View source for Hans Island

{{section move from|Whisky War|sections=History and disputed sovereignty|date=February 2025|discuss=Talk:Hans Island#History section should be moved to Whisky War}}
{{Short description|Island shared by Canada and Denmark}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=June 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox islands
| name                              = Hans Island
| native_name                       = {{plainlist|
* {{lang|iu-Latn|Tartupaluk}}{{nbsp|2}}{{nobold|([[Inuktitut]] and [[Greenlandic language|Greenlandic]])}}
* {{lang|iu|ᑕᕐᑐᐸᓗᒃ}} {{nobold|([[Inuktitut syllabics]])}}
* {{native name|da|Hans Ø}}
* {{native name|fr|Île Hans}}
}}
| native_name_link                  =
| native_name_lang                  =
| sobriquet                         = <!-- or |nickname= -->
| image_name                        = HansIsland.png
| image_size                        =
| image_caption                     = Hans Island from the east (Greenlandic) side, with [[Ellesmere Island]] in the distance
| image_alt                         =
| image_map                         = HansIslandLocator.png
| image_map_alt                     =
| image_map_size                    =
| image_map_caption                 = Location of Hans Island, between Greenland and Ellesmere Island
| pushpin_map                       = Canada Nunavut#Greenland
| pushpin_label                     =
| pushpin_label_position            =
| pushpin_map_alt                   =
| pushpin_relief                    =
| pushpin_map_caption               =
| coordinates                       = {{coord|80|49|35|N|66|27|30|W|type:isle_scale:50000|notes=<ref name=CGNDBE>{{cite cgndb |id=OAGVO |name=Hans Island}}</ref>|display=inline,title}}
| etymology                         =
| location                          = <!-- mandatory, body of water where located -->
| grid_reference                    = <!-- UK only -->
| archipelago                       =
| waterbody                         =
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| major_islands                     =
| area_km2                          = 1.3
| area_footnotes                    =
| rank                              =
| length_m                          = 1290
| length_footnotes                  =
| width_m                           = 1199
| width_footnotes                   =
| coastline_km                      = <!-- or |coastline_m= -->
| coastline_footnotes               =
| elevation_m                       = 168
| elevation_footnotes               =
| highest_mount                     =
| country                           = Canada
| country_admin_divisions_title     = [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Territory]]
| country_admin_divisions           = [[Nunavut]]
| country_admin_divisions_title_1   = [[List of regions of Nunavut|Region]]
| country_admin_divisions_1         = [[Qikiqtaaluk Region|Qikiqtaaluk]]
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| country_leader_title              = {{ubl|[[Monarchy of Canada|King of Canada]]|[[Prime Minister of Canada]]}}
| country_leader_name               = {{ubl|[[Charles III]]|[[Mark Carney]]}}
| country_area_km2                  = <!-- or |country_area_m2= or |country_area_ha= -->
| country1                          = [[Danish Realm]]
| country1_admin_divisions_title    = Autonomous territory 
| country1_admin_divisions          = [[Greenland]]
| country1_admin_divisions_title_1  = [[Administrative divisions of Greenland|Municipality]]
| country1_admin_divisions_1        = [[Avannaata]]
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| country1_leader_title             = {{ubl|[[Monarchy of Denmark|King of Denmark]]|[[Prime Minister of Greenland]]|[[Prime Minister of Denmark]]}}
| country1_leader_name              = {{ubl|[[Frederik X]]|[[Jens-Frederik Nielsen]]|[[Mette Frederiksen]]}}
| country1_area_km2                 = <!-- or |country1_area_m2= or |country1_area_ha= -->
| demonym                           =
| population                        = Uninhabited
| population_as_of                  = 2022
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| timezone1                         = [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]]
| timezone2                         = [[Time in the Danish Realm|WGT]]
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[[File:Nares strait border (Kennedy channel).png|thumb|300px|Map of part of [[Kennedy Channel]], with Hans Island]]

'''Hans Island''' ([[Inuktitut]] and {{langx|kl|Tartupaluk}}, {{literally|kidney shaped}};<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/canada-denmark-divide-small-arctic-island-ending-ownership-dispute-2022-06-14/|title=Canada and Denmark divide small Arctic island, ending ownership dispute|first=Nikolaj|last=Skydsgaard|newspaper=Reuters |date=14 June 2022|via=www.reuters.com}}</ref> [[Inuktitut syllabics]]: {{lang|iu|ᑕᕐᑐᐸᓗᒃ}}; {{langx|da|Hans Ø}}, {{IPA|da|hanˀs øˀ|pron}}; {{langx|fr|île Hans}}, {{IPA|fr|il ɑ̃(n)s|pron}}) is an island in the centre of the [[Kennedy Channel]] of the [[Nares Strait]] in the high [[Arctic]] region, split between the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian territory]] of [[Nunavut]] and the Danish autonomous territory of [[Greenland]]. 

