Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/864

 GREENLAND

778

GREENLAND

attain tlie height of twelve to fifteen feet. Farming is not to be thought of; even the hardy potato yielils only here and there a small return. On the other hand, some vegetables, especially lettuce and cabbage, thrive comparatively well. The dog is the only domesticated animal. Chickens, sheep, goats, and horned cattle are bred only occasionally. For same there are the reindeer, moose, and arctic hare, besides numberless bears and foxes which are constantly hunted for their valuable skins. Numerous species of birds furnish the inhabitants with food — the flesh of the ptarmigan and the eggs of the sea gull — while the eider duck yields its down. Whaling, seal-hunting, and fishing are of vital importance. Navigation on any considerable scale is possible only during the summer. Communi- cation between the different settlements is maintained by means of the umink, a boat made of sealskin, generally about thirty feet in length. For hunting antl fishing the Greenlander uses the kajnk, a boat propelled l:)y means of paddles. The staple exports of Creenland are whale-oil, theskins of seals, bears, and foxes, eiderdown, and kryolith, all amounting to about 500,000 kronen. The value of the imports — coal, foodstuffs, and articles of common use — is about double that of the exports.

The original inhabitants of Greenland, the Eskimos, belong to the Mongolian race and are for the most part at least nominal Christians, under the juris- diction of the Bishop of Zealand. A number of the inhabitants residing on the east coast are still pagans. The creed of the latter shows pantheistic tendencies, and the e.xercise of their religion consists in certain forms of prayer and curious ceremonies. Without any clear conception of their responsibility to a su- preme being they have, nevertheless, rude notions of heaven and hell. Their priests are at the same time teachers, judges, and doctors. Naturally amiable, though somewhat irascible and vindictive, and care- less of cleanliness, the Christian Eskimos need con- stant guidance to prevent their relapsing into the general disregard for morality, which formerly ob- tained among them. The lords of the land are some 300 Danes. Politically, the country is divided into the North and South Inspectorates. The most notable settlements are: Godthaab, Neuherrenhut, Christiane- haab, Jakobshavn, Fredrikshaab, Claushavn, Fisker- nas, Sukkertoppen, Ritenbenk, Sydbay, Nosoak, Holstenborg, Egedeminde, Upernivik.

History. — Greenland can hardly be said to possess any political history as the small number of its in- habitants precluded its exerting any influence on the destiny of other countries. Although many histor- ians claim that the Norse colony, which flourished there during the Middle Ages, was destroyed by the Skralings (Eskimos'), proof is wanting, and, consider- ing the pacific character of the Eskimos, it is more probable that the colonists, relatively few in num- ber, lost their identity by intermarriage with the aborigines. It is, however, an established fact that the Eskimos were in Greenland (at least transiently) at the time the Norseman Gunnb,]6rn set foot on the island and when Eric the Red of Iceland settled there (983). Eric gave the island its name. In the "Is- lendingabok", written about a century later by Are Frothi, it is stated that there were foimd on the island numerous deserted huts, parts of boats, and various stone implements such as are in use even unto this day in the north-east and the west around Disko Bay and the Umanak Fiord. Erik named his first settle- ment (the site is unknown) Brattahlid. Kinsmen and friends soon joined him, and in a .short time the .Vorse population grew consideralily. With Christian- ity a higher civilization entered the island. When Norway took possession of Greenland there were more than three hundred farms, supporting a popidation of over three thousand, partly in Ostrabygd. partly in Wcstrabygd (both places on the western coast). The

means of subsistence were ])raclically the same as those of to-day, except that cattle-raising was more general.

Greenland was considered a possession of the Nor- wegian Crown as late as the time of the Union of Kal- mar (see Styffe, Skandinavien under Unionstiden, II, Stockholm, 1880, p. 355). The continued disturb- ances in the Scandinavian kingdoms caused these remote colonies to be forgotten. Eventually, all relations between the Norse settlers and their mother country ceased, and Greenland kept only a shadowy existence in the European geographies. Tradition had it that the island was rich in game (reindeer, polar bears, sables, marten, fish, and certain "monsters" — perhaps walrus), and that it abounded in marble, crystals, and so on. Its inhabitants were, mihappily, lost to C'hristianity. The efforts of Archbishop Wal- kendorf of Trondhjem, to assist the lost Norse breth- ren, entled in failure. A general permission to settle there, granted by King Christian III, was also fruit- less ; the perils of the sea journey deterred his subjects. The honour of having practically rediscovered Cireen- land belongs to the English. Commissioned by (Jue^pn Elizabeth, Frobisher made several voyages northwards, between 1576 and 1578, and at last suc- ceeded in reaching his goal. The work begun by him was continued by his countryman, Davis. The Dan- ish Kings, who, as sovereigns of Norway, claimed Greenland, also sent expeditions there, the most suc- cessful of which was that of Dannels (1052-54). In the beginning of the eighteenth century the settlement and Christianization of Greenland recommenced. Factories were erected in Christianehaab (1734), Jacobshavn (1741) and Fredrikshaab (1742). Com- merce was developed partly by individuals (e. g. the merchant Severin, 17'J4) and partly by commercial companies ((lUniinili-lii/ Ilandclskompdni, 1774). Since then the Government itself has assumed control of the Greenland trade. In addition to the settlements established by the Government, the Moravian Brethren have founded several stations. The eastern coast of fireenland was not properly explored and described until the nineteenth centurv — by Scorcsbv (1822), Clavering (1S23), Graah (1829), the German expedi- tion (1869), and the Danish expedition (1883-85).

The church history of Greenland naturally divides itself into two periods: the Catholic period, from about 1000 to 1450, and the Protestant period, since 1721. Leif the Happy (Hepni), son of Erik the Red, visited Norway in 990, where he was won over to Christianity by King Olaf Trygvesson, who sent some missionaries to accompany him to his country. In a remarkably short time these missionaries succeeded in converting the Norse colonists, at least outwardly, and in establishing an organized Chm'ch. Sixteen parishes were founded successively, together with churches and even a few monasteries. As the dis- tance to Europe made commimication very difficult, Greenland,inspiteof the small number of souls which it contained, was formed into the Diocese of Gardar, suf- fragan first to the Archbishopric of Hamburg-Bremen, then to that of Lund, and viltimatelytothat of Trondh- jem. The succession of its bishops is variously listed by Gams and by Eubel, and can hardly be ascertained with certainty at present. But tliis much seems certain that, before the colony perished, sixteen to eighteen bishops of various nationalities occupied the See of Gardar or at least were nominated to it. Their doings are unknown to history. Tradition has it that Bishop Erik Gnupson joined an expedition in 1121 for the purpose of locating again the eastern coast of North America which had been discovered 100 years previously. During the reign of Bishop Arnes (1314- 43) Greenland contributed its quota in natural prod- ucts (walrus teeth) toward the Peter's-pence and the expense of the Crusades. It appears that no liishop visited Greenland after the beginning of the fifteenth century. The succession of titular bishops closes with