Hans Island (
Inuktitut
Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...
and , ;
Inuktitut syllabics
Inuktitut syllabics (, or , ) is an abugida-type writing system used in Canada by the Inuktitut-speaking Inuit of the Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Nunavut and the Nunavik region of Quebec. In 1976, the Language Commission of ...
: ; , ; , ) is an island in the centre of the
Kennedy Channel
Kennedy Channel (; ; ) is an Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Canada's most northerly island, Ellesmere Island.
It was named by Elisha Kane around 1854 during his second Arctic voyage in search of the lost Franklin expedition. It is no ...
of
Nares Strait
Nares Strait (; ) is a waterway between Ellesmere Island and Greenland that connects the northern part of Baffin Bay in the Atlantic Ocean with the Lincoln Sea in the Arctic Ocean. From south to north, the strait includes Smith Sound, Kane Basi ...
in the high
Arctic
The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
region, split between the
Canadian territory
Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North America—New Brunswick, Nov ...
of
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...
and the Danish autonomous territory of
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
. The island itself is barren and uninhabited with an area of , measuring , and a maximum elevation of .
Its location in the strait that separates
Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island (; ) is Canada's northernmost and List of Canadian islands by area, third largest island, and the List of islands by area, tenth largest in the world. It comprises an area of , slightly smaller than Great Britain, and the total ...
of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
from northern Greenland was for years a border dispute, the so-called
Whisky War
The Whisky War, also known as the Liquor Wars, was an amicable border dispute between the Kingdom of Denmark and Canada over Hans Island. Between 1973 and 2022, the island was under dispute between the two nations, although never amounting to ...
between the two countries of Canada and
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. Hans Island is the smallest of three islands in Kennedy Channel off the
Washington Land
Washington Land is a peninsula in northwestern Greenland. It is a part of the Avannaata municipality.
Washington Land was explored in the 19th century. Traditionally it was one of the hunting grounds of the Inuit, but there are archaeological rem ...
coast; the others are
Franklin Island and
Crozier Island. The strait at this point is wide, placing the island within the
territorial waters
Territorial waters are informally an area of water where a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf ( ...
of both Canada and Denmark (Greenland). A shared border traverses the island.
The island has likely been part of
Inuit
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
hunting grounds since the 14th century. It was claimed by both
Canada and Denmark until 14 June 2022, when both countries agreed to split the disputed island roughly in half. In accordance with the Greenland home rule treaty, Denmark handles certain foreign affairs, such as border disputes, on behalf of the entire
Danish Realm
The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...
.
Geology
As determined by field investigations and the interpretation of satellite image maps and monochrome stereoscopic air photographs, the exposed portion of Hans Island consists of of
Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 23.5 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the third and shortest period of t ...
limestone. From its summit to sea level, it consists of an upper thick yellowish brown to grey
megalodont bivalve and
stromatoporoid
Stromatoporoidea is an extinct clade of sea sponges common in the fossil record from the Middle Ordovician to the Late Devonian.Stock, C.W. 2001, Stromatoporoidea, 1926–2000: ''Journal of Paleontology'', v. 75, p. 1079–1089. They can be cha ...
limestone; a thick pale yellowish brown to pale grey
marker bed
Marker horizons (also referred to as chronohorizons, key beds or marker beds) are stratigraphic units of the same age and of such distinctive composition and appearance, that, despite their presence in separate geographic locations, there is no do ...
; and a thick yellowish brown to brownish grey weathering, locally cliff-forming,
coral
Corals are colonial marine invertebrates within the subphylum Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact Colony (biology), colonies of many identical individual polyp (zoology), polyps. Coral species include the important Coral ...
, megalodont
bivalve
Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of aquatic animal, aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed b ...
and stromatoporoid
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
. These
strata
In geology and related fields, a stratum (: strata) is a layer of Rock (geology), rock or sediment characterized by certain Lithology, lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by v ...
are assigned to the uppermost
carbonate
A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, (), characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula . The word "carbonate" may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate group ...
buildup
facies
In geology, a facies ( , ; same pronunciation and spelling in the plural) is a body of rock with distinctive characteristics. The characteristics can be any observable attribute of rocks (such as their overall appearance, composition, or con ...
of the Allen Bay Formation of Canada and part of the Kap Morton Formation of
Washington Land
Washington Land is a peninsula in northwestern Greenland. It is a part of the Avannaata municipality.
