Lately, the US government has placed mounting pressure on Denmark to give up its claims to Greenland. President Donald Trump even questioned Denmark’s territorial right to the world’s biggest island. But as Danish journalist Steen Jørgenssen showed, the US officially recognized Denmark’s possession of the island over a century ago in order to purchase another Danish territory: the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. Jørgenssen, a reporter for the newspaper Jyllands-Posten, told the World’s Host Marco Werman about his investigation leading to the original treaty signed by the US and Denmark in the Scandinavian country’s National Archive.
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. If you’ve been thinking about making a donation, this is the best time to do it. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. All donations between now and June 30 will be matched 2:1. Will you help keep our newsroom on strong footing by giving to The World?