Something went wrong with Denmark Dollars for land - how America once bought big

Philipp Dahm

9.1.2025

Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland. The USA has already acquired several territories in its history: In addition to France and Russia, Denmark has also helped the Americans acquire new lands.

No time? blue News summarizes for you

  • Donald Trump wants sovereignty over Canada and the Panama Canal and surprises with statements on the purchase of Greenland.
  • The purchase of foreign territories has a certain tradition in US history, as three examples show.
  • One concerns Denmark of all countries, which is now once again in the spotlight due to its sovereignty over Greenland.
  • A piquant fact: in the previous deal in the Caribbean, Washington explicitly recognized Copenhagen's sovereign rights in Greenland.

Donald Trump has made headlines with renewed statements on the purchase of Greenland. The incoming US president does not even want to rule out military force. Is this all just part of his Madman strategy?

Come to stay? Donald Trump Jr. visits Greenland's capital Nuuk on January 7.
Come to stay? Donald Trump Jr. visits Greenland's capital Nuuk on January 7.
Picture: Keystone

Quite possibly, but on the other hand, the United States also has a certain tradition when it comes to acquiring foreign territories. Here are three examples from history: the third concerns the Kingdom of Denmark, of all places, which is once again the focus of international interest due to its sovereignty over Greenland.

The purchase of Louisiana in 1803

It is a deal to suit Donald Trump's taste: the purchase of Louisiana is considered the biggest land deal in history. With the acquisition, the then United States doubled its territory, which today still makes up almost a quarter of the modern contiguous USA (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).

The territory acquired in 1803 is by no means limited to the coastal state of Louisiana, but extends across several US states all the way to Canada.
The territory acquired in 1803 is by no means limited to the coastal state of Louisiana, but extends across several US states all the way to Canada.
Image: Commons/William Morris

France's interest in its US colonies steadily declined before the sale. In the Peace of Paris of 1763, France also lost territories in North America to Great Britain, among other things. London, in turn, had to accept the independence of the newly founded USA in 1776. When Napoleon Bonaparte came to power in 1800, the future French emperor had other concerns than his North American colonies.

He was at war in Europe, had to put down uprisings in the Caribbean - and prepare for the next wars. Initially, the American trade delegation only wants to talk about the purchase of New Orleans, which is the gateway to the Mississippi, via which the economic goods produced west of the Appalachians are shipped.

Handover ceremony in Loisiana on December 20, 1803 in a painting by Thure de Thulstrup from 1902.
Handover ceremony in Loisiana on December 20, 1803 in a painting by Thure de Thulstrup from 1902.
Image: Gemeinfrei

In 1803, the US negotiators budgeted 2 million dollars for the purchase of New Orleans and a maximum of 10 million for the city including the surrounding area. They were surprised by the offer to acquire the entire French territory for 15 million dollars. The negotiators accepted without consulting President Thomas Jefferson.

2,144,476 square kilometers change hands. The price per square kilometer is 7 dollars, which is a good 195 dollars adjusted for inflation. The total purchase price of 15 million dollars at the time is equivalent to 418.8 million dollars today.

The purchase of Alaska in 1867

Although the British Crown lost its colonies in what is now the USA, it still had possessions in the Caribbean and what is now Canada in 1867. This was a problem for the Tsar in St. Petersburg: between 1853 and 1856, his Russian Empire fought the Crimean War - and lost.

In addition to Sardinia, France and the Ottoman Empire, the British were also his opponents. And they cut off a corner of Russia on the continent in Canada: Alaska. A land that is difficult to colonize: Hundreds of Russians earned their living by hunting fur animals, but the populations were declining.

British North America between 1840 and 1867, map from The Cambridge Modern History Atlas of 1912.
British North America between 1840 and 1867, map from The Cambridge Modern History Atlas of 1912.
Gemeinfrei

The economic weakness of Alaska, its strategically poor location and financial problems led Russia to knock on Washington's door for the first time in 1859, but the USA initially turned it down. The territory was even offered to Liechtenstein: "I can remember how the purchase offer was repeatedly discussed in my family," Prince Hans-Adam II wrote to the Volksblatt in 2018(PDF).

On March 11, 1867, negotiators from Russia and the USA met again to discuss the sale. Within four days, they agreed on the sum of 7.2 million dollars, which corresponds to around 153,400,000 adjusted for inflation. With an area of 1,518,800 square kilometers, this makes a price per square kilometer of 4.74 dollars, which corresponds to 101 dollars today.

Paid on August 1, 1868: the cheque for 7.2 million US dollars, made out to the Russian negotiator Eduard de Stoeckl, who had an Austrian father and an Italian mother.
Paid on August 1, 1868: the cheque for 7.2 million US dollars, made out to the Russian negotiator Eduard de Stoeckl, who had an Austrian father and an Italian mother.
Gemeinfrei

The US public had mixed reactions to the acquisition of the seemingly barren winter landscape. However, the onset of the Klondike gold rush in 1896 silenced the doubters.

The purchase of the Virgin Islands in 1917

Left-hand traffic prevails in the US Virgin Islands - this exception in the entire US territory is due to the European past of the three Caribbean islands. In 1865, Denmark enters the Atlantic Triangle Trade and occupies Saint Thomas, Saint John and Saint Croix.

The Caribbean on a map from the Cambridge Modern History Atlas of 1912: the Danish Virgin Islands are underlined in yellow.
The Caribbean on a map from the Cambridge Modern History Atlas of 1912: the Danish Virgin Islands are underlined in yellow.
Gemeinfrei

The islands arouse covetousness at the end of the 19th century. The German Empire showed interest in 1890, and the USA also asked for the first time in 1902 whether the territories were for sale. The White House regarded the region as its territory. However, an acquisition for five million dollars failed at the time due to objections from Danish nationalists.

The First World War complicates the relationship between Denmark and its colony, where unrest and strikes break out from 1915 onwards. In 1916, Washington secretly reopened negotiations with Copenhagen: In the country's first referendum, the deal is rubber-stamped in December 1916. On April 1, 1917, the Virgin Islands are transferred to the USA for 25 million dollars - today it would be 616 million dollars.

In front of the governor's house on March 31, after 251 years of Danish rule, the Dannebrog on Saint Croix is hauled in for the last time.
In front of the governor's house on March 31, after 251 years of Danish rule, the Dannebrog on Saint Croix is hauled in for the last time.
Picture: Gemeinfrei

Piquant from today's perspective: as part of this deal, the USA had to recognize Denmark's full sovereignty over Greenland, the Danish Museum recalls.