The Longest Running Friendly Feud
Imagine starting a 50 year international conflict over a virtually unusable body of rock. While this seems extremely silly and unlikely, it is exactly what happened between Denmark and Canada in what is now known as the Whisky War. I am here to explain how this conflict started, and how it finally ended in June of 2022.
It all began with Hans Island. Never heard of it? That’s probably because it is only half a square mile large and has no great natural resources. Many have referred to it as an unremarkable piece of rock. While negotiating territorial lines in the Arctic, both Denmark and Canada realized that they were within the 12 mile radius to claim Hans Island. Despite the 1973 negotiation that created a border through the Nares Strait where Hans Island is located, the island still didn’t have an official owner. Then, in 1984, Canadian troops went to Hans Island and planted a Canadian flag as a sign of their territorial claim to the island. Along with the flag, the soldiers left a sign reading “Welcome to Canada,” and next to it, a bottle of Canadian club whisky. And so, the Whisky War officially began.
The Danish did not appreciate someone claiming this barren piece of rock. Just a few weeks after the Canadian soldiers attempted to claim Hans Island, Denmark’s minister of Greenland took a trip to the disputed rock to return control of it to the Danish. He replaced the Canadian maple leaf flag with the flag of Denmark and also left a sign that read “Velkommen til den danske ø,” or “Welcome to the Danish Island.” He also replaced the Canadian club whisky with Danish schnapps in order to legitimize the Danish claim to the island.
In the years following the first two claims to Hans Island, citizens from all over Canada and Denmark made trips to the island with flags and bottles of whisky, each replacing the other country’s goods with their own. Although the international conflict over the land raged on for years, diplomats from both Canada and Denmark were constantly in good spirits with each other. The Whisky War never escalated into physical conflict, had no casualties, and remained hospitable and humorous throughout its duration.
In June of 2022, after nearly 50 years of disputes, Canada and Denmark finally came to an agreement over how they would split the territory of Hans Island. Splitting it in half seemed like a quick and easy solution. The agreement also allowed the island’s Inuit inhabitants to move around freely between the newly drawn borders so that they could continue to fish, hunt, and participate in their other regular activities. To end the conflict in good spirits, the Danish and Canadian foreign ministers exchanged bottles of whisky as a symbol that the intense controversy had finally ended.
Now, you might be wondering why the two countries finally came to an agreement after so many years of dispute. The decision to split Hans Island in two came at the same time as the territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine was escalating into a very serious war. By settling their territorial conflict peacefully and through the principles of international law, Canada and Denmark hoped to send a message about how resolutions of conflict could be reached without force. The countries specifically used this message to reprimand Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Jeppe Kofod, the Danish foreign minister, stated that he hoped the agreement would “inspire other countries to follow the same path.”
And so, after 50 years of humorous conflict over Hans Island, Denmark and Canada finally came to a resolution. June 14th, 2022 marked the end of the Whisky War, but also symbolized how conflicts can be peacefully resolved while holding true to the principles of international law.
This was the politics, stay tuned for the dinner!