Washington Land was explored in the 19th century. Traditionally it was one of the hunting grounds of the Inuit, but there are archaeological rem ...
, Greenland.
The limestone of Hans Island are underlain by Lower
Cambrian
The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...
to middle Silurian strata that are at least thick. These sedimentary strata underlying Washington Land, Hans Island and most of subsurface Kennedy Channel are undeformed with a
northwesterly dip of 1 to 3 degrees. They contain
source rock
In petroleum geology, source rock is a sedimentary rock which has generated hydrocarbons or which has the potential to generate hydrocarbons. Source rocks are one of the necessary elements of a working petroleum system. They are organic-rich sedim ...
s that may have been heated enough to have generated significant amounts of oil and gas. However, these strata lack the geological structures and facies changes capable of
trapping these hydrocarbons and forming commercial-size
petroleum reservoir
A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...
s.
The surface of Hans Island is covered by a veneer of unconsolidated glacial
sediment
Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...
. These sediments consist of a mixture of gravel, mud and boulders that form a discontinuous
till
image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...
veneer on its limestone surface over much of the island with the exception of its coastal cliffs and part of the
intertidal zone
The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...
. The gravel consists of angular to subrounded (kidney-shaped) limestone
clasts
Clastic rocks are composed of fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing minerals and rock. A clast is a fragment of geological detritus,Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak, p. G-3 chunks, and smaller grains of rock broken off other rocks b ...
and large
erratics of red
granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
s and
granitoid
A granitoid is a broad term referring to a diverse group of coarse-grained igneous rocks that are widely distributed across the globe, covering a significant portion of the Earth's exposed surface and constituting a large part of the continental ...
and
garnet
Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives.
Garnet minerals, while sharing similar physical and crystallographic properties, exhibit a wide range of chemical compositions, de ...
gneiss
Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...
es.
This surface also exhibits erosional features indicative of the streaming of an
ice sheet
In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacier, glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are the Antarctic ice sheet and the Greenland ice sheet. Ice s ...
through Kennedy Channel. These glacial features include
glacial striation
Glacial striations or striae are scratches or gouges cut into bedrock by glacial abrasion. These scratches and gouges were first recognized as the result of a moving glacier in the late 18th century when Swiss alpinists first associated them ...
s on
bedrock
In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet.
Definition
Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bed ...
; glacially-polished bedrock; linear-aligned crescentic fractures; sickle-shaped, comma-form, and longitudinal grooves and furrows. In addition, linear glacial
flutes and ridges can be mapped from aerial photography and profile of the island also has a stream-lined form suggestive of glacial sculpting.
Etymology
The island is named after
Hans Hendrik
Hans Hendrik (; 2 June 1832 – 11 August 1889) was a Kalaaleq interpreter, Arctic explorer, and the first Inuk to publish an account of his travels. He was born in the southern settlement of Fiskenæsset.
Expeditions
Second Grinnel ...
, whose native
Greenlandic name was . Hendrik was an
Arctic traveller and translator who worked on the American and British Arctic expeditions of
Elisha Kent Kane
Elisha Kent Kane (February 3, 1820 – February 16, 1857) was a United States Navy medical officer and Arctic explorer. He served as assistant surgeon during Caleb Cushing's journey to China to negotiate the Treaty of Wangxia and in the A ...
,
Charles Francis Hall,
Isaac Israel Hayes and
George Strong Nares, from 1853 to 1876.
Prior to 2005, the island was thought to have been named during Charles Francis Hall's third
Arctic
The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
voyage, the
Polaris expedition
The ''Polaris'' expedition of 1871–1873 was one of the first serious attempts to reach the North Pole after that of British naval officer Sir Edward Parry, who reached 82nd parallel north, 82° 45′ N in 1827. Funded by the U.S. gover ...
, between 1871 and 1873. The first written reference to the name and the island itself appears in
Charles Henry Davis
Charles Henry Davis ( – ) was a Autodidacticism, self-educated American astronomer and Rear admiral (United States), rear admiral of the United States Navy. While working for the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, United States Coast ...