The island itself is barren and uninhabited with an area of {{cvt|130|ha}}, measuring {{cvt|1290|by|1199|m}}, and a maximum elevation of {{cvt|168.17|m}}.<ref name="HarrisonOther2007a"/> Its location in the strait that separates [[Ellesmere Island]] of Canada from northern Greenland was for years a border dispute, the so-called [[Whisky War]] between the two countries of Canada and Denmark. Hans Island is the smallest of three islands in Kennedy Channel off the [[Washington Land]] coast; the others are [[Franklin Island (Greenland)|Franklin Island]] and [[Crozier Island]]. The strait at this point is {{cvt|35|km}} wide, placing the island within the [[territorial waters]] of both Canada and Denmark (Greenland). A {{cvt|1280|m}} shared border traverses the island.

The island has likely been part of [[Inuit]] hunting grounds since the 14th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/hansIsland/time.asp |title=Whose Hans? |publisher=[[Canadian Geographic]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130105210943/http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/hansIsland/time.asp |archive-date=5 January 2013}}</ref> It was claimed by both [[Canada–Denmark relations|Canada and Denmark]]<ref name="Ind">{{cite news|url=https://www.indy100.com/article/canada-and-denmark-are-locked-in-an-adorable-war--ZyQGiMZfNKl |title=Canada and Denmark are locked in an adorable war |last=McKernan |first=Bethan |date=13 November 2015 |work=i100.co.uk |access-date=14 November 2015}}</ref> until 14 June 2022, when both countries agreed to split the disputed island roughly in half. In accordance with the Greenland home rule treaty, Denmark handles certain foreign affairs, such as border disputes, on behalf of the entire [[Danish Realm]].

==Geology==
As determined by field investigations and the interpretation of satellite image maps and monochrome stereoscopic air photographs, the exposed portion of Hans Island consists of {{cvt|195|m}} of [[Silurian]] limestone. From its summit to sea level, it consists of an upper {{cvt|60|m}} thick yellowish brown to grey [[Megalodon (bivalve)|megalodont bivalve]] and [[Stromatoporoidea|stromatoporoid]] limestone; a {{cvt|10-12|m}} thick pale yellowish brown to pale grey [[Marker horizon|marker bed]]; and a {{cvt|125|m}} thick yellowish brown to brownish grey weathering, locally cliff-forming, [[coral]], megalodont [[Bivalvia|bivalve]] and stromatoporoid [[limestone]]. These [[Stratum|strata]] are assigned to the uppermost [[carbonate]] buildup [[facies]] of the Allen Bay Formation of Canada and part of the Kap Morton Formation of [[Washington Land]], Greenland.<ref name="HarrisonOther2007a">{{Cite journal | title=Geology of Hans Island and adjacent parts of Kennedy Channel, northwest Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat) and northern Nunavut (Canada) | last1 = Harrison | first1 = J. C. | last2 = Dewing | first2 = K. | last3 = Mayr| first3 = U. | journal= Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 5321 | date=2007 | url= https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/starweb/geoscan/servlet.starweb?path=geoscan/fulle.web&search1=R=224255 | access-date=2022-06-17}}</ref><ref name="Dawes2004a">{{Cite journal | title= Explanatory notes to the Geological map of Greenland, 1:500 000, Humboldt Gletscher, Sheet 6 | last1 = Dawes | first1 = P. R. | journal= Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Map Series 1: Copenhagen: Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland | date=2004 | volume = 1 | pages = 1–48 | doi = 10.34194/geusm.v1.4615 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="DawesOtherOther2004a">{{Cite journal | title= Geological map of Greenland, 1:500 000, Humboldt Gletscher, sheet 6. | last1 = Harrison | first1 = J. C. | last2 = Garde | first2 = A. A. | journal= Copenhagen: Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland | date=2004 }}</ref>

The limestone of Hans Island are underlain by Lower [[Cambrian]] to middle Silurian strata that are at least {{cvt|3300|m}} thick. These sedimentary strata underlying Washington Land, Hans Island and most of subsurface [[Kennedy Channel]] are undeformed with a [[Strike and dip|northwesterly dip]] of 1 to 3 degrees. They contain [[source rock]]s that may have been heated enough to have generated significant amounts of oil and gas. However, these strata lack the geological structures and facies changes capable of [[Petroleum trap|trapping these hydrocarbons]] and forming commercial-size [[petroleum reservoir]]s.<ref name="HarrisonOther2007a"/>

The surface of Hans Island is covered by a veneer of unconsolidated glacial [[sediment]]. These sediments consist of a mixture of gravel, mud and boulders that form a discontinuous [[till]] veneer on its limestone surface over much of the island with the exception of its coastal cliffs and part of the [[intertidal zone]]. The gravel consists of angular to subrounded (kidney-shaped) limestone [[Clastic rock|clasts]] and large [[Glacial erratic|erratics]] of red [[granite]]s and [[granitoid]] and [[garnet]] [[gneiss]]es.<ref name="HarrisonOther2007a"/>

This surface also exhibits erosional features indicative of the streaming of an [[ice sheet]] through Kennedy Channel. These glacial features include [[glacial striation]]s on [[bedrock]]; glacially-polished bedrock; linear-aligned crescentic fractures; sickle-shaped, comma-form, and longitudinal grooves and furrows. In addition, linear glacial [[Flute (glacial)|flutes and ridges]] can be mapped from aerial photography and profile of the island also has a stream-lined form suggestive of glacial sculpting.<ref name="HarrisonOther2007a"/>

