the remainder of the union between Norway and Denmark, the relationship between Greenland and the state was organised in different ways. Modern historians disagree as to what point in history Greenland went from being a Norwegian possession to being a Danish one. However, the Treaty of Kiel
, signed in 1814, indicates that Greenland was at least politically regarded as having been Norwegian: "...the Kingdom of Norway ... as well as the dependencies (Greenland, the Faroes and Iceland not included) ... shall for the future belong to ... His Majesty the King of Sweden ...". Norway never recognised the validity of the Treaty of Kiel.
In 1919 Denmark claimed the whole of Greenland as its territory, with Norway's acquiescence (see Ihlen Declaration
).
However, in 1921 Denmark proposed to exclude all foreigners from Greenland, creating diplomatic conflict until July 1924, when Denmark agreed that Norwegians could establish hunting and scientific settlements north of 60°27' N.
In June 1931 Hallvard Devold, Chairman of the Norwegian Arctic Trading Company, raised the Norwegian flag at Myggbukta and on 10 July 1931 a Norwegian royal proclamation was issued, claiming Eastern Greenland as Norwegian territory. Norway claimed that the area was terra nullius
: it had no permanent inhabitants and was for the most part used by Norwegian whaler
s and trappers. The area was defined as "situated between Carlsberg Fjord in the South and Bessel Fjord
in the North", extending from latitude 71°30' to latitutde 75°40'N. Although it was not explicitly stated in the proclamation itself, it was assumed that the area was limited to the eastern coast, so that the Inland Ice
constituted its western limit. (The Inland Ice covers five sixths of Greenland's total area, so that only a narrow strip of varying width along the coast is free of permanent ice.)
Norway and Denmark
agreed to settle their dispute over Eastern Greenland at the Permanent Court of International Justice
in 1933. Norway lost and after the ruling it abandoned its claim.
During Norway's 1940-1945 occupation
by Nazi Germany
in World War II
, the territorial claim was briefly revived by the puppet Quisling regime
, who extended it to cover all of Greenland. A small-scale invasion to "reconquer" the island for Norway was proposed by Vidkun Quisling
, but the Germans rejected this after deeming it unfeasible in light of the then-ongoing Battle of the Atlantic.
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
to an area on the coast of eastern Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
occupied by Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
in the early 1930s. It was named after Erik the Red
Erik the Red
Erik Thorvaldsson , known as Erik the Red , is remembered in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first Nordic settlement in Greenland. The Icelandic tradition indicates that he was born in the Jæren district of Rogaland, Norway, as the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson, he therefore...
, the founder of the first Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
settlement
Eastern Settlement
The Eastern Settlement was the largest and first of the three areas of Greenland, settled in approximately 985 AD by Norse farmers from Iceland . At its peak it contained approximately 4,000 inhabitants...
s in Greenland in the 10th century. The Permanent Court of International Justice
Permanent Court of International Justice
The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1922 , the Court was initially met with a good reaction from states and academics alike, with many cases submitted to it for its first decade of...
ruled against Norway in 1933 and the country subsequently abandoned its claims.
Origin of the claim
The first European settlement in Greenland was established by Norse colonists from IcelandIceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
around the year 1000. There were two main Norse settlements on Greenland, but both were on the southwestern coast of the island, far away from the area that later became Eirik the Red's Land. From the 1260s the Norse colony in Greenland recognized the King of Norway as its overlord. When Norway was under Danish rule, as part of Denmark-Norway, from the Middle Ages until 1814, official documents made it clear that Greenland was part of Norway. However, contact with the settlements there was lost in the late Middle Ages and the Norse population died out, possibly around 1500.
Centuries later a Dano-Norwegian evangelist, Hans Egede
Hans Egede
Hans Poulsen Egede was a Norwegian-Danish Lutheran missionary who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a successful mission among the Inuit and is credited with revitalizing Dano-Norwegian interest in the island after contact...