's book ''Narrative of the North Polar expedition'' (1876), which is a narrative of Hall's fatal
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
expedition. On page 407 it appears, without any previous mention. The island made its first cartographic appearance on a map accompanying the book.
Charles Henry Davis writes,
He was referring to the ship
''Polaris'''s return voyage southward down the Kennedy channel. This does not answer when it was named. The ship's doctor and leader of the scientific part of the expedition,
Emil Bessels, mentioned the island in his own book, (1879). He tells that on 29 August 1871, on the voyage north through Kennedy Channel, the ''Polaris'' sailed between (Ellesmere Island) and a small island "which was named Hans Island" (), without further explanation of the name.
An earlier mention of a Hans Island expedition is in Elisha Kent Kane's account of the
Second Grinnell expedition, ''Arctic Explorations: The Second Grinnell Expedition, 1853, ’54, ’55'', (published 1857), in pages 317–319. Thus the year 1853 is now often cited as the date of the discovery and naming of the island, including in a letter by the Danish Ambassador to Canada in the ''
Ottawa Citizen
The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
History
Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...
'' on 28 July 2005.
Littleton Island () is approximately from Greenland's coast right in
Smith Sound
Smith Sound (; ) is an Arctic sea passage between Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are ...
. It is about south of the island today called Hans Island. Around it and the coast of Greenland lay dozens of tiny islands, and Kane named one of them Hans Island after Hans Hendrik, the native Greenlandic helper he had with him on the trip. That this is the current Littleton Island is confirmed by Kane mentioning
Edward Augustus Inglefield
Sir Edward Augustus Inglefield (27 March 1820 – 4 September 1894) was a Royal Navy officer who led one of the searches for the missing Arctic explorer John Franklin during the 1850s. In doing so, his expedition charted previously unexpl ...
, who named Littleton Island.
The names of many places in this region have changed or been altered during the last 100 years. For example, the name of Nares Strait (named after George Strong Nares), separating Ellesmere Island and northern Greenland, was not agreed upon between the Danish and Canadian governments until 1964.
History and disputed sovereignty
The conflict over the island, known as the
Whisky War
The Whisky War, also known as the Liquor Wars, was an amicable border dispute between the Kingdom of Denmark and Canada over Hans Island. Between 1973 and 2022, the island was under dispute between the two nations, although never amounting to ...
, has been alternately described as "one of the most passive-aggressive boundary disputes in history" and "the friendliest war."
Early history
Inuit
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
living in northern Greenland or Canada would have known the island for centuries. In the mid 19th century,
Nares Strait
Nares Strait (; ) is a waterway between Ellesmere Island and Greenland that connects the northern part of Baffin Bay in the Atlantic Ocean with the Lincoln Sea in the Arctic Ocean. From south to north, the strait includes Smith Sound, Kane Basi ...
was likely unknown to Europeans. It is not known whether
Norsemen
The Norsemen (or Northmen) were a cultural group in the Early Middle Ages, originating among speakers of Old Norse in Scandinavia. During the late eighth century, Scandinavians embarked on a Viking expansion, large-scale expansion in all direc ...
visited the island in the centuries when Greenland was inhabited by them.
From 1850 to 1880, the area in which Hans Island is situated was explored by American and British expeditions. These expeditions were a response partly due to the popular search for the missing British explorer
John Franklin
Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Northern Canada, Canadia ...
, and partly to search for the elusive
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...
and/or reach the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...
.
The Danish "Celebration Expedition" of 1920 to 1923 accurately mapped the whole region of the northern Greenland coast from
Cape York (, ) to
Danmark Fjord ().
In 1933, the
Permanent Court of International Justice
The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...
declared the legal status of Greenland in favour of Denmark. Denmark claims geological evidence points to Hans Island being part of Greenland, and therefore it belongs to Denmark by extension of the Court's ruling.
Since the 1960s, numerous surveys have been undertaken in the Nares Strait region, including seismic, ice flow, mapping, archaeological and economic surveys. Canadian-based
Dome Petroleum made surveys on and around Hans Island from 1980 to 1983, to investigate the movement of ice masses.