== Etymology ==
The island is named after [[Hans Hendrik]], whose native [[Greenlandic language|Greenlandic]] name was {{lang|kl|Suersaq}}. Hendrik was an [[Arctic exploration|Arctic traveller]] and translator who worked on the American and British Arctic expeditions of [[Elisha Kent Kane]] ([[Second Grinnell expedition]]), [[Charles Francis Hall]], [[Isaac Israel Hayes]] and [[George Nares|George Strong Nares]], from 1853 to 1876.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Harper |first1=Kenn |title=Taissumani: August 11, 1889 – The Death of Hans Hendrik |url=https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/taissumani_august_11_1889_-_the_death_of_hans_hendrik/ |website=Nunatsiaq News |access-date=14 June 2022 |date=5 August 2005}}</ref>

Prior to 2005, the island was thought to have been named during Charles Francis Hall's third [[Arctic]] voyage, the [[Polaris expedition|''Polaris'' expedition]], between 1871 and 1873. The first written reference to the name and the island itself appears in [[Charles Henry Davis]]'s book ''Narrative of the North Polar expedition'' (1876), which is a narrative of Hall's fatal [[North Pole]] expedition. On page 407 it appears, without any previous mention. The island made its first cartographic appearance on a map accompanying the book.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

Charles Henry Davis writes,

{{blockquote|The ship was tied to a large [[Drift ice|floe]], and drifted slowly down the channel with the pack; about noon, she was quite near Hans Island and west of it. The latitude by observation was 80°48′ N; longitude 68°38′ W. The ship continued to drift, and at 7&nbsp;p.m. was midway between Hans and [[Franklin Island (Greenland)|Franklin Island]], which are ten miles.{{efn|Hans and Franklin are {{cvt|19|km}} from each other, so it is likely that Davis meant [[nautical mile]]s, {{cvt|10|nmi}} distant from each other. Soundings were taken at a depth of {{convert|203|fathom|m ft|lk=in}}, with a bottom of black [[limestone]].}}}}

He was referring to the ship [[USS Polaris (1871)|''Polaris'']]'s return voyage southward down the Kennedy Channel. This does not answer when it was named. The ship's doctor and leader of the scientific part of the expedition, [[Emil Bessels]], mentioned the island in his own book, {{lang|de|Die amerikanische Nordpol-Expedition}} (1879). He tells that on 29 August 1871, on the voyage north through Kennedy Channel, the ''Polaris'' sailed between {{lang|de|[[Grinnell Land|Grinnell-Land]]}} ([[Ellesmere Island]]) and a small island "which was named Hans Island" ({{langx|de|welches Hans-Insel genannt wurde|link=no}}), without further explanation of the name.

An earlier mention of a Hans Island expedition is in Elisha Kent Kane's account of the [[Second Grinnell expedition]], ''Arctic Explorations: The Second Grinnell Expedition, 1853, ’54, ’55'', (published 1857), in pages 317–319. Thus the year 1853 is now often cited as the date of the first European discovery and naming of the island, including in a letter by the Danish Ambassador to Canada in the ''[[Ottawa Citizen]]'' on 28 July 2005.

{{blockquote|We now neared the Littleton Island of Captain Inglefield where a piece of good fortune awaited us. We saw a number of ducks, both eiders and [[Long-tailed duck|hareldas]]; and it occurred to me that by tracking their flight we should reach their breeding-grounds. There was no trouble in doing so, for they flew in a bee-line to a group of rocky islets, ... A rugged little ledge, which I named Eider Island, was so thickly colonized that we could hardly walk without treading on a nest ... Nearby was a low and isolated rock-ledge, which we called Hans Island. The glaucous gulls, those cormorants of the Arctic seas, had made it their peculiar homestead.}}

[[Littleton Islands|Littleton Island]] ({{langx|kl|Pikiuleq}}) is approximately {{cvt|1|km}} from Greenland's coast, right in [[Smith Sound]]. It is about {{cvt|300|km}} south of the island today called Hans Island. Around it and the coast of Greenland lay dozens{{verify source|date=August 2017}} of tiny islands, and Kane named one of them Hans Island after Hans Hendrik, the native Greenlandic helper he had with him on the trip. That this is the current Littleton Island is confirmed by Kane mentioning [[Edward Augustus Inglefield]], who named Littleton Island.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

The names of many places in this region have changed or been altered during the last 100 years. For example, the name of [[Nares Strait]] (named after [[George Nares|George Strong Nares]]), separating Ellesmere Island and northern Greenland, was not agreed upon between the Danish and Canadian governments until 1964.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

==History and disputed sovereignty==
{{Main|Whisky War}}

The conflict over the island, known as the [[Whisky War]], has been alternately described as "one of the most passive-aggressive boundary disputes in history" and "the friendliest war."<ref>{{cite news |title=Canada to get new land border with Denmark as decades-long Hans Island dispute ends |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canada-to-get-new-land-border-with-denmark-as-decades-long-hans-island-dispute-ends |access-date=2022-06-14 |newspaper=National Post |date=13 June 2022 |language=en-CA|last1=Hopper |first1=Tristin }}</ref>

===Early history===
[[Inuit]] living in northern Greenland or Canada would have known the island for centuries. In the mid 19th century, [[Nares Strait]] was likely unknown to Europeans.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1099&context=iclr |title=Hans Off!: The Struggle for Hans Island and the Potential Ramifications for International Border Dispute Resolution |journal=[[Boston College International and Comparative Law Review]] |volume=30 |year=2007 |last=Stevenson |first=Christopher |quote=By most accounts, the first western explorer to discover and name Hans Island was American Charles Francis Hall. |page=265}}</ref> It is not known whether [[Norsemen]] visited the island in the centuries when Greenland was inhabited by them.

