Independent Baptist Friends International

Greenland has been inhabited, though not continuously, by indigenous peoples since 2500 BC. There were Norse colonies in Greenland from AD 986 until sometime most likely in the 15th century. In the early 18th century contact between Scandinavia and Greenland was re-established and Denmark established rule over Greenland.

Greenland became a Danish colony in 1814 after being under the rule of Denmark-Norway for centuries. With the Constitution of Denmark of 1953, Greenland became a part of the Kingdom of Denmark in a relationship known in Danish as Rigsfaellesskabet (Commonwealth of the Realm).

In 1979 Denmark granted home rule to Greenland, and in 2008 Greenland voted to transfer more power from the Danish royal government to the local Greenlandic government. This became effective the following year, with the Danish royal government in charge only of foreign affairs, security, and financial policy, and providing a subsidy of DKK 3.4 billion (US$633M), or approximately $11,300 per Greenlander, annually.

Greenland is, by area, the world's largest island that is not a continent. With a population of 57,000, it is the least densely populated dependency or country in the world.

Sources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland
• http://www.flickr.com/places/info/23424828/
• http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=greenland