Erik the Red named it Greenland in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers. It worked and Vikings settled there, and would probably still be there today except for a series of catastrophic events, such as when temperatures dropped in the 14th century due to a volcanic eruption on the other side of the world.
Now temperatures are going up again over Trump's claim “One way or the other, we're going to get it”. The US has tried a few times to push the Danes out of Greenland and take it over as part of the USA. In 1867, after buying Alaska from Russia, US Secretary of State William H Seward led negotiations to buy Greenland from Denmark, but failed to reach any agreement. In 1946, the US offered to pay $100m for the territory, judging that it was vital for national security, but the Danish government refused. Trump also tried to buy Greenland during his first presidential term. Both Denmark and the Greenlandic government rejected the 2019 proposal, saying: "Greenland is not for sale."
So what's Trump's endgame? Let Russia have Ukraine and China take Taiwan, as long as he gets Greenland? But will he abandon Taiwan as a trade-off for Greenland? We live in interesting and dangerous times!
