Royal Greenland Trading Department

The Royal Greenland Trading Department (, KGH) was a Danish state enterprise charged with administering the realm's settlements and trade in Greenland. The company managed the government of Greenland from 1774 to 1908 through its Board of Managers in Copenhagen and a series of Royal Inspectors and Governors in Godthaab and Godhavn on Greenland. The company was headquartered at Grønlandske Handels Plads at Christianshavn.

Following the introduction of home rule in Greenland in 1979, the company was reformed into several successors, including the KNI conglomerate, the Royal Greenland fishing company, and the Royal Arctic shipping company.

History

The Royal Greenland Trading Department was founded in 1774 as a successor to the failed General Trade Company (Det almindelige Handelskompagni) which had previously managed the Dano-Norwegian whaling stations and Lutheran and Moravian missions in Greenland.

At first, it possessed a monopoly on trade near the Danish trading stations and missions but, in 1776, this was expanded to a monopoly on all trade in Greenland whatsoever between the 60th and 73d parallels north.[1] The change in protection led to a sharp downturn in new settlements and, after a brief abortive attempt to manage a government-owned Scandinavian whaling fleet, led the company to focus on trade with the local Inuit hunters. The Instruction of 1782 divided the colony into northern and southern halves, forbade senior management from intermarriage with Inuit or racially mixed women and lower-ranking employees from intermarriage with Inuit or European women,[2] and banned further attempts to urbanize the Inuit or alter their traditional way of life through improved employment opportunities or sales of luxury items. Large premiums were charged on goods such as sugar and coffee in order to prevent the Inuit from 'softening' and abandoning their demanding work.[1]

Fleet

The Royal Greenland Trading Department began with a gift of three ships from the king: the large frigate Kongens Gave ("King's Gift"), the smaller frigate Holsteinsborg, and the galiot Den Gloende.[4] In 1776, its fleet consisted of the Bernstorff, the Eichsted, the Godthaab, the Holsteinsborg, the Island, the Kongenshaab, the Krag Juul Wind, the Lovisenborg, the Mariakirke, the Sankt Croix, the Sankt Peter, the Schack Rathlau, the Schimmelmann, Skatmester, the Strat Davis, and the Taasinge Slot.[4] The next year, only 10 vessels returned: the Bernstorff, the Eichsted, the Gregers Juul, the Guldberg, the Holsteinsborg, the Kongenshaab, the Krag Juul Wind, the Schack Rathlau, the Schack, and the Schimmelmann, Skatmester.[4]

In 1781, a royal order granted a number of privileges to crew members of the Royal Greenland fleet. They were made exempt from regular military service except for times of utter need. Furthermore, crew members were freed from any civil obligations, which included tax-free trading for personal provisioning before and after a voyage and a deferral of heritage fees for the families of crew members deceased during a voyage.[5]

The Department began purchasing its own trading vessels again in 1790.

Disestablishment

The company's monopoly was finally ended in 1950,[9] as the two halves of Greenland were reunited in preparation for the island's full integration with the Kingdom of Denmark, which occurred in 1953. The Home Rule Government was introduced in 1979 and gained control of the company in 1986,[10][11] renaming it Kalaallit Niuerfiat (Kalallisut: "Greenland Trade").[12] In 1992, it was reorganized into the KNI conglomerate.[13] The Royal Greenland fishing company was spun off in 1990,[9]

See also

• Danish colonization of Greenland
• List of inspectors of Greenland
• Hinrich Rink
• List of trading companies
• KNI
• Royal Arctic Line

External links