From 1850 to 1880, the area in which Hans Island is situated was explored by American and British expeditions. These expeditions were a response partly due to the popular search for the missing British explorer [[John Franklin]], and partly to search for the elusive [[Northwest Passage]] and/or reach the [[North Pole]].

The Danish "Celebration Expedition" of 1920 to 1923 accurately mapped the whole region of the northern Greenland coast from [[Cape York (Greenland)|Cape York]] ({{Langx|kl|Perlernerit|label=none}}, {{Langx|da|Kap York|label=none}}) to [[Danmark Fjord]] ({{Langx|da|Danmarksfjorden|label=none}}).

In 1933, the [[Permanent Court of International Justice]] declared the legal status of Greenland in favour of Denmark. Denmark claims geological evidence points to Hans Island being part of Greenland, and therefore it belongs to Denmark by extension of the Court's ruling.<ref name="survey">{{cite book|title=The Politics of Maritime Power: A Survey |date=18 October 2010 |editor-first=Andrew T.H. |editor-last=Tan |publisher=[[Routledge]], Taylor & Francis Group |page=186 |isbn=9781136833434 |access-date=23 Feb 2019 |language=en |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qoesAgAAQBAJ&q=Canadian+firm+Dome+Petroleum+did+research+on+and+around+the+island&pg=PA186}}</ref>

Since the 1960s, numerous surveys have been undertaken in the Nares Strait region, including seismic, ice flow, mapping, archaeological and economic surveys. Canadian-based [[Dome Petroleum]] made surveys on and around Hans Island from 1980 to 1983, to investigate the movement of ice masses.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}}

===1972–73 border treaty===
In 1972, a team consisting of personnel from the [[Canadian Hydrographic Service]] and Danish personnel working in the Nares Strait determined the geographic coordinates for Hans Island. During negotiations between Canada and Denmark on their [[maritime boundary]] in 1973, both states claimed Hans Island was part of their territory. No agreement was reached between the two governments on the issue.

The maritime boundary immediately north and south of Hans Island was established in the [[continental shelf]] treaty ratified by Denmark and Canada and then submitted to the [[United Nations]] on 17 December 1973, in force since 13 March 1974.<ref>{{cite web|title=Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Government of Canada relating to the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Greenland and Canada (17 December 1973) |url=https://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TREATIES/DNK-CAN1973CS.PDF |website=Delimitation Treaties Infobase |publisher=[[United Nations]] |access-date=20 February 2017 |date=13 March 2002}}</ref> At the time, it was the longest shelf boundary treaty ever negotiated and may have been the first ever continental shelf boundary developed by a computer.

{{blockquote|The Government of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Government of Canada, having decided to establish in the area between Greenland and the Canadian Arctic Islands a dividing line beyond which neither Party exercising its rights under the Convention on the Continental Shelf of April/29/1958 will extend its sovereign rights for the purpose of exploration and exploitation of the natural resources of the continental shelf…}}

The treaty lists 127 points ([[latitude]] and [[longitude]]) from [[Davis Strait]] to the end of [[Robeson Channel]], where the Nares Strait runs into the [[Lincoln Sea]], to draw [[Geodesics on an ellipsoid|geodesic]] lines between, to form the border. The treaty does not, however, draw a line from point&nbsp;122 ({{coord|80|49|12|N|66|29|00|W|}}) to point&nbsp;123 ({{coord|80|49|48|N|66|26|18|W|}}), a distance of {{cvt|1370|m}}, because Hans Island is situated in between those two points.<ref>{{cite web|title=Limits in the Seas No. 72 - Continental Shelf Boundary - Canada--Greenland |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/61370.pdf|publisher=U.S. Department of State |access-date=20 February 2017 |date=4 August 1976}}</ref>

=== Joint administration ===
In 1984, [[Iqaluit]]-based [[Kenn Harper]], a historian and writer for ''[[Nunatsiaq News]]'', wrote an article about Hans Island. It was printed in ''Hainang'', a local newspaper in [[Qaanaaq]] in northwestern Greenland. This article was picked up by a Danish newspaper in [[Copenhagen]] and by [[CBC Radio]] in Canada.<ref name="harper2004">{{cite web |last=Harper |first=Kenn |title=Hans Island rightfully belongs to Greenland, Denmark |website=Nunatsiaq News |date=9 April 2004 |url=http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/archives/40514/opinionEditorial/opinions.html |access-date=23 June 2022|archive-date=14 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214202005/http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/archives/40514/opinionEditorial/opinions.html}}</ref>

