Hans Island

Hans Island is a small, empty island located in the Arctic, right in the middle of the Nares Strait. It belongs partly to Canada, in the territory of Nunavut, and partly to Greenland, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. The island is very small, covering about 130 hectares, and it stretches about 1,290 meters long by 1,199 meters wide.

For many years, Canada and Denmark disagreed about who the island belonged to. This disagreement was sometimes called the "Whisky War" because both countries placed bottles of whisky on the island to show their claim, but there was no real fighting. Finally, in June 2022, the two countries agreed to split the island almost equally between them.

Hans Island has been a place where Inuit people hunted for many hundreds of years. Today, the island remains a quiet, uninhabited spot in the Arctic, but it holds importance because of the agreement between Canada and Denmark.

Geology

Hans Island is made up of limestone from ancient times. The rock layers there tell us about the sea creatures that lived long ago.

The island also has signs that glaciers once moved over it, shaping the land in their path.

Etymology

The island is named after Hans Hendrik, whose native Greenlandic name was Suersaq. Hendrik was an Arctic traveller and translator who worked on many Arctic expeditions between 1853 and 1876.

Before 2005, people thought the island was named during an expedition led by Charles Francis Hall between 1871 and 1873. The first time the island was written about was in a book from 1876 by Charles Henry Davis, which told about Hall's journey to the North Pole. The island was also mentioned in another book from 1879 by Emil Bessels, who was the doctor on that expedition.

Even earlier, in 1857, Elisha Kent Kane wrote about seeing a small island which he named Hans Island after his helper, Hans Hendrik, during an earlier Arctic trip. This helps explain how the island got its name.

History and disputed sovereignty

Main article: Whisky War

The fight over Hans Island, called the Whisky War, is often called "the friendliest war" because it was one of the most peaceful boundary disputes in history.

Early history

People from Inuit communities in northern Greenland or Canada likely knew about the island for hundreds of years. In the mid-1800s, European explorers began looking at the area, partly to find missing British explorer Sir John Franklin and partly to search for the Northwest Passage.

In 1933, an international court decided Greenland belonged to Denmark. Denmark says rocks and land show Hans Island is part of Greenland, so it should belong to Denmark too.

1972–73 border treaty

In 1972, teams from Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark measured Hans Island. When they talked about drawing their sea border in 1973, both countries said the island should belong to them, but they could not agree.

A treaty signed that year drew a line for the sea border north and south of the island but left a gap right around Hans Island.

Joint administration

In the 1980s, a writer in Greenland told a story about someone wearing a hat that said "Hans Island, N.W.T." This person was a scientist who had been studying ice on the island.

Denmark and Canada talked about working together to protect the ocean around the island. Denmark put a flag on the island and left a small note saying, "Welcome to the Danish Island." Canada replied with its own flag and a bottle of Canadian drink.

Media attention and continuing negotiations

The dispute became famous in 2004 when news stories said Denmark had sent ships to the island.

Canada and Denmark kept the dispute light-hearted. When Danish forces visited, they left a bottle of special drink. When Canadian forces came, they left a bottle of Canadian drink and a sign saying, "Welcome to Canada."

Talks to solve the issue started in 2012. In 2018, the two countries created a special team to decide the border.

Resolution

In June 2022, Canada and Denmark agreed to split Hans Island down the middle after many years of talks. The border now runs through the center of the island, with Canada getting about 40% and Denmark about 60%. The treaty was approved by Denmark's parliament in December 2023.

The new border allows people to visit the whole island without passport checks.

The new border according to the treaty and laws

Denmark passed its final law on the border in December 2023. The treaty has three points on the land and many points at sea to draw the border. The three land points are:

• Point T1: 80° 49′ 17.2″ N 66° 27′ 02.4″ W
• Point T2: 80° 49′ 33.1″ N 66° 27′ 52.3″ W
• Point T3: 80° 49′ 54.6″ N 66° 27′ 24.0″ W