Relationships Between Denmark and the Greenland

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The colonization of Greenland by Denmark was unusual as due to the political structure of Greenland, which consisted of no unified structure of power that spanned wider than individual households, as such there was no one to contend with Denmark when the seized power in the 18th century in an attempt to compete with Dutch tradesmen and whalers, the colonization of Greenland included 70-80 miles beyond the coast, thereby allowing Denmark to monopolize trade and fishing rights. Due the historical context the colonization of Greenland was peaceful with no military action being taken. The National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen has a permanent Arctic exhibition and Ethnographic treasure collection that reflects Greenland's standing and past with Denmark. A text panel immediately upon entry to the exhibitions states “Danish expeditions, missionaries and merchants rediscovered Greenland in the 17th century” , this appears to be the attitude of Denmark towards the colonization of Greenland, due to the combination of the peaceful nature of colonization and the previous Norse settlements in Greenland during medieval ages and as such has been regarded as Danish-Norwegian territory since 1260 AD.

The Arctic exhibition is part of their overall “Peoples of the Earth” exhibition, the main exhibition is concentric, a series of rooms that surround a large temporary exhibitions hall, as you can see in the image 1 in the appendix. The concentric layout of the museum complements a thematic style of exhibition that tells the story of in Danish expeditions to Greenland, as well as the culture of Greenland. Three rooms are dedicated to the arctic exhibitions; these are rooms 170-172 on the floor plan presented in image 1, two of these three rooms a...

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