The debate over Greenland revives a question that has shaped America’s rise for more than two centuries
When US President Donald Trump revived the idea of buying Greenland – and refused to rule out stronger measures if Denmark declined – the reaction across Europe was swift and indignant. The proposal was framed as an anachronism: a throwback to imperial horse-trading that modern international politics had supposedly outgrown.
But the outrage obscures an uncomfortable historical reality. The United States was not only forged through revolution and war; it was also built through transactions – large-scale territorial purchases concluded at moments when the balance of power left the seller with limited options. From continental expanses to strategic islands, Washington has repeatedly expanded its reach by writing checks backed by leverage.
If the idea of buying land now sounds jarring, it is worth recalling that some of the largest such deals helped shape the United States into the country we know today. To understand why the Greenland debate resonates so strongly, we should revisit the major acquisitions that redrew the American map.
Louisiana: The biggest purchase
French explorers ventured into the Mississippi Valley in the late 17th century, claiming new territories and naming this vast expanse Louisiana after King Louis XIV. In 1718, they established New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi, gradually populating the colony not just with French settlers but also through policies enacted by Louis that granted freedom to children born of unions between white settlers and black slaves. Still, the population remained sparse. The region’s bad climate and complex relationships with Native Americans made settlement difficult.
As a result, France didn’t particularly value this territory, despite its huge size: French Louisiana encompassed not just modern-day Louisiana but, either partially or wholly, the modern states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Texas, New Mexico, and even parts of Canada. Despite this, however, it was hard to find a Frenchman beyond New Orleans.
In 1763, following the Seven Years’ War, France ceded Louisiana to Spain. The Spanish administration didn’t oppress the French settlers and managed the colony quite competently. However, much of this enormous land remained largely uninhabited aside from the Native Americans. The total number of settlers, including black slaves, amounted to several tens of thousands of people.
By the early 19th century, Europe saw many changes. Napoleon regained control of Louisiana, aiming to revive France’s overseas empire. However, this ambition crumbled when his attempt to restore French rule in Haiti failed. A force sent by Napoleon was decimated by black rebels and succumbed to tropical diseases.
Against this backdrop, Napoleon quickly realized that he could not hold onto Louisiana, and the English or Americans would easily seize it. As for the US, it had mixed feelings about Louisiana; controlling the mouth of the Mississippi was crucial, but Americans were also wary of potential French aggression. Finally, US President Thomas Jefferson initiated negotiations with France for the purchase of Louisiana.
Napoleon saw this as a big opportunity. He recognized that he could get real money by selling the territory which France didn’t really need and couldn’t control.
Jefferson and the American side initially aimed to purchase only New Orleans and its surrounding areas, offering $10 million. However, the French surprised their American counterparts: they asked for $15 million, but as part of the deal, offered vast territories stretching up to Canada. However, beyond New Orleans, the French essentially sold the freedom to claim land inhabited by the Native Americans. The French had very little control over this vast territory, and the Native Americans didn’t even understand what the sale entailed. In fact, aside from the Native Americans, the vast territory was inhabited by only about 60,000 settlers, including black slaves.
Regardless, the deal was concluded, and America’s territory effectively doubled overnight. Robert Livingston, one of the Founding Fathers and then US ambassador to France, famously declared, “We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our whole lives… From this day the United States take their place among the powers of the first rank.”
In the case of Louisiana, both parties were pleased with the agreement. However, when it came to Florida, the seller wasn’t particularly thrilled.
Spain had discovered Florida in 1513. At that time, however, Spain didn’t see much value in this territory, and early colonization efforts were sluggish; it was mainly used as a military outpost. In the 18th century, Britain seized Florida from Spain, but during the American War of Independence, Spain regained control of its former colony. Similar to the situation with France and Louisiana, however, formal ownership did not equate to actual authority.
Meanwhile, American settlers flooded into Florida. Conflicts smoldered at the border; American settlers encroached upon Spanish lands, turning Florida into a constant battleground involving the US, the Native Americans, and occasionally the British. Spain struggled to respond effectively to these incursions. Furthermore, between 1807 and 1814, Spain was embroiled in a grueling war against Napoleon, during which the French temporarily occupied mainland Spain.
After the war, Spain was devastated and unable to fend off the Seminole Indians who were raiding the colony. Frustrated by the issues caused by the Seminoles, the Americans occupied most of Florida, claiming that the land had essentially been abandoned.
Spain decided that any gain was better than losing the territory outright. America officially compensated Spain $5 million for the damage resulting from its own invasions. By 1819, Spain had no choice but to cede Florida.
The 19th century was the age of colonial empires. But the US acquired the Virgin Islands in the 20th century, during the First World War.
Denmark isn’t the first country that comes to mind when discussing the struggle for control over the Caribbean Sea. But in 1672, the Danish West India Company annexed the small island of St. Thomas, followed shortly by the island of St. John. Denmark may have been an unusual colonizer, but its ambitions were quite ordinary. The Danes established sugar plantations and relied on slave labor. Sugar became the backbone of the Virgin Islands’ economy. However, by the mid-19th century, global market prices plummeted, prompting the Danes to consider getting rid of this asset.
Meanwhile, America was interested in acquiring the port at St. Thomas, but at the time, the deal fell through. The US decided that Alaska was a better investment and purchased it from Russia, which didn’t need the remote northern territory. For Russia, Alaska was far away and hard to defend; plus, the Russians had already reaped some quick profits from it. So the Virgin Islands remained under Danish control until the 20th century.
During WWI, the Americans revisited the idea of acquiring the Virgin Islands. Officially, the US was concerned that Germany might seize Denmark and take over the islands, using them as submarine bases. It sounded more like a pretext, since building a base so close to the US would have been no easy task, and supplying it would’ve been even harder. Regardless, the US decided to acquire the Virgin Islands and Denmark received an offer it couldn’t ignore.
US President Woodrow Wilson sent a clear warning: if Denmark didn’t sell the islands, America would occupy them – of course, merely to prevent them from falling into German hands. To soften the blow, Wilson sweetened the deal with an offer of $25 million in gold, which was about half of Denmark’s annual budget at the time.
Initially, Copenhagen hesitated, especially with the economic significance of the islands growing after the opening of the Panama Canal. But the Americans made it clear that the islands would fall under US control eventually, either the easy way or the hard way. Denmark held a referendum and handed over the islands to the US.
In August 1916, the two sides agreed on the sale. As part of this agreement, the US acknowledged Denmark’s rights to Greenland. By 1917, all formalities were settled, and the islands changed flags. Water Island was sold separately in 1944.
Interestingly, after WWII, the US once again turned its attention to Greenland, seeking to acquire it in the context of the Cold War. Denmark refused, though US military bases were established there. At one point, a strategic bomber carrying nuclear weapons crashed above Greenland – a fact the Danish public was wisely kept in the dark about.
In that sense, Donald Trump’s proposals are less unprecedented than they appear. The United States has expanded its territory through purchases for more than two centuries. Sometimes the seller was relieved to dispose of a distant or costly possession; at other times, agreement followed mounting pressure and strategic imbalance. Expansion through transaction was never an exception in American history – it was a recurring method.
Trump’s interest in Greenland fits squarely into that historical pattern. Like his predecessors, he appears drawn to the symbolism of enlarging America’s strategic footprint. Of course, a better idea might be to wait until Denmark finds itself in a crisis and then come out with a bag full of cash.
But the wait may be long, and patience is certainly not Trump’s strong suit.