1972–73 border treaty
In 1972, a team consisting of personnel from the
Canadian Hydrographic Service
''Retired Canadian Hydrographic Service logo or crest''
The Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) is part of the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada and is Canada's authoritative hydrographic office. The CHS represents Canada in ...
and Danish personnel working in the Nares Strait determined the geographic coordinates for Hans Island. During negotiations between Canada and Denmark on their
maritime boundary
A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of Earth's water surface areas using physiographical or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...
in 1973, both states claimed Hans Island was part of their territory. No agreement was reached between the two governments on the issue.
The maritime boundary immediately north and south of Hans Island was established in the
continental shelf
A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an islan ...
treaty ratified by Denmark and Canada and then submitted to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
on 17 December 1973, in force since 13 March 1974. At the time, it was the longest shelf boundary treaty ever negotiated and may have been the first ever continental shelf boundary developed by a computer.
The treaty lists 127 points (
latitude
In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...
and
longitude
Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...
) from
Davis Strait
The Davis Strait (Danish language, Danish: ''Davisstrædet'') is a southern arm of the Arctic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The ...
to the end of
Robeson Channel, where the Nares Strait runs into the
Lincoln Sea, to draw
geodesic
In geometry, a geodesic () is a curve representing in some sense the locally shortest path ( arc) between two points in a surface, or more generally in a Riemannian manifold. The term also has meaning in any differentiable manifold with a conn ...
lines between, to form the border. The treaty does not, however, draw a line from point 122 () to point 123 (), a distance of , because Hans Island is situated in between those two points.
Joint administration
In 1984,
Iqaluit
Iqaluit is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is the territory's largest community and its only city, and the northernmost city in Canada. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on ...
-based
Kenn Harper
Kenn Harper (aka ''Ilisaijikutaaq'', tall teacher) is a Canadian writer, historian and former businessman. He is the author of ''Give Me My Father's Body'', an account of Greenland Inuk Minik Wallace, had a regular column on Arctic history in ''N ...
, a historian and writer for ''
Nunatsiaq News
''Nunatsiaq News'' () is a Canadian weekly newspaper in operation since 1973 based in Iqaluit, serving as the newspaper of record for the territory of Nunavut and the Nunavik region of Quebec. The paper is published online on a daily basis, and ...
'', wrote an article about Hans Island. It was printed in ''Hainang'', a local newspaper in
Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq (), formerly known as New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The town has a population of 646 as of 2020. The population was forcibly relocated from its former, traditiona ...
in northwestern Greenland. This article was picked up by a Danish newspaper in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
and by
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
in Canada.
This article was sparked because of a chance encounter on the ice near
Resolute, in the
Canadian Arctic
Northern Canada (), colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada, variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories a ...
in the autumn of 1983. According to Harper, he met a man wearing a hat with bold capitals around the side of the hat saying "Hans Island, N.W.T." This man was a scientist with Dome Petroleum who had just spent the summer on the island doing ice research. Dome Petroleum did research on and around the island from 1980 to 1983.
Simultaneously, the Danish and Canadian governments were in the process of signing a cooperation agreement in relation to the marine environment in the
Nares Strait
Nares Strait (; ) is a waterway between Ellesmere Island and Greenland that connects the northern part of Baffin Bay in the Atlantic Ocean with the Lincoln Sea in the Arctic Ocean. From south to north, the strait includes Smith Sound, Kane Basi ...
. The agreement was signed and put into force on 26 August 1983. The Agreement addresses protection of the marine environment of the waters lying between Canada and Greenland, particularly with respect to preparedness measures as a contingency against pollution incidents resulting from offshore
hydrocarbon exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth's crust using petroleum geology.
Exploration methods
...
or exploitation and from shipping activities that may affect the marine environment.
One of the items also discussed was the possibility of establishing a reciprocal arrangement for processing applications to conduct research on and around Hans Island. This was never signed; however, Canadian
John Munro, at the time
Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
, and Dane
Tom Høyem
Tom Høyem (born 10 October 1941) is a Danish and German politician, and former headmaster in the European Schools.
Political career in Denmark
Between September 1982 and September 1987, Høyem served as Minister for Greenland within the Da ...
