Diamond magnate and arch-imperialist Cecil Rhodes had, late in life, what we might see now as a Trumpian moment. “To think of these stars that you see overhead at night,” he wrote, “these vast worlds which we can never reach. I would annex the planets if I could; I often think of that. It makes me sad to see them so clear and yet so far.”
Donald Trump, within days of re-inauguration, has waxed similarly about his expansionist ambitions, his gaze planted at this stage closer to home: Greenland, the Panama Canal and even Canada. It is an extraordinary intervention though, as ever, Trump’s real intentions remain unclear and his ability to make mischief limitless.
The history of the US is littered with examples of big and small land purchases and/or annexations. The largest was the $15 million Louisiana Purchase (1803) from France of 827,000 acres (parts of up to 12 modern-day states), and, among others, in 1898 were annexations of Puerto Rico, Guam and Hawaii. Russia was paid $7.2 million for Alaska (1867) while Mexico lost huge swathes of its territory over time. In 1917 the US paid Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands, strategic due to their proximity to the Panama Canal.
Alarmingly Trump has not ruled out military coercion in the interests of US national security to annex both Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, and hence a Nato member protected by its mutual defence clause, and the Panama Canal. Canada could be coerced economically to become the 51st state of the Union, he has hinted, while an uncooperative Denmark could otherwise face a blitz of tariffs to arm-twist it on Greenland. Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen has repeated her response to the 2019 Trump offer to buy the island – that it is not for sale.
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Trump revels in hyperbole as a negotiating tool and many suggest his implied threat to use force is just that and is not to be taken seriously. But it is not completely improbable. The US invaded Panama as recently as 1989 to depose drug lord Manuel Noriega. Now China’s influence in the region is seen as a direct threat to US shipping interests. At very least Trump may be looking for better deals and more influence in these key regions.
Greenland, with a population of 60,000 but a huge land mass, was a Danish colony until it became self-ruling in 1979. The island possesses large untapped sources of rare earth minerals, and its waters have acquired a new importance as a trade passage for shipping from Asia with the opening up of the Northwest passage. There is local support for full independence, though little for swapping one colonial master for another.
France’s foreign minister said yesterday that the EU would not allow any country to “attack its sovereign borders” and Germany also expressed concern. Ireland’s position if this debate develops will be interesting to watch.
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