Bergen Greenland Company

The Bergen Greenland Company, also known as the Bergen Company or Bergenkompagniet, was a Danish–Norwegian private corporation created in 1721 to support the re-establishment of Danish–Norwegian authority, trade, colonization, and Lutheran missionary work in Greenland. It was organized around the initiative of the Norwegian Lutheran minister Hans Egede, who believed that descendants of the medieval Norse settlers might still survive in Greenland. The company combined commercial and religious ambitions: Bergen merchants hoped to discover mineral wealth, profitable trade, or agricultural opportunities, while the Royal Mission College supported efforts to reconnect presumed Norse inhabitants with Lutheran Christianity. The company received broad administrative powers over Greenland. It could govern the territory, administer justice, collect taxes, and maintain military and naval forces. The Danish–Norwegian crown nevertheless declined to grant it an exclusive monopoly over Greenlandic whaling and trade, partly because of concern that a monopoly would provoke conflict with Dutch commercial interests. This limitation became important because Dutch traders were already active in Greenland and were able to offer goods at more competitive prices. On 2 May 1721, Egede departed Bergen aboard the Haabet with two accompanying boats. On 3 July he established Hope Colony, or Haabets Colonie, on the Island of Hope, now known as Kangeq, near the modern Nuuk fjord system. The settlement suffered severely from scurvy, and most of the colonists soon returned to Europe. Egede, his family, and a small number of companions remained and continued the mission with later supply support. Egede explored Greenland’s western coast in search of Norse survivors and settlements. His investigations did not locate living Norse communities. The expedition’s interpretation of the ruins and churches associated with the medieval Eastern Settlement was hindered by contemporary geographical assumptions, including the belief that the Eastern Settlement lay on Greenland’s east coast and that a nearby strait connected the eastern and western sides of the island. These errors delayed accurate understanding of the Norse archaeological remains. The company also attempted to establish a whaling station at Nipisat Island. The station was destroyed by Dutch forces, and the company’s commercial operations could not compete effectively with Dutch traders. Its missionary activity was more durable: in 1724, Egede baptized his first Inuit child converts. The company itself became insolvent and went bankrupt in 1727. A subsequent royal attempt to replace it with a directly administered colony, including the construction of a fortress at Good Hope, also encountered severe difficulties and was abandoned in 1730. Although the Bergen Greenland Company failed financially and both of its initial settlements were eventually destroyed or abandoned, its broader political consequence was significant. Egede’s expedition and the company’s presence helped Denmark–Norway reassert sovereignty over Greenland. Later administrations adopted a more centralized structure, generally combining a state-backed trading monopoly with stronger naval protection. The company is therefore remembered less as a successful commercial enterprise than as an important early institution in the modern European colonization and missionary history of Greenland.

