Donald Trump & Greenland VS King Edward the Elder & The Pagans: FIGHT!
It’s a day of the week ending with the letter ”y”, so that
means Donald Trump must be in the news for something he’s said/done/tweeted. Ah
yes, this week the Donald attempted to combine his current job as President
with his former role as a real estate mogul, declaring his intention to buy the
island of Greenland, the semi-autonomous country belonging to Denmark. Though
this seems ridiculous, Trump was quick to assure us that ‘It’s essentially a
large real estate deal.’
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| “It’s just like buying a house. These days most houses that people buy come with 56,000 people, the majority of Inuit descent. That’s like double glazing these days.” |
Being a pro-negotiator, who knows the “art of the deal” is
to not let your opponent know how much you want what they have, he added ‘It’s
not No.1 on the burner, I can tell you that.’
However, for those hoping for some sort of nation-state spin
off of “Homes Under the Hammer”, it doesn’t look like the deal will happen. Kim
Kielsen, the Premier of Greenland, and Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime
Minister immediately rejected Trumps comments.
In response, the President
called off a planned visit to Denmark on September 2nd, which
Frederiksen claimed ‘annoyed’ her (apparently …).
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| “He’s not coming? What? Oh no! What a bummer …" |
If we pretend for a second that this isn’t an outrageous,
out of the blue, calamitous policy, there are strategic reasons for the US to
want Greenland. The island is already a site of value to the United States
military, due to its location between the US and Europe/Russia. This led to the
establishment of the Thule air force and radar base on the island during the
Cold War, which is used for space surveillance and for warning the US about
incoming ballistic missile attacks. Buying the island is just the logical
extension of this interest.
Greenland is also interesting from a natural resources point
of view. Thirty percent of the world’s undiscovered natural gas is in the
arctic, as well as thirteen percent of its undiscovered oil. Greenland is also
home to all your favourite rare elements: neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium,
terbium, and good old friendly uranium. Greenland has the capacity to become the
largest mineral producer outside of China. As Trump pursues increased US
self-sufficiency in line with his economic war on China, the Greenland purchase
would be a big step in this direction.
Looking for historical precedent for Trump's behaviour, journalists
have looked to nineteenth and twentieth-century US Presidents. For instance,
Andrew Johnson, who purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, and Harry S. Truman,
who in 1946 also made an offer for Greenland.
However, the idea of purchasing strategically important
territory from other rulers is not a “modern” idea. Over one thousand years ago,
King Edward the Elder of the Anglo-Saxons was attempted something similar.
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| Also they were both married three times. See there are genuine reasons to compare them. I’m not just smashing modern and medieval figures together on a whim. |
To understand King Edward though, we have to go back to the
year 865, almost fifty years before he became king. Back then, Anglo-Saxon
England was divided into four kingdoms: Northumbria, East Anglia, Mercia and
Wessex. In 865, a Viking army, known as “The Great Heathen Army”, invaded
Britain and conquered Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until only Wessex was left undefeated. Luckily
for Wessex it was ruled by King Alfred the Great, who, after a period of guerrilla
warfare and some baking, was able to defeat the Vikings in 878. He spent the
rest of his life cementing his rule, before finally dying in the year 899, and
being succeeded by his son Edward the Elder.
Edward then looked at his father’s kingdom and, like Veruca
Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, declared he wanted more.
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| Just picture Scandinavian controlled East Anglia as a sort of Golden Goose. |
During his reign, Edward led several attacks on Scandinavian
held territory, successfully expanding his rule to include all but the former kingdom
of Northumbria. However, Edward was not a one trick pony. He was willing to use
diplomacy as well as military force to improve his position. For instance, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that in 906
‘peace was established at Tiddingford, just as King Edward decreed, both with
the East Angles and Northumbrians.’
Additionally, like Trump, Edward was happy to purchase
territory outside of his realm to improve his strategic position. A grant from
926, during the reign of his son Athelstan, focuses on land in the formerly Scandinavian
controlled area. In the grant Athelstan confirmed to his ‘faithful thegn
Ealdred the land … which is called Chalgrave and Tebworth, which he bought with
sufficient money of his own, namely ten pounds of gold and silver, from the pagans (Scandinavians) by order of King
Edward and also of Ealdorman Ethelred along with the other ealdormen and
thegns.’ The charter goes on to say that this land was attached to Watling
street, the border between English and Danish rule.
The source suggests that King Edward and his advisors had an
official policy of encouraging his followers to purchase land held by Viking
rulers, increasing his influence there. This approach supported his aforementioned
strategic goal of expanding his rule over the Scandinavian held areas,
supplementing his military actions.
Ultimately, the major difference between Edward and Trump is
that the Anglo-Saxon King was successful, whilst Trump has failed. His unexpected
declaration about wanting to buy Greenland soured US-Danish relations, leading
to the collapse of their upcoming summit. Conversely, the charter is testament
to the fact that Ealdred successfully bought the land on Edward’s orders.
Edward’s approach was more covert. Rather than buying the
land himself, or attempting a “state to state” transaction, he merely pushed a
follower to do it. This would have appeared far less threatening to the Scandinavians,
masking Edward’s intention to expand his influence.
In a way, this behaviour is much closer to what we usually
see in international relations today. Rather than outright buying territory,
states use money to buy companies or fund projects in other states. For
instance, last week the state of New South Wales in Australia decided to stop a
Chinese funded mandarin education programme, because it ‘could give rise to the
perception that … (it) is or could be facilitating inappropriate foreign
influence in the department.’
I would suggest the lesson of this episode for Trump is to
be more subtle, but I’m not sure he ever could ….
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| “Should we get a nice dignified picture of the commander in chief for the video?” Said no one at the Guardian ever. |
Bibliography
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in English Historical Documents: c. 500-1042, ed. by Dorothy Whitelock (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1955), pp. 135- 235.
Grant by King Æthelstan to his thegn Ealdred of land at Chalgrave and Tebworth, Bedfordshire, which the latter had bought form the ‘pagans’ at King Edward’s orders, in English Historical Documents: c. 500-1042, ed. by Dorothy Whitelock (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1955), pp. 503-05.
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