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Nanok East Greenland Fishing Company (1929–1990), generally known as Nanok, was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

company in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

, mainly active in the hunting and trading of

arctic fox The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in co ...

es for their fur. A cultural organization with the objective of propagating knowledge about Northeast Greenland was founded in 1992 under the same name.

History

Nanok was founded in 1929 by Johannes Gerhardt Jennov (1886–1980) with the aim to exploit natural resources in remote Northeast Greenland. It replaced the East Greenland Company ''(A/S Østgrønlandsk Kompagni)'' that had been founded in 1919. Right after its foundation in 1929 Nanok took over the Danish hunting stations that had been established by the former company. Nanok also built a number of additional hunting huts in the uninhabited expanses of NE Greenland and cooperated with

Sirius Dog Sled Patrol The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol ( da, Slædepatruljen Sirius), known informally as ''Siriuspatruljen'' (the Sirius Patrol) and formerly known as ''North-East Greenland Sledge Patrol'' and ''Resolute Dog Sled Patrol'', is an elite Danish naval unit. It ...

, the other organization active in the desolate area. Although the initial emphasis was laid on fisheries, in practice the company became mostly active in the hunting and trade of

es for there was a big demand for their valuable fur at the time. Nanok's assistance and expertise in the area proved very helpful for the scientific expeditions that visited NE Greenland in mid-20th century. The company lost significant revenues in 1952 when it ceased its lucrative fur trade operations. In the same year the Danish state withdrew its subsidies, after which the ailing company found it increasingly difficult to service the debts to its creditors and practically all but ceased operations. Jennov remained as Nanok's director from 1929 until 1976. Finally in 1990 the company became formally

insolvent In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company (debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet inso ...

and was wrapped up. Nanok Island ''(Nanok Ø)'', an island at the SW end of

Dove Bay Dove Bay ( da, Dove Bugt) is a bay in King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. It is part of the Northeast Greenland National Park area. Etymology Dove bay is said to have been the legendary ''Breidifjòrdr'' of the Sagas of Icelanders. ...

off the northern shores of

Adolf S. Jensen Land Adolf S. Jensen Land ( da, Ad. S. Jensen Land) is a peninsula in the southern limit of King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland. Administratively it belongs to the Northeast Greenland National Park, NE Greenland National Park area. Histor ...

was named after this company in the 1940s to commemorate its activity in the area. , a Danish supply and cargo ship, equipped for operating in

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

conditions, was named after the company as well. There was also a

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

ship named (WYP-169) —a former fishing trawler of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

— serving in Greenland during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

that was probably not named after the company, but after the polar bear.Thomas P. Ostrom, ''The United States Coast Guard in World War II.'' p. 76

Notes

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

NANOK - XsiriusEske Brun: ''Østgrønlands-overenskomsten'', Tidsskriftet Grønland. 1966, Nr. 4; pp. 127-136)
Hunting in Greenland Hunting organizations Defunct companies of Greenland Food and drink companies established in 1929 Companies disestablished in 1990 History of Greenland

History

See also

Notes

References

External links