Greenland — the ultimate misnomer. Not very green and covered in ice, this harsh land, located in the very far north of the globe, was theHyperboreaof the Renaissance, an unknown, unforgiving place of lost Vikings, ice, and polar bears. Today, Greenlandrarely crosses the American mind, aside from when U.S. president Donald Trump expressed interest in buying it from the Danish crown. This begs the question: How did a territory so close to North America, whose people speak a language related to the Inuit of Canada and Alaska, end up under Danish rule?
Despite Greenland’s inhospitable climate, the island has a rich history as the first point of transatlantic contact between the Old and New Worlds that has brought together Inuit and Scandinavian influences since Viking times. It is a history that continues to be written today as the island marches towards nationhood and independence as it attempts to negotiate its…
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Calculus of Decay 