, at the time
Minister for Greenland
Minister of Greenland () was a cabinet post for affairs with the Danish Arctic territory.
Tom Høyem was Minister from 1982 and served till 1987 briefly (succeeded by Mimi Jakobsen).
In September 1987 the post was eliminated, and responsibility ...
, agreed, in common interest, to avoid acts that might prejudice future negotiations.
However, unknown to the politicians, Dome Petroleum was doing research on the island.
In 1984, the Danish Minister for Greenland planted the Danish flag on the island and left a little message saying " ().
It is also said he left a bottle of
brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured ...
;
however, this seems to have been
Schnapps
Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to ...
,
which, unlike brandy, is a traditional Danish spirit. It is commonly told, internally in the
Royal Danish Navy
The Royal Danish Navy (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...
, that it was specifically a bottle of
Gammel Dansk
Gammel Dansk is a bitters (herbal alcoholic preparation) produced by Arcus-Gruppen in Oslo, Norway, originally developed and produced by Danish Distillers in Denmark. Traditionally it is drunk by Danes at certain festive occasions, often in conn ...
, which translates literally to 'Old Danish'. The Canadians have reciprocated with their own sign, the flag of Canada and a bottle of
Canadian Club
Canadian Club () is a brand of Canadian whisky produced by Suntory Global Spirits. Popularly known as CC, Canadian Club was created by Hiram Walker and Sons, an evolution of a brand around a product that took place over the second half of the ...
.
Media attention and continuing negotiations

Though
CBC CBC may refer to:
Media
* Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico
* Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster
** CBC Television
** CBC Radio One
** CBC Music
** ...
and others had done some reporting in the 1980s,
[ the dispute came to popular attention through Canadian press stories during late March 2004. Within days, it spread to other newspapers worldwide.
On 25 March 2004, when Adrian Humphreys of the Canadian '']National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only. '' newspaper wrote an article entitled "Five-year plan to 'put footprints in the snow' and assert northern sovereignty", Humphreys made a brief mention of the dispute over Hans Island, and that the Danes had sent warships to the island.
The Arctic sea
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
region has long been a subject of dispute. In this matter, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Russia, and Norway share an interest in establishing parts of the Arctic seas as "national waters". The United States and most European Union countries, on the other hand, officially regard the region as international waters
The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed region ...
. Further items in the Canadian media led to the issue being picked up by international news organizations.
The 2004 Canadian budget was introduced on 23 March 2004, by the government of Canada
The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...
, two days before the issue gained widespread attention. It proposed minimal increases to spending on national defence. The issue of Hans Island was raised in the Canadian Parliament
The Parliament of Canada () is the federal legislature of Canada. The Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate and the House of Commons, form the bicameral legislature.
The 343 members of the lower house, the House of Commons, are styled a ...
by opposition foreign affairs critic Stockwell Day
Stockwell Burt Day Jr. (born August 16, 1950) is a former Canadian politician who served as leader of the Canadian Alliance from 2000 to 2001 and later as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.
A provincial cabinet minister from Alber ...
to highlight the government's failure to provide more funding for the military.
A news article by Adrian Humphreys on 30 March 2004, also in the ''National Post'', entitled "Danes summon envoy over Arctic fight—the solution of the dispute is not going to be military", drew even more attention to the issue. The article claimed Brian Herman, Canada's only diplomat in Denmark (ambassador Alfonso Gagliano
Alfonso Gagliano (; 25 January 1942 – 12 December 2020) was a Canadian accountant and politician.
Early life and family
Born in Siculiana, Italy, Gagliano immigrated to Montreal in 1958. His political career began in 1977 when he ran for a ...
having been recently recalled as a result of an unrelated Canadian scandal), was called before the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
, to comment about his country's intentions in the dispute, which had, according to the article, recently been inflamed by Danish sailors occupying Hans Island.
On 31 March 2004, the Danish and Canadian governments denied Herman or any other Canadian official was summoned to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Both governments stated the dispute was a long-standing issue, and nothing had changed in the matter.