This article was sparked because of a chance encounter on the ice near [[Resolute, Nunavut|Resolute]], in the [[Northern Canada|Canadian Arctic]] in the autumn of 1983. According to Harper, he met a man wearing a hat with bold capitals around the side of the hat saying "Hans Island, N.W.T." This man was a scientist with Dome Petroleum who had just spent the summer on the island doing ice research. Dome Petroleum did research on and around the island from 1980 to 1983.<ref name="harper2004"/><ref name="Kristiansen 2002">{{cite web |title=Desolate Dispute: A Study of a Hypothetical International Court of Justice (ICI) Decision |last=Kristiansen |first=Ryan |work=Canadian Military Journal |volume=13 |issue=3 |date=2002-08-13 |url=http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vol13/no3/page34-eng.asp |access-date=2019-09-05}}</ref>

Simultaneously, the Danish and Canadian governments were in the process of signing a cooperation agreement in relation to the [[Marine habitat|marine environment]] in the [[Nares Strait]]. The agreement was signed and put into force on 26 August 1983.<ref>"[https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201348/volume-1348-I-22693-English.pdf "Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Government of Canada for Cooperation Relating to the Marine Environment"], 1983-08-26, United Nations, New York.</ref> The Agreement addresses protection of the marine environment of the waters lying between Canada and Greenland, particularly with respect to preparedness measures as a contingency against pollution incidents resulting from offshore [[hydrocarbon exploration]] or exploitation and from shipping activities that may affect the marine environment.

One of the items also discussed was the possibility of establishing a reciprocal arrangement for processing applications to conduct research on and around Hans Island. This was never signed; however, Canadian [[John Munro (Canadian politician)|John Munro]], at the time [[Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs|Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development]], and Dane [[Tom Høyem]], at the time [[Minister for Greenland]], agreed, in common interest, to avoid acts that might prejudice future negotiations.

However, unknown to the politicians, Dome Petroleum was doing research on the island.<ref name="The Post">{{cite web |title=Hans off Our Island! |website=[[The Copenhagen Post]] |date=2014-10-10 |url=http://cphpost.dk/history/hans-off-our-island.html |access-date=2019-09-06}}</ref>

In 1984, the Danish Minister for Greenland planted the Danish flag on the island and left a little message saying "{{lang|da|Velkommen til den danske ø}} ({{langx|en|Welcome to the Danish Island}}).<ref name="cbc.ca">{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/canada-denmark-agree-to-resolve-dispute-over-arctic-island-1.551223 |title=Canada, Denmark agree to resolve dispute over Arctic island |work=[[CBC News]] |date=19 September 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070127022021/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/canada-denmark-agree-to-resolve-dispute-over-arctic-island-1.551223 |archive-date=27 January 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> It is also said he left a bottle of [[brandy]];<ref name="cbc.ca"/> this seems to have been [[Schnapps]],<ref name="The New York Times 2016">{{cite web | title=Canada and Denmark Fight Over Island With Whisky and Schnapps | website=The New York Times | date=2016-11-08 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/08/world/what-in-the-world/canada-denmark-hans-island-whisky-schnapps.html | access-date=2019-09-06}}</ref> a traditional Danish spirit. It is commonly told, internally in the [[Royal Danish Navy]], that it was specifically a bottle of [[Gammel Dansk]], which translates literally to 'Old Danish'. The Canadians have reciprocated with their own sign, the flag of Canada and a bottle of [[Canadian Club]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/canada-and-denmark-whiskey-war-over-hans-island-2016-1 |newspaper=[[Business Insider]] |title=Canada and Denmark Whiskey War Over Hans Island |date=8 January 2016 |access-date=8 January 2016}}</ref>

===Media attention and continuing negotiations===
[[File:Wfm hans island landsat.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Hans Island, [[NASA]] [[Landsat 7]] image]]
Though [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] and others had done some reporting in the 1980s,<ref name=CBC2012/> the dispute came to popular attention through Canadian press stories during late March 2004. Within days, it spread to other newspapers worldwide.

On 25 March 2004, when Adrian Humphreys of the Canadian ''[[National Post]]'' newspaper wrote an article entitled "Five-year plan to 'put footprints in the snow' and assert northern sovereignty", Humphreys made a brief mention of the dispute over Hans Island, and that the Danes had sent warships to the island.<ref>{{cite web |last=Humphreys |first=Adrian |title=Five-year plan to 'put footprints in the snow' and assert northern sovereignty |url=http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=c7c70798-ab6c-47fa-81c1-c2fa72e7471b |website=National Post |access-date=14 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320220231/http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=c7c70798-ab6c-47fa-81c1-c2fa72e7471b |archive-date=20 March 2016 |date=25 March 2004 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

The [[Arctic Ocean|Arctic sea]] region has long been [[Territorial claims in the Arctic|a subject of dispute]]. In this matter, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Russia, and Norway share an interest in establishing parts of the Arctic seas as "national waters". The United States and most European Union countries, on the other hand, officially regard the region as [[international waters]]. Further items in the Canadian media led to the issue being picked up by international news organizations.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

The [[2004 Canadian federal budget|2004 Canadian budget]] was introduced on 23 March 2004, by the [[government of Canada]], two days before the issue gained widespread attention. It proposed minimal increases to spending on national defence. The issue of Hans Island was raised in the [[Parliament of Canada|Canadian Parliament]] by opposition foreign affairs critic [[Stockwell Day]] to highlight the government's failure to provide more funding for the military.