The Bergen Greenland Company emerged from early eighteenth-century Danish–Norwegian interest in Greenland and from Hans Egede’s conviction that descendants of the medieval Norse settlers might still inhabit the island. The company was established in 1721 with support from Bergen merchants, the Danish–Norwegian monarch Frederick IV, and the Royal Mission College. Its purposes were unusually broad for a private corporation: it was expected to develop trade and settlement, search for Norse survivors, promote Lutheran Christianity, and help restore Danish–Norwegian control over Greenland. The company’s charter gave it authority to administer the Greenland territory as it was then understood, including the ability to collect taxes, administer justice, and raise military and naval forces. The crown did not, however, grant a complete monopoly over whaling and trade. Danish–Norwegian officials feared that such a concession could antagonize the Dutch, whose ships and merchants were already active in Greenlandic waters. This decision left the company commercially exposed from the outset. Egede led the first expedition from Bergen on 2 May 1721 aboard the Haabet, accompanied by two other boats. The expedition reached the area of Baal’s River, corresponding to the modern Nuup Kangerlua, and on 3 July established Hope Colony on the Island of Hope, now Kangeq. The settlement was poorly suited to the health and circumstances of the colonists. Scurvy caused extensive suffering, and most settlers returned to Europe. Egede, his family, and a small residual group remained, later receiving supplies from ships sent from Europe. A central objective of the expedition was to locate the Norse settlers believed to have survived in Greenland. Egede explored portions of the western coast but found no living Norse communities. The search was complicated by inaccurate maps and assumptions inherited from contemporary European geography. The Eastern Settlement was thought to be on Greenland’s eastern coast, and a strait was believed to connect the island’s eastern and western regions. In 1723, Egede encountered ruins and churches associated with the medieval Norse settlement, but he interpreted them as remains of the Western Settlement. The failure to locate living Norse inhabitants redirected the company’s attention toward relations with Greenland’s Inuit population and toward commercial activity. The company attempted to establish a whaling station at Nipisat Island late in 1723. Dutch forces quickly burned the station. More generally, the Bergen Company struggled to compete with Dutch traders, whose goods were regarded as both less expensive and of better quality. Since the company lacked a secure monopoly, its commercial model could not reliably support the costs of distant settlement, supply, defense, and exploration. Missionary work was more successful than the company’s trading operations. Egede began learning about local communities and conducting Lutheran evangelization. In 1724 he baptized his first Inuit child converts, creating an institutional legacy that outlasted the corporation itself. The missionary effort also reinforced the Danish–Norwegian political claim to Greenland, linking religious activity with colonial administration. The company went bankrupt in 1727. Its settlements were ultimately destroyed or abandoned, and the private corporate experiment came to an end. The crown then tried to establish a directly administered colony. In 1728, Major Claus Paarss arrived with soldiers and convicts to construct a fortress and organize a royal settlement known as Good Hope, or Godthaab. Disease, including scurvy, undermined that attempt, and the group was recalled in 1730. The Bergen Greenland Company’s immediate record was therefore one of commercial failure, disease, inadequate logistical support, and conflict with established Dutch traders. Its historical importance lies in its role in reopening sustained Danish–Norwegian activity in Greenland. Later administrations learned from its collapse by creating stronger state control, granting trading monopolies, and providing more dependable naval support. In that sense, the company failed as a business but helped establish the political and institutional foundations for continuing Danish rule in Greenland.

• 1730

  Good Hope settlement recalled

  [1]Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The royal replacement settlement also failed amid disease and logistical problems, and its personnel were recalled.

• 1728

  Royal replacement colony attempted

  [1]Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The crown sent Major Claus Paarss with soldiers and convicts to build a fortress and establish the royal settlement of Good Hope.

• 1727

  Company bankrupt

  [1]Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Bergen Greenland Company became insolvent and ceased operating as a viable private corporation.

• 1724

  Early Inuit baptisms

  [1]Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Hans Egede baptized his first Inuit child converts, marking an important early achievement for the company’s missionary program.

• 1723

  Norse ruins investigated and Nipisat station founded

  [1]Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Egede’s exploration encountered ruins associated with the medieval Norse settlements, while the company also established a whaling station at Nipisat Island.

• 1723

  Nipisat whaling station destroyed

  [1]Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Dutch forces burned the company’s whaling station, exposing the weakness of its commercial position.

• 1722

  First resupply after the settlement crisis

  [1]Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org

  After scurvy devastated the settlement and most colonists returned home, Egede and a small group remained to receive later supply ships.

• 1721

  Company established

  [1]Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Bergen Greenland Company was organized to pursue Greenlandic trade, settlement, missionary work, and the search for surviving Norse inhabitants.

• 1721

  Hope Colony founded

  [1]Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Hans Egede established Hope Colony on the Island of Hope, now Kangeq, after departing Bergen with colonists and supplies.

A state-connected colonial and missionary trading corporation combining commercial exploration with the reassertion of Danish–Norwegian sovereignty in Greenland.

• Colonial commerce · 1721

  Greenland trade

  The company sought to develop commercial exchange between Denmark–Norway and Greenland. Its trading activities were constrained by the absence of an exclusive monopoly and by competition from Dutch merchants, whose goods were considered cheaper and better suited to the market. Trade was therefore an intended core activity rather than a commercially successful product line.

• Maritime extraction · 1723

  Whaling operations

  The Bergen Greenland Company attempted to operate a whaling station at Nipisat Island. The station was destroyed by Dutch forces, and the company did not develop a durable whaling business. The episode illustrated the military and commercial risks facing a small company operating in waters contested by stronger Dutch interests.