, heard about a Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
colony on Greenland. He then asked King Frederick IV of Denmark
Frederick IV of Denmark
Frederick IV was the king of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway and Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel .-Foreign affairs:...
for permission to try to find the long-lost colony and eventually to establish a Protestant Christian mission there to convert the population of the land, who were presumed, if any survived, to still be Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
or to have completely lost the Christian faith. Egede reached Greenland in 1721 and found no Norse population there. He then started his mission among the Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
people. This led to his becoming known as "The Apostle of Greenland" and appointed Bishop of Greenland. He founded the current capital of Greenland, called Godthaab. In 1723 Det Bergenske Grønlandskompani (The Bergen Greenland Company) received a concession for all trade with Greenland.
For the remainder of the union between Norway and Denmark, the relationship between Greenland and the state was organised in different ways. Modern historians disagree as to what point in history Greenland went from being a Norwegian possession to being a Danish one. However, the Treaty of Kiel
Treaty of Kiel
The Treaty of Kiel or Peace of Kiel was concluded between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Kingdom of Sweden on one side and the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway on the other side on 14 January 1814 in Kiel...
, signed in 1814, indicates that Greenland was at least politically regarded as having been Norwegian: "...the Kingdom of Norway ... as well as the dependencies (Greenland, the Faroes and Iceland not included) ... shall for the future belong to ... His Majesty the King of Sweden ...". Norway never recognised the validity of the Treaty of Kiel.
History
Ihlen Declaration
The Ihlen Declaration was a statement made on July 22, 1919, by the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Nils Claus Ihlen, on the topic of Denmark's sovereignty over Greenland, which Mr...
).
However, in 1921 Denmark proposed to exclude all foreigners from Greenland, creating diplomatic conflict until July 1924, when Denmark agreed that Norwegians could establish hunting and scientific settlements north of 60°27' N.
In June 1931 Hallvard Devold, Chairman of the Norwegian Arctic Trading Company, raised the Norwegian flag at Myggbukta and on 10 July 1931 a Norwegian royal proclamation was issued, claiming Eastern Greenland as Norwegian territory. Norway claimed that the area was terra nullius
Terra nullius
Terra nullius is a Latin expression deriving from Roman law meaning "land belonging to no one" , which is used in international law to describe territory which has never been subject to the sovereignty of any state, or over which any prior sovereign has expressly or implicitly relinquished...
: it had no permanent inhabitants and was for the most part used by Norwegian whaler
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
s and trappers. The area was defined as "situated between Carlsberg Fjord in the South and Bessel Fjord
Bessel Fjord
Bessel Fjord is a fjord in Erik the Red's Land in northeastern Greenland. It is located in the Greenland Caledonites....
in the North", extending from latitude 71°30' to latitutde 75°40'N. Although it was not explicitly stated in the proclamation itself, it was assumed that the area was limited to the eastern coast, so that the Inland Ice
Greenland ice sheet
The Greenland ice sheet is a vast body of ice covering , roughly 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is the second largest ice body in the world, after the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The ice sheet is almost long in a north-south direction, and its greatest width is at a latitude of 77°N, near its...
constituted its western limit. (The Inland Ice covers five sixths of Greenland's total area, so that only a narrow strip of varying width along the coast is free of permanent ice.)
Norway and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
agreed to settle their dispute over Eastern Greenland at the Permanent Court of International Justice
Permanent Court of International Justice
The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1922 , the Court was initially met with a good reaction from states and academics alike, with many cases submitted to it for its first decade of...
in 1933. Norway lost and after the ruling it abandoned its claim.
During Norway's 1940-1945 occupation
Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany
The occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany started with the German invasion of Norway on April 9, 1940, and ended on May 8, 1945, after the capitulation of German forces in Europe. Throughout this period, Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht...
by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the territorial claim was briefly revived by the puppet Quisling regime
Quisling regime
The Quisling regime, or the Quisling government are common names used to refer to the collaborationist government led by Vidkun Quisling in occupied Norway during the Second World War. The official name of the regime from 1 February 1942 until its dissolution in May 1945 was Nasjonale regjering...
, who extended it to cover all of Greenland. A small-scale invasion to "reconquer" the island for Norway was proposed by Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Quisling
Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling was a Norwegian politician. On 9 April 1940, with the German invasion of Norway in progress, he seized power in a Nazi-backed coup d'etat that garnered him international infamy. From 1942 to 1945 he served as Minister-President, working with the occupying...
, but the Germans rejected this after deeming it unfeasible in light of the then-ongoing Battle of the Atlantic.