Greenland

History

History of Greenland east that of the survival and the adaptation of the men under the extreme climatic conditions of the Arctic . The cover of ice recovering approximately 84% of the surface of the island, the human activity is confined with the only coastal regions.

If Greenland were unknown Europeans until the 10th century, time to which he was discovered by Viking S Icelandic, he had been inhabited before during nearly three millenia by people of the Arctic (cultures of the Dorset and Saqqaq in particular). At the time of the arrival of the Vikings, it was on the other hand most probably uninhabited. The first newcomers had indeed disappeared and the people Inuits currently established in Greenland were established there only at the beginning of the 13th century.

Whereas the Vikings establishments of the south-western coast disappeared finally during the 14th century, Inuits, they, survived until our days. They developed a company able to live under a very hard climate (see: Small Ice Age). Thus, they remained during several centuries the only people to live the island.

At the 18th century, the Kingdom of Denmark and Norway however put forward its rights on the territory, in spite of the fact that it had not had any news of the Vikings left to colonize the island since several hundred years. Fearing that they did not fall down in the Paganisme, the Danish authorities organized a forwarding missionary in 1721. Not finding any descendant of the Greenlandic Vikings, the members of forwarding devoted themselves to the conversion of Inuits and the establishment of commercial colonies along the coast. The island thus passed by again under Scandinavian domination and will preserve its statute of colony until in 1953.

During the Second world war, Greenland was detached socially and economically from Denmark, then occupied by the Germans. On the other hand, of many bonds were created with the the United States and the Canada. After the war, Denmark took certainly again the control of Greenland, but had to transform the statute of the island into 1953: from colony, it passed to that of county of overseas, before acquiring autonomy interns in 1979. Lastly, in 1985 the inhabitants decided to leave E.E.C. to which Denmark had adhered in 1973.

Policy

Leitartikel: Political of Greenland

As an autonomous territory, Greenland is member of the Scandinavian Conseil, however Denmark represents it near the Arctic Conseil.

Although always depend on Denmark, Greenland decided by referendum of the February 23rd 1982 not to belong to Europe not to be subjected to certain constraints of the EEC in particular to protect its industry from fishing. This wish will be concretized by the signature in 1984 of the Traité on Greenland.

Subdivisions

Leitartikel: Subdivisions of Greenland

Geography

Relief

The island is covered on the majority with its surface by a also named Icecap Inlandsis a thickness often extremely great (close to 3 km thickness of ice in the center corresponding to the highest altitude). This ice cap is bordered of moderated mountainous reliefs between which the ice by Glacier S. runs out. Some of them are detached from the Iceberg S which are involved with broad by the currents. It is the case with Ilulissat where the largest icebergs of the Northern hemisphere are produced. In 1912, it is one of them which the Titanic ran up against.

Climate

Snow-covered precipitations which accumulate in the center of the island, are transformed gradually into ice and theoretically ensure the perenniality of this cap. The scientists are interested of close with the evolution the thickness of the ice and the current cold sailors generated by the cast iron (Circulation thermohaline) within the framework of the Climate warming.

This desert of ice representing 95 % of the surface of the island, is very inhospitable. One finds there temperatures extreme be like winter, of the strong winds known as catabatic and a made ground of ice, unsuitable with the development of an animal life (except for a microscopic being named the Tardigrade).

Temperatures

Precipitations

Economy

Leitartikel: Economy of Greenland

A base of radar of NATO is at Thulé (today Qaanaaq).

Fishing accounts for 95% of exports.

Demography

Leitartikel: Demography of Greenland

Culture

Leitartikel: Culture of Greenland

The reading of works of Jorn Riel, a Dane who lived itself in Greenland during many years, offers an excellent representation of the lifestyles of the Greenlanders and Inuits.

Population : 56.376 (is. July 2002)
Population pyramid :
0-14 years: 26,3% (boys 7.561; girls 7.284)
15-64 years: 68,1% (men 20.880; women 17.489)
65 years and more: 5,6% (men 1.442; women 1.720) (is. 2002)
Growth of the population : 0,03% (are. 2002)
Birthrate : 16,27 births/1.000 inhabitants (is. 2002)
Mortality : 7,61 deaths/1.000 inhabitants (are. 2002)
clear Migration : -8,37 immigrant (S)/1.000 inhabitants (is. 2002)
Distribution by sex :
with the birth: 1,02 boy (S) /fille
less than 15 years: 1,04 boy (S) /fille
15-64 years: 1,19 man /femme
65 years and more: 0,84 man /femme
total population: 1,13 /femme man (is. 2002)
Infant mortality : 17,28 deaths/1.000 normal births (are. 2002)
Life expectancy with the birth : total population: 68,69 years
women: 72,32 years (is. 2002)
men: 65,13 years
Fertility : 2,43 /femme births (is. 2002)
HIV/Sida - frequency in the adults : NC
HIV/Sida - people living with the virus : 100 (1999)
HIV/Sida - death : NC
Nationality : name: Greenlander (E); adjective: Greenlander
Ethnicities: Greenlander 88 % (Inuit and white born in Greenland), Dane and others 12 % (January 2000)
Religions : Évangélique Lutheran
Languages : Greenlander (Eastern Inuit), Dane, English
Elimination of illiteracy : definition: NC
total population: NC
men: NC
women: NC
note : similar to the Denmark

Codes

Greenland has as codes:

OY, according to the List of prefixes ICAO of registration of the aircraft,

Others

The handball is one of the major sports. The national selections were distinguished while being qualified on several occasions for the championships from the male and female world.

Seek

2007. According to Meier Mark of the University of the Colorado (Boulder, the United States), the cast iron of the ices of the Greenland and the Antarctic would contribute only to respective heights of 28% and 12% with the rise in the sea level. The small brooks forming the large rivers, in fact rather the small glaciers of the world, melting from now on at an accelerated speed, would contribute to surplus contributions of 417 billion cubic meters out of water per annum, and should remain the largest contributors until the end of the century. Then the marine level will have risen from 10 to 25 cm.

See too

the Antarctic

Denmark

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