A news article by Adrian Humphreys on 30 March 2004, also in the ''National Post'', entitled "Danes summon envoy over Arctic fight—the solution of the dispute is not going to be military", drew even more attention to the issue. The article claimed Brian Herman, Canada's only diplomat in Denmark (ambassador [[Alfonso Gagliano]] having been recently recalled as a result of an [[Sponsorship scandal|unrelated Canadian scandal]]), was called before the Danish [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Denmark)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], to comment about his country's intentions in the dispute, which had, according to the article, recently been inflamed by Danish sailors occupying Hans Island.
[[File:Operational Navigation Chart A-5, 3rd edition.jpg|thumb|Hans Island, 1990 US Government operational navigation chart]]
On 31 March 2004, the Danish and Canadian governments denied Herman or any other Canadian official was summoned to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Both governments stated the dispute was a long-standing issue, and nothing had changed in the matter.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

A [[Canadian Armed Forces|Canadian military]] exercise, named "Narwhal 04", inflamed the issue further. However, this exercise had been in the planning stage since September 2003, and it took place around [[Pangnirtung]] on [[Baffin Island]], {{cvt|2000|km}} south of Hans Island. The Canadian military denied the exercise had anything to do with the Danish–Canadian territorial dispute. The exercise took place from 9 to 30 August 2004, involving about 160 soldiers from the army, various aircraft, helicopters and one frigate, {{HMCS|Montréal|FFH 336|6}}. About 600 Canadian Forces personnel were involved in total.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

A new development came to light after Canadian Defence Minister [[Bill Graham (Canadian politician)|Bill Graham]] visited the island on 20 July 2005. [[Peter Taksøe-Jensen]], the head of the [[international law]] department at Denmark's foreign ministry, said the following in an interview with [[Reuters]] on 25 July in response to the event:

{{blockquote|We consider Hans Island to be part of Danish territory and will therefore hand over a complaint about the Canadian minister's unannounced visit.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4715245.stm |title=Europe &#124; Canada island visit angers Danes |publisher=BBC News |date=25 July 2005 |access-date=20 November 2009}}</ref>|Peter Taksøe-Jensen, Danish Foreign Office}}

On 18 August 2005, Canadian frigate {{HMCS|Fredericton|FFH 337|6}} left [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], for an Arctic cruise.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1124378985606_119788185/?hub=TopStories |title=HMCS Fredericton leaves Halifax for Arctic patrol |publisher=CTV.ca |date=18 August 2005 |access-date=20 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050925050908/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1124378985606_119788185/?hub=TopStories |archive-date=25 September 2005}}</ref> Canadian officials said the month-long patrol was unrelated to the Hans Island dispute. {{HMCS|Glace Bay|MM 701|6}} and {{HMCS|Shawinigan|MM 704|6}}, both {{sclass|Kingston|coastal defence vessel|1}}s, were also scheduled to patrol the Arctic in 2005.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1124451989435_49/?hub=Canada |title=Canada has claim to Hans Island: Pettigrew |publisher=CTV.ca |date=20 August 2005 |access-date=20 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051206180630/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1124451989435_49/?hub=Canada |archive-date=6 December 2005}}</ref>

In July 2007, owing to updated satellite imagery, Canadian authorities realized the line constructed as a basis for the maritime boundary (but not for land) would have run roughly across the middle of the island, but the boundary did not "move" as that required a bilateral agreement by the two states for which negotiations continued.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite news|author=The Canadian Press |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/satellite-imagery-moves-hans-island-boundary-report-1.684285 |title=Satellite imagery moves Hans Island boundary: report |publisher=Cbc.ca |date=26 July 2007 |access-date=20 November 2009}}</ref>

The two countries maintained a sense of humour in the dispute. [[Peter Taksøe-Jensen]] has stated "when Danish military go there, they leave a bottle of [[schnapps]]. And when Canadian military forces come there, they leave a bottle of Canadian Club and a sign saying, 'Welcome to Canada.'"<ref name=BMWHO>{{cite book|last=Byers p|first=Michael |title=Who owns the Arctic? : understanding sovereignty disputes in the North |year=2009 |publisher=Douglas & McIntyre |location=Vancouver |isbn=9781553654995 |pages=26–27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGjutK8lFeUC&q=bottle |edition=1st U.S.}}</ref>

Negotiations began in 2012 between Canada and Denmark, calling for either a [[Condominium (international law)|condominium]] or splitting the disputed island's sovereignty in half.<ref name=CBC2012>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/popupaudio.html?clipIds=2221940854 |title=April 11, 2012 audio report on Hans Island |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=24 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/canada-denmark-should-turn-hans-island-into-a-condominium-academics-1.3315640 |title=Canada, Denmark should turn Hans Island into a condominium: academics |first=Bob |last=Weber |publisher=[[CBC News]] |date=2015-11-15}}</ref>

On 23 May 2018, Canada and Denmark announced the creation of a Joint Task Force to determine the boundary between Canada and Greenland, including the fate of Hans Island.<ref name=2018TaskForce>{{cite press release |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark (with Greenland) announce the establishment of a Joint Task Force on Boundary Issues |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2018/05/canada-and-the-kingdom-of-denmark-with-greenland-announce-the-establishment-of-a-joint-task-force-on-boundary-issues.html |location=Ottawa |publisher=Government of Canada |agency=Global Affairs Canada |date=2018-05-23 |access-date=2018-05-23}}</ref>

====Google fight====
"Google fight" or "Google war" is the name given to a number of advertisements on the Internet search engine [[Google]] which promoted either Danish or Canadian sovereignty over Hans Island in 2005.