• Colonial administration · 1721

  Greenland settlement administration

  The company founded and administered Hope Colony and held delegated authority to govern, collect taxes, administer justice, and maintain defensive forces in Greenland. Settlement administration was undermined by scurvy, weak logistics, limited manpower, and the eventual destruction or abandonment of the company’s settlements.

• Religious mission · 1721

  Lutheran missionary work

  Missionary activity was supported by the Royal Mission College and led by Hans Egede. The work aimed initially at finding and reconverting presumed Norse survivors, but it increasingly focused on Inuit communities. Egede’s first recorded baptisms of Inuit child converts took place in 1724, giving the company a longer-lasting religious legacy than its commercial operations.

• 1723Norse settlement search

  Greenland

  Egede explored Greenland’s western coast and investigated ruins in an effort to locate surviving Norse communities and clarify the location of the medieval settlements.

  Outcome. No living Norse survivors were found, and contemporary geographical misconceptions led Egede to misidentify the ruins he encountered.

  Source
• 1723Nipisat whaling station

  Greenland

  The company attempted to add a whaling station to its Greenland operations at Nipisat Island.

  Outcome. Dutch forces burned the station, and the company’s commercial position continued to deteriorate.

  Source
• 1721Hope Colony expedition

  Greenland · Denmark–Norway

  Hans Egede led the company’s founding expedition from Bergen to Greenland, combining settlement, commercial exploration, missionary work, and the search for surviving Norse inhabitants.

  Outcome. Hope Colony was established, but scurvy forced most colonists to return. A small group led by Egede remained.

  Source
• 1721Greenland Lutheran mission

  Greenland

  The company supported Hans Egede’s Lutheran mission, initially conceived partly as an effort to reconnect with presumed Norse Christians and later directed substantially toward Inuit communities.

  Outcome. The mission produced early Inuit baptisms in 1724 and continued to influence later Danish administration after the company’s bankruptcy.

  Source

• 1727

  End private corporate administrationOther

  Background

  Disease, settlement failures, commercial competition, and the destruction of the Nipisat station left the company unable to sustain its Greenland operations.

  Action taken

  The company entered bankruptcy and ceased to function as the principal organizing institution for the colony.

  Aftermath

  The crown attempted to replace it with a directly administered settlement and later administrations adopted stronger state control and trading protections.

  Source

• 1721

  Combine commerce, colonization, and missionary workStrategy

  Background

  The company was created at a time when Danish–Norwegian authorities and Bergen merchants sought both commercial opportunities in Greenland and a renewed connection with the island’s presumed Norse population.

  Action taken

  It pursued trade, settlement, exploration, whaling, and Lutheran missionary activity under delegated administrative authority.

  Aftermath

  The combined mission proved difficult to finance and operate, but it helped re-establish a continuing Danish–Norwegian presence in Greenland.

  • Dutch traders — Dutch merchants continued to trade in Greenland and competed through lower-priced, higher-quality goods; Dutch forces also destroyed the company’s Nipisat whaling station.

  Source

• 1721

  Operate without a full Greenland trade monopolyStrategy

  Background

  The Danish–Norwegian king and his council were concerned that granting an exclusive whaling and trade monopoly could provoke the Dutch.

  Action taken

  The company received broad governmental powers but not an exclusive monopoly over Greenlandic whaling and trade.

  Aftermath

  The company faced direct Dutch competition and struggled to make its trading activities viable.

  • Dutch traders — They maintained a strong commercial presence and competed effectively on price and product quality.

  Source

• 1727

  Bergen Greenland Company declares bankruptcy[1]Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Bankruptcy

  Commercial difficulties, settlement problems, disease, and competition from Dutch traders culminated in the company’s bankruptcy.

• 1724

  Hans Egede begins baptizing Inuit converts[1]Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company’s missionary effort achieved an early milestone when Egede baptized his first Inuit child converts.

• 1723

  Bergen Company’s whaling station is destroyed[1]Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The company’s whaling station on Nipisat Island was burned by Dutch forces, further weakening its commercial prospects in Greenland.

• 1721

  Bergen Greenland Company establishes Hope Colony[1]Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Hans Egede’s expedition founded Hope Colony on the Island of Hope, now Kangeq, beginning the company’s settlement and missionary presence in Greenland.

1. 1Bergen Greenland Companyen.wikipedia.org