Greenland: northern rights

Why is independence now an issue?

In two words: climate change. Greenland - an island ten times the size of the UK, but with a population of just 57,000 (slightly less than Tunbridge Wells) - is often chosen as the poster-child of global warming: its vast ice sheet is melting twice as fast as it was five years ago and threatens rising sea levels for the rest of the planet. Glaciers are tumbling into the sea at an alarming rate. But what is bad for the rest of the world could prove a boon for Greenland. Rising temperatures are allowing farmers to grow crops such as broccoli and potatoes for the first time, and driving lucrative fish catches - such as shrimp - into Greenlandic waters.

And what about oil and gas?

Nothing has been drilled as yet, but as across the rest of the Arctic, receding ice is opening up access to energy and mineral resources. According to the US Geological Survey, Greenland holds around 10 per cent of all the oil and gas in the Arctic region and could make territorial claims for more. Greenland's Bureau of Mines and Petroleum awarded its first oil and gas leases for its west coast this year and similar leases for the east coast are expected to go on sale in 2012. The prospect of riches has encouraged many Greenlanders to believe that the island can finally become an independent nation.

Why is Greenland ruled by Denmark in the first place?

It was first colonised by Europeans in 982AD, when the Viking Erik the Red was banished from Iceland for manslaughter. For several hundred years, two Viking colonies existed alongside the Inuit peoples, the Saqqaq and the Thule, who came to Greenland from what is now Canada. (Being part of the American continental shelf, its capital Nuuk is just 420 miles from the nearest Canadian town, but 2,000 miles from Copenhagen.) Denmark's claim dates from 1721, when the country (then linked to Norway) sent Lutheran churchman Hans Egede to see if any Viking descendants were still on the island, and if so, to convert them. There were none, but Egede established contact with the Inuit and fur trading soon began. When Norway and Denmark separated in 1814, Greenland remained a Danish colony and in 1953 joined the Danish kingdom, with two seats in the Danish parliament.

Has the relationship with Denmark been a happy one?

Not entirely. Denmark has had no qualms relocating Greenland's Inuits - 89 per cent of the population - for its own purposes. In the 1950s, Inuits were driven from their lands in the north west to make way for a US military base at Thule. Meanwhile, Denmark's policy of coaxing traditional fishing communities to the six main towns has resulted in high levels of alcoholism, unemployment