A Canadian military
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defence Act'', t ...
exercise, named "Narwhal 04", inflamed the issue further. However, this exercise had been in the planning stage since September 2003, and it took place around Pangnirtung
Pangnirtung (or Pang, also Pangniqtuuq, in syllabics: ᐸᖕᓂᖅᑑᖅ ) is an Inuit hamlet in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, located on Baffin Island. The community is located about south of the Arctic Circle ...
on Baffin Island
Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada, the second-largest island in the Americas (behind Greenland), and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is (slightly smal ...
, south of Hans Island. The Canadian military denied the exercise had anything to do with the Danish–Canadian territorial dispute. The exercise took place from 9 to 30 August 2004, involving about 160 soldiers from the army, various aircraft, helicopters and one frigate, . About 600 Canadian Forces personnel were involved in total.
A new development came to light after Canadian Defence Minister Bill Graham visited the island on 20 July 2005. Peter Taksøe-Jensen, the head of the international law
International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
department at Denmark's foreign ministry, said the following in an interview with Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
on 25 July in response to the event:
On 18 August 2005, Canadian frigate left Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
, for an Arctic cruise. Canadian officials said the month-long patrol was unrelated to the Hans Island dispute. The s and were also scheduled to patrol the Arctic in 2005.
In July 2007, owing to updated satellite imagery, Canadian authorities realized the line constructed as a basis for the maritime boundary (but not for land) would have run roughly across the middle of the island, but the boundary did not "move" as that required a bilateral agreement by the two states for which negotiations continued.
The two countries maintained a sense of humour in the dispute. Peter Taksøe-Jensen has stated "when Danish military go there, they leave a bottle of schnapps
Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to ...
. And when Canadian military forces come there, they leave a bottle of Canadian Club and a sign saying, 'Welcome to Canada.'"
Negotiations began in 2012 between Canada and Denmark, calling for either a condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...
or splitting the disputed island's sovereignty in half.
On 23 May 2018, Canada and Denmark announced the creation of a Joint Task Force to determine the boundary between Canada and Greenland, including the fate of Hans Island.
Google fight
"Google fight" or "Google war" is the name given to a number of advertisements on the Internet search engine Google
Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
which promoted either Danish or Canadian sovereignty over Hans Island in 2005.
In July 2005, a Canadian author said that he saw an advertisement on Google stating that the island was part of Denmark, along with a link to a Danish Foreign Ministry page with a copy of the diplomatic protest that had been sent after Canada's defence minister had visited the island. Denmark's ambassador to Canada said that the Danish government had not been involved in any advertisement about the island and whoever placed it was acting alone. In response, the Canadian author ordered his own advertisement stating that the island belongs to Canada, along with a link to a page with a rotating Canadian flag and the Canadian national anthem. Similar to the actual dispute, the "Google fight" was considered quite harmless and treated as entertainment by the media, with the Canadian Foreign Affairs Ministry responding that they – as a goodwill gesture to Denmark – still would allow Danish pastries
A Danish pastry (sometimes shortened to danish; , ) is a multilayered, laminated sweet pastry in the ''viennoiserie'' tradition. Like other ''viennoiserie'' pastries, such as croissants, it is a variant of puff pastry made of laminated yeast-lea ...
to be sold in the ministry cafeteria.
Resolution
On 11 June 2022, the Danish, Greenlandic, Canadian, and Nunavut governments agreed to split Hans Island in half after 17 years of negotiations. On 14 June 2022, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly
Mélanie Joly (; born January 16, 1979) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who has been serving as the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Minister of Industry, Registrar General of Canada, and Minister responsible for the Economic D ...
, Danish foreign affairs minister Jeppe Kofod, and prime minister of Greenland Múte Bourup Egede
Múte Inequnaaluk Bourup Egede (; born 11 March 1987) is a Greenlandic politician who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Greenland from 2021 to 2025. He has also served as Chairman of the Inuit Ataqatigiit since December 2018, and a Member of t ...
signed an agreement to divide the island nearly in half along a natural fault line. The treaty will take effect after the Folketing
The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...
(Parliament of Denmark), the Inatsisartut
The Inatsisartut (, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territoryMultiple sources:
*
*
* in the Danish Realm. Established in 1979, the parli ...
(Parliament of Greenland) have each voted to ratify it. By this, Canada and the Danish Realm
The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...
