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Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's push to control Greenland echoes US purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867
President-elect Donald Trump is again signaling his interest in Greenland through a series of provocative statements in which he's mused about the prospect of the U.S. taking ownership – perhaps by force or economic coersion – of the world's largest island by of a takeover of Greenland may seem fanciful. But it wouldn't be the first time the U.S. was able to procure a piece of the Arctic. The U.S. bought Alaska from Russia in 1867. To mark the 150th anniversary of the sale in 2017, we asked William L. Iggiagruk Hensley, a visiting professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, to write about that historic sale. This is the article "The Conversation" published then, with minor updates. William L. Iggiagruk HensleyThe ConversationOn March 30, 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward and Russian envoy Baron Edouard de Stoeckl signed the Treaty of Cession. With a stroke of a pen, Tsar Alexander II had ceded Alaska, his country's last remaining foothold in North America, to the United States for US$7.2 sum, amounting to just $138 million in today's dollars, brought to an end Russia's 125-year odyssey in Alaska and its expansion across the treacherous Bering Sea, which at one point extended the Russian Empire as far south as Fort Ross, California, 90 miles from San Francisco Alaska is one of the richest U.S. states thanks to its abundance of natural resources, such as petroleum, gold and fish, as well as its vast expanse of pristine wilderness and strategic location as a window on Russia and gateway to the what prompted Russia to withdraw from its American beachhead? And how did it come to possess it in the first place?As a descendant of Inupiaq Eskimos, I have been living and studying this history all my life. In a way, there are two histories of how Alaska came to be American – and two perspectives. One concerns how the Russians took 'possession' of Alaska and eventually ceded it to the U.S. The other is from the perspective of my people, who have lived in Alaska for thousands of years, and for whom the anniversary of the cession brings mixed emotions, including immense loss but also looks eastThe lust for new lands that brought Russia to Alaska and eventually California began in the 16th century, when the country was a fraction of its current began to change in 1581, when Russia overran a Siberian territory known as the Khanate of Sibir, which was controlled by a grandson of Genghis Khan. This key victory opened up Siberia, and within 60 years the Russians were at the Russian advance across Siberia was fueled in part by the lucrative fur trade, a desire to expand the Russian Orthodox Christian faith to the 'heathen' populations in the east and the addition of new taxpayers and resources to the the early 18th century, Peter the Great – who created Russia's first navy – wanted to know how far the Asian landmass extended to the east. The Siberian city of Okhotsk became the staging point for two explorations he ordered. And in 1741, Vitus Bering successfully crossed the strait that bears his name and sighted Mt. Saint Elias, near what is now the village of Yakutat, Bering's second Kamchatka expedition brought disaster for him personally when adverse weather on the return journey led to a shipwreck on one of the westernmost Aleutian Islands and his eventual death from scurvy in December 1741, it was an incredible success for Russia. The surviving crew fixed the ship, stocked it full of hundreds of the sea otters, foxes and fur seals that were abundant there, and returned to Siberia, impressing Russian fur hunters with their valuable cargo. This prompted something akin to the Klondike gold rush 150 years emergeBut maintaining these settlements wasn't easy. Russians in Alaska, who numbered no more than 800 at their peak, faced the reality of being half a globe away from Saint Petersburg, then the capital of the empire, making communications a key Alaska was too far north to allow for significant agriculture and therefore unfavorable as a place to send large numbers of settlers. So they began exploring lands farther south, at first looking only for people to trade with so they could import the foods that wouldn't grow in Alaska's harsh climate. They sent ships to what is now California, established trade relations with the Spaniards there and eventually set up their own settlement at Fort Ross in years later, however, the entity set up to handle Russia's American explorations failed and sold what remained. Not long after, the Russians began to seriously question whether they could continue their Alaskan colony as starters, the colony was no longer profitable after the sea otter population was decimated. Then there was the fact that Alaska was difficult to defend, and Russia was short on cash due to the costs of the war in eager for a dealSo, clearly, the Russians were ready to sell, but what motivated the Americans to want to buy?In the 1840s, the United States had expanded its interests to Oregon, annexed Texas, fought a war with Mexico and acquired California. Afterward, Secretary of State Seward wrote in March 1848: 'Our population is destined to roll resistless waves to the ice barriers of the