Bill Seymour's
Online Stamp Collections

Greenland (1905-)

Stamp-issuing status: active; Population: 58,768. The world's largest island, located in the Arctic, northeast of Canada. Greenland was occupied by the Norsemen during the 10th-15th centuries, but the deteriorating climate and increasingly aggressive Eskimo inroads finally wiped out the European settlements. In 1721, Denmark again began colonization. In 1953, the colony became an integral part of the kingdom of Denmark. In 1979, home rule was extended to Greenland, and a socialist-dominated legislature was elected. Native place names have come into use, and the official name for Greenland is now Kalaallit Nunaat. Greenland was a U.S. protectorate from 1940-45, during the German occupation of Denmark.