, through Greenland, will have an international land border of , which follows a rift, forming a half circle with the westernmost part around the middle, in the surface of the island that runs from north to south near the centre of the island. The agreement was cited as an example of a peaceful resolution to a border conflict shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
. The island contains the third shortest land border between countries, and also a second land neighbour for Canada and for the Danish Realm, each of which had only one, with the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
respectively. It also is the northernmost international land border in the world, as well as the third land border between countries of Europe and of the Americas, the previous two being between French Guiana
French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
and the South American countries Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
and Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
.
The new border according to the treaty and laws
The Danish law to establish the land border and the sea border between the Danish Realm and Canada was put before the Danish parliament
The Folketing ( , ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark — Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands and Greenland. E ...
on 5 October 2023.[ The final Danish parliament decision came 19 December 2023.Dokumenter Samling 2023-24 beslutningsforslag B 14 Tidsplan]
/ref> The comments to the law contains (point 1.3) a principle to allow people who enter Hans Island for official matters or tourism to visit the entire island without border control. No border control will be established on Hans Island.[ (The international treaty in English/French/Danish/Greenlandic is included)]
The treaty (written in English, French, Danish and Greenlandic) mentions three border points on land, and 149 border points in the sea, with straight lines in between.[ The land points are:
*Point T1: 80° 49′ 17.2″ N 66° 27′ 02.4″ W
*Point T2: 80° 49′ 33.1″ N 66° 27′ 52.3″ W
*Point T3: 80° 49′ 54.6″ N 66° 27′ 24.0″ W
]
See also
* List of divided islands
This is a list of islands whose land is divided by one or more border, international borders.
Sea islands
Island country, Island countries
Non-island countries
Both island countries and non-island countries
Lake islands
*Amon ...
* List of islands of Canada
This is an incomplete list of islands of Canada.
Arctic islands
Islands and island groups in the Arctic Archipelago include (all islands in Nunavut unless noted): Queen Elizabeth Islands
The Queen Elizabeth Islands consist of:
*Adams Island (Nu ...
* List of islands of Greenland
The following is an alphabetical list of the islands of Greenland. Many of these islands have both a Kalaallisut language name and a Indo-European languages, European language name.
Islands and archipelagoes
*Aaluik
*Aasiaat
*Achton Friis Is ...
* Operation Hurricane (Canada)
Operation Hurricane is an annual month-long technical maintenance mission conducted by Canadian Forces personnel in the Canadian Arctic.
Each summer, since 1982, Canadian military technicians and support personnel have been deployed by helicopter ...
* Beaumont Island (Greenland)
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
* United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
: Delimitation Treaties. ''Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Government of Canada relating to the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Greenland and Canada'', 17 December 1973,
* United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
: Bureau of Intelligence and Research ''Limits in the Seas'' No. 72 ''Continental shelf Boundary: Canada – Greenland'', Issued by the Geographer, 4 August 1976.
* ''Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark for Cooperation relating to the Marine Environment'', 26 August 1983.
* ''Narrative of the North Polar expedition'' : U.S Ship Polaris, Captain Charles Francis Hall commanding, edited under the direction of G. M. Robeson by C. H. Davis. Washington, G. P. O., 1876.
External links
Hans Island
in the Atlas of Canada
The Atlas of Canada () is an online atlas published by Natural Resources Canada that has information on every city, town, village, and hamlet in Canada. It was originally a print atlas, with its first edition being published in 1906 by geographer ...
– Toporama; Natural Resources Canada
Hans Island: A border dispute between Denmark and Canada
– Background, maps, timeline about the Hans Island dispute.
NPR's Morning Edition
Friday, 12 August 2005 – Summary of the dispute.
– about the 1 August 2003 landing on the island.
– article on the dispute by the Canadian American Strategic Review.
Canadian Archipelago Throughflow Study
Crisis in the Arctic!
*
{{Borders of Denmark
International islands
Islands of the Queen Elizabeth Islands
Uninhabited islands of Greenland
Uninhabited islands of Qikiqtaaluk Region
Avannaata
Canada–Greenland border
Canada–Denmark relations
Former disputed islands
Territorial disputes of Canada
Territorial disputes of Denmark