north, and to encounter oriental civilization on the shores of the Pacific.' Almost 20 years after expressing his thoughts about expansion into the Arctic, Seward accomplished his Alaska, the Americans foresaw a potential for gold, fur and fisheries, as well as more trade with China and Japan. The Americans worried that England might try to establish a presence in the territory, and the acquisition of Alaska, it was believed, would help the U.S. become a Pacific power. And overall the government was in an expansionist mode backed by the then-popular idea of 'manifest destiny.'So a deal with incalculable geopolitical consequences was struck, and the Americans seemed to get quite a bargain for their $7.2 in terms of wealth, the U.S. gained about 370 million acres of mostly pristine wilderness, including 220 million acres of what are now federal parks and wildlife refuges. Hundreds of billions of dollars in whale oil, fur, copper, gold, timber, fish, platinum, zinc, lead and petroleum have been produced in Alaska over the years – allowing the state to do without a sales or income tax and give every resident an annual stipend. Alaska still likely has billions of barrels of oil state is also a key part of the United States defense system, with military bases located in Anchorage and Fairbanks, and it is the country's only connection to the Arctic, which ensures it has a seat at the table as melting glaciers allow the exploration of the region's significant on Alaska NativesBut there's an alternate version of this Bering finally located Alaska in 1741, Alaska was home to about 100,000 people, including Inuit, Athabascan, Yupik, Unangan and Tlingit. There were 17,000 alone on the Aleutian the relatively small number of Russians who at any one time lived at one of their settlements – mostly on the Aleutians Islands, Kodiak, Kenai Peninsula and Sitka – they ruled over the Native populations in their areas with an iron hand, taking children of the leaders as hostages, destroying kayaks and other hunting equipment to control the men and showing extreme force when Russians brought with them weaponry such as firearms, swords, cannons and gunpowder, which helped them secure a foothold in Alaska along the southern coast. They used firepower, spies and secured forts to maintain security, and they selected Christianized local leaders to carry out their wishes. They also met resistance, however, such as from the Tlingits, who were capable warriors, ensuring their hold on territory was the time of the cession, only 50,000 Indigenous people were estimated to be left, as well as 483 Russians and 1,421 Creoles (descendants of Russian men and Indigenous women).On the Aleutian Islands alone, the Russians enslaved or killed thousands of Aleuts. Their population plummeted to 1,500 in the first 50 years of Russian occupation due to a combination of warfare, disease and the Americans took over, the United States was still engaged in its Indian wars, so they looked at Alaska and its Indigenous inhabitants as potential adversaries. Alaska was made a military district by Gen. Ulysses S. their part, Alaska Natives claimed that they still had title to the territory as its original inhabitants and having not lost the land in war or ceded it to any country – including the U.S., which technically didn't buy it from the Russians but bought the right to negotiate with the Indigenous populations. Still, Natives were denied U.S. citizenship until 1924, when the Indian Citizenship Act was that time, Alaska Natives had no rights as citizens and could not vote, own property or file for mining claims. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, in conjunction with missionary societies, in the 1860s began a campaign to eradicate Indigenous languages, religion, art, music, dance, ceremonies and was only in 1936 that the Indian Reorganization Act authorized tribal governments to form, and only nine years later overt discrimination was outlawed by Alaska's Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945. The law banned signs such as 'No Natives Need Apply' and 'No Dogs or Natives Allowed,' which were common at the and a disclaimerEventually, however, the situation improved markedly for finally became a state in 1959, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act, allotting it 104 million acres of the territory. And in an unprecedented nod to the rights of Alaska's Indigenous populations, the act contained a clause emphasizing that citizens of the new state were declining any right to land subject to Native title – which by itself was a very thorny topic because they claimed the entire territory.A result of this clause was that in 1971 President Richard Nixon ceded 44 million acres of federal land, along with $1 billion, to Alaska's Native populations, which numbered about 75,000 at the time. That came after a Land Claims Task Force that I chaired gave the state ideas about how to resolve the Alaska has a population of 740,000, of which 120,000 are the United States celebrates the signing of the Treaty of Cession, we all – Alaskans, Natives and Americans of the lower 48 – should salute Secretary of State William H. Seward, the man who eventually brought democracy and the rule of law to article was first published on March 29, 2017.
Telegraph
28-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Why does Donald Trump actually want Greenland?
