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20 - Greenland: From Colony to Self-government, 1721–2021

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2023

By
Jens Heinrich
Edited by
Adrian Howkins  and
Peder Roberts
Adrian Howkins
Affiliation:
University of Bristol
Peder Roberts
Affiliation:
University of Stavanger
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Summary

This chapter considers the historical development of how Greenlanders acquired political participation in their own affairs. As of 2021, most political parties in Greenland see independence as the ultimate goal. The Self-Government Act of 2009 grants the inhabitants of Greenland the right to this independence.1 My argument here is that a historical view reveals that independence can be seen as the logical next step from the current self-government. This has been attained through continual negotiations between Greenlanders and Danes since the middle of the nineteenth century, and through decolonization and independence processes as seen elsewhere in the world.

Keywords

GreenlandcolonialismDenmarkself-ruleHome RuleIndigenousculturelanguage
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge History of the Polar Regions , pp. 487 - 509
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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