Erik the Red's Land
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Erik the Red's Land (Norwegian: Eirik Raudes Land) was the name given by Norwegians to an area on East Greenland coast occupied by Norway in the early 1930s. It was named after Erik the Red, a viking conqueror and founder of the first Norse settlements in Greenland in the 10th century. The Permanent Court of International Justice ruled against Norway in 1933 and they subsequently abandoned their claims.
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[edit] History
The first discovery of Greenland by Europeans was about the year 932 A.D., and the island was colonized about 985 AD by Norse settlers, being in fact the first European colonisation of the Americas in history. The best known and probably among the first was Eric the Red, who was an inhabitant of Iceland of Norwegian origin. The Norse settlements were Eystribygð at the south and Vestribygð at the south-west coast of Greenland. At its peak Vestribygð is believed to have 1000 inhabitants, whereas the greater Eystribygð had a population of about 4000. Independently the Inuit people came via the now Canadian Arctic Archipelago during this period and founded settlements along the western coast of the island.
After being an autonomous region for more than two centuries, the Greenlanders accepted the overlordship of Haakon IV of Norway in 1261. Greenland followed Norway (together with Iceland, Faroes, Shetland and Orkneys) into the union with Denmark in 1380 and Sweden in 1397 (Kalmar Union), which later became the Union with Denmark in 1536. After initially thriving, the Norse settlements declined in the 14th century. The Western Settlement was abandoned around 1350. After 1408, when a marriage was recorded, no written records mention the settlers. It is probable that the Eastern Settlement was defunct by the late 15th century although no exact date has been established. Being more adapted to the climate, the Inuit people managed to sustain their settlements.
For more than three centuries, there are no records of contact between Greenland and Norwegians, but the Danish-Norwegian king continued to claim lordship over the island. In 1721 a joint merchant-clerical expedition led by Norwegian missionary Hans Egede was sent to Greenland, which was the beginning of a recolonization by Denmark-Norway. When, after the Napoleonic wars, the Kingdom of Norway was transferred to the King of Sweden with the Treaty of Kiel, the possessions of Greenland, Faroes and Iceland were explicitly excluded.
[edit] The Norwegian annexation
According to the royal Norwegian proclamation of July 10, 1931, Norway took possession of which "is officially confirmed" and which is "placed under Norwegian sovereignty" is "situated between Carlsberg Fjord on the South and Bessel Fjord on the North, in Eastern Greenland" and extends from latitude 71°30' to 75°40'N. Although not explicitly stated by the proclamation itself, it is assumed that the occupied land was limited to the eastern coast of Greenland so that the Inland Ice constituted the western limit of the area. The Inland Ice covers five sixths of Greenland's total area, so that only a narrow strip of varying width along the coast is free of permanent ice.
Norway occupied and claimed parts of (still) uninhabited Eastern Greenland in the 1920s, claiming that it constituted Terra nullius. It was for the most part used by Norwegian whalers and trappers. The area was annexed by Norway in 1932. Norway and Denmark agreed to settle the matter at the Permanent Court of International Justice in 1933, where Norway lost. The Norwegian claim was abandoned after this ruling.
[edit] The Court verdict
The International Court at the Hague awarded the disputed territory to Denmark. The decision was accepted by both countries.
[edit] Governor of Erik the Red's Land
- Helge Ingstad (1932-1933)
[edit] External links
- Worldcourts.com - The legal status of Eastern Greenland
- Erik the Red's Land: the land that never was
- Aftenposten article (Norwegian)
- Karmøybladet article (Norwegian)
