The vast, icy expanse of Greenland stands as a unique anomaly in the history of European colonialism. While global powers like Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal carved up continents, this massive island in the North Atlantic ended up under the control of Denmark, a Scandinavian nation not known for a vast colonial empire. The reason behind this territorial claim is not a familiar tale of resource extraction or strategic expansion, but one of the most peculiar chapters in colonial history: a religious mission to find long-lost Viking settlers and convert them to Protestantism.
A Mission Born from Medieval Sagas
By the early 18th century, Europe was still reeling from the violent religious wars between Catholics and Protestants. Denmark had firmly established itself as a Lutheran Protestant nation. It was during this period that a Danish missionary named Hans Egede became preoccupied with a historical mystery. He, like many educated Danes of his time, was familiar with the Norse sagas that detailed Viking expeditions to the North Atlantic around the year 1000, including settlements in places they called Greenland and Vinland (now part of Newfoundland).
The settlements in Newfoundland were short-lived, and the Greenland colonies were believed to have vanished centuries earlier. However, Hans Egede harbored a compelling concern: what if a community of these medieval Norse settlers had survived in isolation on Greenland? More urgently, if they did exist, they would still be practicing the Catholicism of their ancestors from before the Reformation. Driven by evangelical zeal, Egede resolved to lead an expedition to find these lost Vikings and bring them into the Lutheran fold.
The 1721 Expedition and an Unexpected Reality
In 1721, Hans Egede's mission set sail for Greenland. The Danish crown supported the endeavor, establishing a trading monopoly over the island that would last for two centuries. Initially, the venture was not primarily economic; Greenland was not seen as a land of abundant resources. The core objective was unequivocally religious: to locate and convert the descendants of the Norse colonists.
Upon arrival, Egede and his party made a sobering discovery. There were no Viking settlements to be found. The Norse colonies had disappeared, likely due to a combination of climatic changes and other factors, leaving behind only ruins. The people inhabiting Greenland were the Inuit, who had no connection to the medieval Norse.
Faced with this reality, the Danish missionaries did not abandon their purpose. They simply shifted their focus. They began missionary work among the Inuit population instead, establishing trade and a permanent Danish presence on the island. What began as a quest to correct the theology of phantom Vikings evolved into the colonization of Greenland and the subjugation of its Indigenous people.
A Lasting Legacy in the Arctic
The consequences of this bizarre colonial origin story are still felt today. Greenland remains an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. This historical link is also why Denmark is one of only two countries to share a land border with Canada—the other being the United States. The border exists on Hans Island, a tiny, disputed rock in the Arctic channel between Nunavut and Greenland, which is now divided between Canadian and Danish sovereignty.
This odd footnote of history gained renewed attention during the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, when reports surfaced that his administration had discussed the idea of purchasing Greenland from Denmark. The episode prompted many to question why this strategic Arctic island was Danish in the first place. The answer lies not in gold, furs, or geopolitical strategy, but in a missionary's fervent belief in a lost world of Catholics that needed saving—a world that had already been gone for 300 years.
