Greenland was colonized by Norwegian Vikings, led by Erik the Red in 985. The Norse settlers had died out or left by 1400, but Greenland was still thought to be a part of the Kingdom of Norway. The native Eskimo population never formed any organized state, so when Norway became a part of a greater Scandinavian union, known as the Kalmar Union in 1397, Greenland became a part of that state as well.

Since the union was led by the Danish monarchy, Greenland became a Danish colony as the years passed by. The harsh climate made traditional farming impossible, and the native population had little of value to trade with. As a result, the Danish-Norwegian kings had little interest in the island until the late 1600´s, when Dutch and English ships began showing up in the area, and the Danes wanted to claim their ownership of the area.

When Denmark lost Norway to Sweden following the Napoleonic Wars, the medieval Norwegian colonies of Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands remained part of the Danish monarchy.

A royal trading company ruled Greenland, until 1857 when local administrations was set up by the newly formed Danish parliament. The focus of the Danish colonizers was to "civilize" and baptize the native population, but by 1908 most Eskimos had become Christians and Greenland was made into a ordinary part of the church of Denmark.

As the population increased, the traditional hunting and gathering which had kept the natives alive, even when the Norse died out, was beginning to reach its limits of sustainability, and the Danish government tried introducing modern fishing industry to Greenland.

When Denmark sold the Virgin Islands to the USA in 1917, the US formally recognized Denmark as the sovereign of the entire island, all thought most people lived on the western side, close to the Danish administrative center of Nuuk (Godthåb in Danish.) Other countries soon followed suit, but in 1931 Norwegian fishers "occupied" part East Greenland. The dispute was settled at the international court in The Hague, when the court sided with Denmark’s claim on the entire island.

During the German occupation of Denmark during World War II, Greenland remained unoccupied, and skirmishes took place between the Danish sled patrol, Sirius, and German weather engineers. To ensure that neither Axis nor Allies took control of Greenland the provisional governors of Greenland, Eske Bruun and Aksel Svane made contact with the then neutral US, and asked them to take military control of the island, to ensure that the British and the Germans stayed away. After the war, the USAF base at Thule, became a strategic refueling station for the US Strategic Air Command, the agency in charge of the Nuclear arsenal of the US. Maintaining the base was therefore important to the US, and it was one of the reason Denmark was one of the founding members of NATO in 1949.

In 1953 Greenland became an integral part of Denmark and Greenland was form then on represented by two members in the Danish Folketing. Heavy investments was put into the modernization of Greenland, but the economy of Greenland has never been able to produce a profit, and is dependent on a big grant (Bloktilskud) from the Danish government.

When Denmark joined the EU in 1973, many Greenlanders felt that they had been dragged into it by the Danes, as 70% of the population had votes no to joining in the national referendum. As a result, the local government of Greenland, decided to redraw Greenland from the EU and in 1985 they left. It proved a sign of growing dissatisfaction with the Danish sovereignty of the island.

In 2008 a referendum was held, deciding whether Greenland should seek increased autonomy. 76% voted yes, and since 2009 Greenland has been in a process of taking over many of the rights and obligations that the Danish Folketing held formerly.

As of today, Greenland is thus atonoumus in many ways, but they still rely on a grant from the Danish of about 500 million USD each year, even though the population is just 55.000 people. Some Greenlanders seek further independence, but many feel a connection, especially to the Danish monarchy. As many Greenlanders live in Denmark, as in Greenland. Greenland lack both education and job possibility’s, which many find in Denmark.

To sum it up: Greenland was part of Norway then passed to Denmark in 1814, and has been a part ever since. The population is just 55.000 and they need grants from the Danish government to keep the economy afloat.

Sources: They are all in Danish, but If you want to look into an English work on Scandinavia and her colonies, I would recommend “Scandinavia since 1500” by Byron J. Nordstrom. http://www.dst.dk/Site/Dst/Udgivelser/GetPubFile.aspx?id=22258&sid=faro Data on the current economy of Greenland and Denmark. http://denstoredanske.dk/Geografi_og_historie/Gr%C3%B8nland/Gr%C3%B8nlands_samfund,kultur_og_historie/Gr%C3%B8nland(Historie)/Gr%C3%B8nland_(Historie_-_Efter_1979) A Danish encyclopedia of great prestige, this article is on the resent history of Greenland.

TL:DR: Greenland is large and the population is small, they rely on Denmark to uphold their economy and territorial integrity.