In July 2005, a Canadian author said that he saw an advertisement on Google stating that the island was part of Denmark, along with a link to a Danish Foreign Ministry page with a copy of the diplomatic protest that had been sent after Canada's defence minister had visited the island.<ref name="cnn-google">{{cite news|title=Island squabble goes Google |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/07/28/canada.denmark.reut/ |agency=[[Reuters]] |publisher=[[CNN]] |access-date=6 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050731024234/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/07/28/canada.denmark.reut/ |archive-date=31 July 2005}}</ref><ref name="GW Berlingske">{{cite news| title=Nye våben i striden om Hans Ø | url=https://www.berlingske.dk/business/nye-vaaben-i-striden-om-hans-oe | date=29 July 2005 | publisher=Berlingske | access-date=1 March 2023 }}</ref> Denmark's ambassador to Canada said that the Danish government had not been involved in any advertisement about the island and whoever placed it was acting alone.<ref name="GW Berlingske"/> In response, the Canadian author ordered his own advertisement stating that the island belongs to Canada, along with a link to a page with a rotating [[Flag of Canada|Canadian flag]] and the [[O Canada|Canadian national anthem]].<ref name="cnn-google"/><ref name="GW Berlingske"/> Similar to the actual dispute, the "Google fight" was considered quite harmless and treated as entertainment by the media, with the Canadian [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)|Foreign Affairs Ministry]] responding that they – as a goodwill gesture to Denmark – still would allow [[Danish pastry|Danish pastries]] to be sold in the ministry cafeteria.<ref name="cnn-google"/>

===Resolution===
<mapframe text="The international border on Hans Island after the 2022 treaty. The balance is 40% Canada (western portion) and 60% Greenland/Denmark (eastern portion)." latitude="80.826389" longitude="-66.458333" zoom="12" width="300" height="300" align="right">
</mapframe>
On 11 June 2022, the Danish, Greenlandic, Canadian, and Nunavut governments agreed to split Hans Island in half after 17 years of negotiations.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chase |first1=Steven |title=Canada and Denmark reach settlement over disputed Arctic island, sources say |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-canada-and-denmark-reach-settlement-over-disputed-arctic-island/ |date=10 June 2022 |work=The Globe and Mail |access-date=13 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-denmark-reach-hans-island-deal-after-50-year-dispute-1.6487325 |title= Canada and Denmark sign deal to divide uninhabited Arctic island |work=[[CBC News]] |date=13 June 2022}}</ref> On 14 June 2022, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister [[Mélanie Joly]], Danish foreign affairs minister [[Jeppe Kofod]], and prime minister of Greenland [[Múte Bourup Egede]] signed an agreement to divide the island nearly in half along a natural fault line.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://beta.ctvnews.ca/national/politics/2022/6/14/1_5945754.amp.html |title='Whisky war' with Denmark over tiny Arctic island ends peacefully with deal |work=The Canadian Press |date=14 June 2022 |access-date=15 June 2022 |archive-date=15 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615002317/https://beta.ctvnews.ca/national/politics/2022/6/14/1_5945754.amp.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The treaty will take effect after the [[Folketing]] (Parliament of Denmark), the [[Inatsisartut]] (Parliament of Greenland) have each voted to ratify it.<ref>[https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/der-har-laenge-vaeret-flagkrig-men-nu-er-alle-glade-canada-og-danmark-indgaar#!/ Der har længe været flagkrig, men nu er alle glade: Canada og Danmark indgår grænseaftale om Hans Ø] (in Danish)</ref> By this, Canada and the [[Danish Realm]], through Greenland, will have an international land border of {{cvt|1,280|m}}, which follows a rift, forming a half circle with the westernmost part around the middle, in the surface of the island that runs from north to south near the centre of the island.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.arctictoday.com/canada-denmark-agree-on-a-landmark-deal-over-disputed-hans-island/|title=Canada, Denmark agree on a landmark deal over disputed Hans Island|first=Martin|last=Breum|date=13 June 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2022/06/boundary-dispute.html |title= Boundary dispute |work=[[Government of Canada]] |date=14 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616002309/https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2022/06/boundary-dispute.html |archive-date=16 June 2022}}</ref> The agreement was cited as an example of a peaceful resolution to a border conflict shortly after the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-06-14 |title=Ukraine war brings peace — between Canada and Denmark |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/14/canada-denmark-greenland-hans-island/ |access-date=2023-01-11 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> The island contains the [[List of countries and territories by land borders#Superlatives|third shortest land border]] between countries, and also a second land neighbour for Canada and for the Danish Realm, each of which [[List of countries and territories by number of land borders|had only one]], with the United States and Germany respectively. It also is the northernmost international land border in the world, as well as the third land border between countries of Europe and of the Americas, the previous two being between [[French Guiana]] and the South American countries Brazil and [[Suriname]].

