The Norse explorer Erik the Red arrives in Greenland with a fleet of Viking ships, according to the medieval Icelandic sagas. The Norsemen established two settlements that had a peak population of 2,500-5,000 but disappeared around 1450 for unknown reasons.

The island briefly fell under the protection of the United States, which was interested in its critical weather stations, after Germany occupied Denmark during World War II. President Harry Truman offered $100 million − about $1.3 billion today − in gold to Denmark for Greenland after the war but they declined the offer.

Greenland’s likely new prime minister on Wednesday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s effort to take control of the island, saying Greenlanders must be allowed to decide their own future as it moves toward independence from Denmark.