From Inuit to Vikings to Trump: The history of Greenland

"Early migration and Erik the Red The first humans settled in Greenland around 4,500 years ago. They came from the North American continent. In the 12th century, they were gradually displaced by Asian immigrants, the Thule people, who arrived on the island from Siberia via the Bering Strait. Their descendants are the Inuit, from whom most of the 56,000 Greenlanders today are descended."

"The island owes its name to the Viking explorer Erik the Red. According to the Icelandic sagas, he was banished from Iceland around 982 for manslaughter. He and his followers sailed west and reached the Arctic island. To encourage settlement, he named it Grnland, or "green land." While much of Greenland is covered in ice, parts of the coastal areas were relatively green during that period."

"A historic map of Greenland shows the coastline in green; the name was chosen by viking Erik the Red to entice people to move thereImage: United Archives/picture alliance The Norse settlements endured in Greenland for about 400 years before disappearing entirely. By the 15th century, the Inuit were once again the island's sole inhabitants. Even so, legends persisted in the Nordic world about Greenland's lost Norse settlers, said to have lived deep in the southern fjords and to possess great riches."

Greenland attracted renewed attention when the US president insisted, "We must have Greenland." Humans first settled Greenland about 4,500 years ago from the North American continent. In the 12th century the Thule people arrived from Siberia via the Bering Strait and became the ancestors of most of today's 56,000 Greenlanders. The island was named Grnland by Viking Erik the Red after his banishment from Iceland around 982; he sailed west and promoted settlement. Norse communities endured for roughly 400 years before vanishing, and by the 15th century the Inuit were again the island's sole inhabitants. Norwegian priest Hans Egede arrived in 1721 seeking Norse survivors but encountered Inuit communities.

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