===The new border according to the treaty and laws===
The Danish law to establish the land border and the sea border between the Danish Realm and Canada was put before the [[Folketing|Danish parliament]] on 5 October 2023.<ref name=folketingsbeslutning/> The final Danish parliament decision came 19 December 2023.<ref>[https://www.ft.dk/samling/20231/beslutningsforslag/b14/tidsplan.htm Dokumenter Samling 2023-24 beslutningsforslag B 14 Tidsplan]</ref> The comments to the law contains (point 1.3) a principle to allow people who enter Hans Island for official matters or tourism to visit the entire island without border control. No border control will be established on Hans Island.<ref name=folketingsbeslutning>{{Cite web |title=Forslag til folketingsbeslutning om Danmarks indgåelse af overenskomst af 14. juni 2022 mellem Kongeriget Danmarks regering sammen med Naalakkersuisut på den ene side og Canadas regering på den anden side om maritim afgrænsning og landeafgrænsning i området mellem Grønland og Canada |url=https://www.ft.dk/ripdf/samling/20231/beslutningsforslag/b14/20231_b14_som_fremsat.pdf |trans-title=Proposal for a parliamentary resolution on Denmark's conclusion of an agreement of 14 June 2022 between the government of Denmark together with the government of Greenland on the one hand and the government of Canada on the other on maritime delimitation and land delimitation in the area between Greenland and Canada}} (The international treaty in English/French/Danish/Greenlandic is included)</ref>

The treaty (written in English, French, Danish and Greenlandic) mentions three border points on land, and 149 border points in the sea, with straight lines in between.<ref name=folketingsbeslutning/> The 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

== See also ==
{{Portal|Canada|Denmark|Islands}}
* [[List of divided islands]]
* [[List of islands of Canada]]
* [[List of islands of Greenland]]
* [[Operation Hurricane (Canada)]]
* [[Beaumont Island (Greenland)]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
* [[United Nations]]: Delimitation Treaties. ''Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Government of Canada relating to the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf between Greenland and Canada'', 17 December 1973,
* [[United States Department of State]]: Bureau of Intelligence and Research ''Limits in the Seas'' No. 72 ''Continental shelf Boundary: Canada – Greenland'', Issued by the Geographer, 4 August 1976.
* ''Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark for Cooperation relating to the Marine Environment'', 26 August 1983.
* ''Narrative of the North Polar expedition'' : [[USS Periwinkle (1864)|U.S Ship Polaris]], Captain [[Charles Francis Hall]] commanding, edited under the direction of G. M. Robeson by C. H. Davis. Washington, [[United States Government Printing Office|G. P. O.]], 1876.

== External links ==
{{commons category-inline|Hans Island}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140407084125/http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/toporama?center=505422.5647215%2C3604456.3195418&zoom=8 Hans Island] in the [[Atlas of Canada]] – Toporama; Natural Resources Canada
* [http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/hansisland/ Hans Island: A border dispute between Denmark and Canada] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051125093041/http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/hansisland/ |date=25 November 2005 }} – Background, maps, timeline about the Hans Island dispute.
* [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4797368 NPR's Morning Edition], Friday, 12 August 2005 – Summary of the dispute.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050528222436/http://forsvaret.dk/SOK/Nyt+og+Presse/Nyhedsarkiv/Nyheder/2003/2003-08-08.htm Newsletter No.3 HDMS Triton] – about the 1 August 2003 landing on the island.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080417005335/http://www.sfu.ca/casr/id-arcticviking1.htm CASR] – article on the dispute by the Canadian American Strategic Review.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050212144522/http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/car/www/caarru.htm Caryophyllaceae of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago]
* [http://www.udel.edu/CATS/ Canadian Archipelago Throughflow Study]
* [http://independentsources.com/2005/07/31/hans-island-spat-roundup/ Crisis in the Arctic!]
* [http://www.ghostofaflea.com/archives/001723.html Canadian perspective, 29 March 2004 (updated)]
* {{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/more-hans-island-discussions-planned/article18244468/|title=More Hans Island discussions planned|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=2005-08-16|location=[[Copenhagen]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406012141/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/more-hans-island-discussions-planned/article18244468/|archive-date=2019-04-06|access-date=2019-04-05|url-status=live}}

{{Queen Elizabeth Islands}}
{{Islands of the Qikiqtaaluk Region}}
{{Borders of Canada}}
{{Borders of Denmark}}

[[Category:International islands]]
[[Category:Islands of the Queen Elizabeth Islands]]
[[Category:Uninhabited islands of Greenland]]
[[Category:Uninhabited islands of Qikiqtaaluk Region]]
[[Category:Avannaata]]
[[Category:Canada–Greenland border]]
[[Category:Canada–Denmark relations]]
[[Category:Former disputed islands]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of Canada]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of Denmark]]