Who did Greenland win their independence from?

Answer 1

Greenland has apparently been inhabited off and on for many centuries. We at least know that the Norsemen had at least temporary colonies there from the 10th century onward and the Inuit peoples undoubtedly both before and after that time. Long term rule of Greenland by Scandinavians was established in the 18th century when Denmark took control. It became an official colony of Denmark in 1814. During WW II, contact between Greenland and Denmark was severed when Nazi Germany occupied Denmark in 1940 and the US more or less occupied Greenland in 1941 to prevent Nazi Germany from gaining control of it. During the war, the local government assumed much more control, power and independence than it had previously had and Greenland developed a sense of self-reliance through self-government and independent communication with the outside world. The transition to independence after that was gradual. 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 of foreign affairs, security (defence-police-justice), and financial policy, and providing a subsidy of DKK 3.4 billion, or approximately $11,300 per Greenlander, annually. Greenland is thus independent of Denmark locally but still under some protection and control of Denmark in international matters.