Donald Trump wants the United States to buy Greenland for its strategically vital resources, to bolster US security and give China a bloody nose. But he also wants to strike his largest ever real estate deal because Greenland is 'massive', he 'loves maps' and because he is very, very stubborn. Who owns Greenland? World's largest island To impress his billionaire allies Space base and missile defence Russia and China's arctic alliance Treasure trove of rare minerals Can Trump even buy Greenland? What is Greenland's response? Who owns Greenland? Mr Trump's desire to swell the US with a territory roughly the size of Texas and Alaska combined is nothing new. He tried to bounce Denmark into selling Greenland, which is geographically in North America, during his first presidency – but was rebuffed. Mr Trump cancelled a 2019 state visit and branded Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's prime minister, 'nasty' after she said the idea was 'absurd'. Like all hard-nosed negotiators, Mr Trump doesn't take no for an answer and took the chance of naming his ambassador to Denmark to revive the demand this weekend. As his son Donald Trump Junior arrived for a visit to Greenland, Mr Trump declared: 'I am hearing that the people of Greenland are 'MAGA'.' He added: 'Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside world. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!'. Greenland is beautiful!!! 🇬🇱 — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 7, 2025 World's largest island Greenland is a very large, strategically important landmass. 'You take a look at a map. I'm a real estate developer,' Mr Trump said in an interview for The Divider, a book by The New York Times' Peter Baker and The New Yorker's Susan Glasser. 'I love maps. And I always said: 'Look at the size of this. It's massive. That should be part of the United States',' he added. However, Greenland is actually much smaller than it appears on maps because of the Mercator projection, which makes it look a similar size to Africa. The projection is used to create flat maps but makes landmasses larger the further away from the Equator they are. To impress his billionaire allies Mr Trump reportedly insists that the idea of making America's largest land buy since the Alaska Purchase in 1867 is all his own. But according to The Divider, Mr Trump got the idea from Ronald Lauder, a billionaire heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics fortune. Mr Lauder, 80, a longtime friend of Mr Trump and a New York-born political activist, reportedly offered himself as a back channel negotiator with the Danish government. Some Left-leaning commentators have branded Mr Trump's coveting of Greenland as a neo-colonist urge to emulate nationalist autocrats like Vladimir Putin. The United States has history when it comes to buying land. Its last land purchase was 1917's acquisition of the US Virgin Islands … from Denmark. Before then it bought Alaska from the Russian Empire (which was widely seen as an expensive mistake until gold and oil were discovered there), Louisiana from France, as well as territory from Mexico and the Philippines, now independent, from Spain. Space base and missile defence The US offered Denmark $100 million (£79 million) for Greenland after the Second World War. Washington instead secured a defence treaty centred on a US military base on Greenland. Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Base, has been strategically vital ever since the first years of the Cold War. It is the US military's most northerly outpost and is a vital location for missile defence and space surveillance, housing America's solid state phased array radar system, known colloquially as the ballistic missile early warning system radar network. Buying Greenland would ensure continued access to the base, although there is no suggestion that it is at risk. Mr Trump, nevertheless, is adamant he wants Greenland for national security reasons. 'For purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,' the president said on social media. Aside from the base, Greenland is on strategic sea lanes like the Northwest Passage and the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap, and is beneath Arctic flight paths. It is on the shortest route from North America to Europe. Russia and China's Arctic alliance Moscow and Beijing have been working hand in glove to bolster their influence in the Arctic, which is a key region for transportation and resources. Climate change could mean new waterways and new territories for settlement being opened, raising the likelihood of a race for the Arctic amid competing superpowers. Chinese leaders see the region as a new crossroads of the world, a new source of raw materials and new avenues for manifesting its growing power, the US defence department has said. In 2019, Republican politicians warned China was trying to build airports on Greenland and even buy an old American naval base there. Beijing's activities are being facilitated by Russia, which continues to invest heavily in both military and economic terms in the Arctic despite its illegal war in Ukraine. US officials have also been concerned by joint Russian-Chinese military drills in the area, which seem aimed at Washington and its Nato allies. Buying Greenland would be a show of strength from the US at a time when its rivals are encroaching into the region. Treasure trove of rare minerals Greenland is a potential treasure trove of natural resources, including rare earth minerals. These minerals are vital for high-end military, green energy and industrial technologies but their production and supply is dominated by China. Beijing last month imposed export controls on the minerals in response to US controls on advanced semiconductors. Some 37 of the 50 minerals seen as 'critical' by the US could be found in moderate or high quantities in Greenland, based on a 2023 survey. Lessening US dependence on Chinese supplies would be a geopolitical boost but some experts point out that buying Greenland would mean subsidising an area with the lowest per capita disposable income of any Arctic region except Russia. Greenland's ice-sheet boasts 7 per cent of the world's fresh water and its undeveloped oil and gas resources are thought to be the third largest in the Arctic. Can Trump even buy Greenland? There is no guarantee that the almost 57,000 Greenlanders will be willing to become part of the US. In 2009, the island assumed self-rule from Denmark under an agreement that gives it the right to one day declare independence. By becoming part of the US, Greenland would gain independence from one country while coming under the control of another. It would also be an expensive acquisition. In 2019, the Washington Post estimated that Greenland could cost up to $1.7 trillion – on the assumption that the island was up for sale. What is Greenland's response? Múte Egede, Greenland's prime minister, has rebuffed all advances to date. 'We are not for sale and we will not be for sale,' he said in response to Mr Trump's comments, adding: 'We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.'
