AHC Independant Greenland

With the earliest POD being in 1900 have Greenland become a independant nation.
170px-Greenland_ice_sheet_AMSL_thickness_map-en.png
 
more people .. tad more hospitable climate .. or just Greenland saying leave us alone in the 90's before that it was strategic to NATO and the US
 
What resources could Greenland export besides fish and ice?
One of their biggest exports are people. Denmark has a Greenlandic immigrant population numbering 15 thousand, a little under 1/3 of Greenlands population of 51 thousand.

Also this map of the Greenlandic economy shows that most of Greenlands economy is connected to marine life, not just fishing.
800px-Greenland_Export_Treemap.jpg
 
One of their biggest exports are people. Denmark has a Greenlandic immigrant population numbering 15 thousand, a little under 1/3 of Greenlands population of 51 thousand.

Also this map of the Greenlandic economy shows that most of Greenlands economy is connected to marine life, not just fishing.
View attachment 385335
One of their biggest exports are people. Denmark has a Greenlandic immigrant population numbering 15 thousand, a little under 1/3 of Greenlands population of 51 thousand.

Also this map of the Greenlandic economy shows that most of Greenlands economy is connected to marine life, not just fishing.
View attachment 385335
I thought that was a life form breakdown of Greenland ;)
 
The Greenlandic economy is a mess, it have had a large and long running BOP deficit, it depend on transfer of money from Denmark, it's entire social, education, judicial and healthcare sectors depend on direct support from Denmark. The best way to think about it, is something like a giant Native American reservation in how its internal politics work and what kind of social problems they have (through less bad and mixed with deindustrialisation problems).

Honestly with such a late POD the only way I could imagine a independent Greenland was if it became a settler colony (so it got more people and became more developed) and if Denmark was permanent cut off from Greenland either by becoming a German vassal or Communist.
 
The Greenlandic economy is a mess, it have had a large and long running BOP deficit, it depend on transfer of money from Denmark, it's entire social, education, judicial and healthcare sectors depend on direct support from Denmark. The best way to think about it, is something like a giant Native American reservation in how its internal politics work and what kind of social problems they have (through less bad and mixed with deindustrialisation problems).

Honestly with such a late POD the only way I could imagine a independent Greenland was if it became a settler colony (so it got more people and became more developed) and if Denmark was permanent cut off from Greenland either by becoming a German vassal or Communist.
Maybe Greenlands "union"(not certain how the relationship should be refered to) with Denmark has allowed it to stave of neccesary reforms, and keep a disfunctional govornance and way of life?
 
Maybe Greenlands "union"(not certain how the relationship should be refered to) with Denmark has allowed it to stave of neccesary reforms, and keep a disfunctional govornance and way of life?

I doubt it, a lot of decolonised countries have failed to push the necessary reforms. The most likely model of decolonised Greenland would be American paying for basing rights, these money would go to a small Danish/Danified/biracial elite in Godthaab (I doubt it would have changed name to Nuuk here), while the rest of the population outside Godthaab would live like it was 1850.
 
I doubt it, a lot of decolonised countries have failed to push the necessary reforms. The most likely model of decolonised Greenland would be American paying for basing rights, these money would go to a small Danish/Danified/biracial elite in Godthaab (I doubt it would have changed name to Nuuk here), while the rest of the population outside Godthaab would live like it was 1850.
How did the population of Greenland live in 1850?

I picture independant Greenland as having one single large urban area. Aswell as several state owned company towns, these company towns would be the settlement around a enterprise(likely a mine) and these companies would likely be state owned. The Company towns would probably be small, most would have under 500 inhabitants. The reason the state would have a program for company towns is to guarantee emplyment, revenue and becouse there would likely not be any private investors in Greenland with enough assests to fund such a endevour.

Edit:
These company towns would have boom bust life cycle as they would be dependent on finite resources.
 
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As noted, you need a better economy, since its currently subsidised by Denmark. Not to mention that Greenland has serious social issues which are similar to Inuit communities in the US and Canada--alcoholism, domestic violence, and suicide (by far the highest rate in the world) are common.

Maybe get some sort of government-sponsered settlement program in the early 20th century. Denmark sends in a few colonies of farmers, like was done in parts of Alaska. Granted, they'd be pretty reliant on government subsidies like the rest of Greenland, but the point is there's now a larger population. Most will likely either move to Godthåb, back to Denmark, or maybe to the US or Canada before long. Maybe an early 20th century craze for roseroot, an Arctic/alpine plant used in traditional medicine which is said to be a mood booster would give a better crop than moving to Greenland to farm potatoes or whatever. At the same time, Denmark spends more money on their navy for the sake of their global empire (so no selling the Virgin Islands TTL), and puts a base in Greenland. Later on NATO uses this base, plus also the one in Thule. Hydroelectric power and related industries (i.e. aluminum smelters) aree developed in Greenland earlier as well.

Sometime in the early 21st century, a tightly divided referendum is held on Greenlandic independence, which narrowly passes. Being that Greenland TTL has more population, and most of them are Danes (although the better economy in Greenland means fewer Greenlanders move to Denmark), Greenland is more multiethnic than being an Inuit state--both Danish and Inuit are the native languages. The government uses much of the revenue from hydro power and especially the recent mining projects to combat the social issues amongst native Greenlanders.
 
I have this happen in my timeline. Basically due to a huge conflict, one that lasts from the 1920's to the 1970's, between Denmark and Norway over Greenland and Iceland. This leads to war between the two in 1976 and only ends in 1980 following American intervention. The US and Canada seize Greenland jointly in 1977 to keep it from becoming a theater in a new war and shortly after they develop a condominium under US and Canadian control. Eventually, by which I mean the early 1990's, Greenland is independent.
 
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