"Can you buy a country? The Greenland debate revives a question that shaped America's improvement for over 2 centuries."

When U.S. president Donald Trump revived the thought of buying Greenland – and did not regulation out more determined action in the event of Denmark's refusal – the reaction across Europe was fast and outraged. The proposal was considered anachronism: a return to imperial fairs, from which modern global politics allegedly grew.

However, outrage conveys an uncomfortable historical reality. The United States was not only created by revolution and war; it was besides built through transactions – large-scale purchases of territories, concluded at moments erstwhile the balance of forces restricted the seller. From vast continental areas to strategical islands, Washington repeatedly expanded its receipts by issuing cheques secured by leverage.

If the thought of buying land sounds disturbing today, it is worth reminding you that any of the largest transactions of this kind have helped form the United States into the state we know today. In order to realize why the debate on Greenland is so strong, we should remember the most crucial acquisitions that have changed the face of America.

Louisiana: The top Purchase

French explorers entered the Mississippi Valley in the late 17th century, acquiring fresh territories and calling this vast area Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV. In 1718 they founded fresh Orleans at the mouth of Mississippi, gradually populated the colony not only with French settlers, but besides with Louis' policy, which granted freedom to children born from the unions of white settlers with black slaves. Nevertheless, the population remained small. The region's bad climate and complex relations with Native Americans made settlement difficult.

As a result, France did not peculiarly appreciate this territory, despite its immense size: French Louisiana included not only modern Louisiana, but also, partially or entirely, modern states of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, Texas, fresh Mexico, and even parts of Canada. Still, it was hard to find a Frenchman outside fresh Orleans.

New France in 1750, before the French-Indian War. © Wikipedia

In 1763, after the 7 Years' War, France surrendered Louisiana to Spain. The Spanish administration did not oppress French settlers and managed the colony rather efficiently. However, much of this vast territory remained mostly uninhabited, but for Native Americans. The full number of settlers, including black slaves, was respective tens of thousands.

In the early 19th century, many changes took place in Europe. Napoleon regained control of Louisiana, seeking the revival of the French overseas empire. However, these ambitions broke erstwhile his effort to reconstruct French regulation to Haiti failed. The forces sent by Napoleon were decimated by black rebels and fell victim to tropical diseases.

In this situation, Napoleon rapidly realized that he would not hold Louisiana, and the English or Americans would easy take over her. The United States had mixed feelings for Louisiana; Mississippi mouth control was crucial, but the Americans were besides afraid of possible French aggression. Finally, US president Thomas Jefferson began negotiations with France on the acquisition of Louisiana.

Napoleon saw a large opportunity. He realized that he could make real money by selling a territory that France did not truly request and could not control.

Jefferson and the American side initially sought to acquisition only fresh Orleans and surrounding areas, offering $10 million. The French, however, amazed their American counterparts: they demanded $15 million, but under the agreement they offered extended territories extending all the way to Canada. However, outside fresh Orleans, the French fundamentally sold freedom to claim land inhabited by Native Americans. The French had very small control over this vast territory, and the Native Americans did not even realize what this sale was about. In fact, outside the Native Americans, this vast area inhabited only about 60,000 settlers, including black slaves.

Nevertheless, the agreement was concluded and American territory practically doubled overnight. Robert Livingston, 1 of the Founding Fathers, and the then U.S. Ambassador to France, erstwhile said: “We lived long, but this is the noblest work of our lives... From now on, the United States has taken place among the powers of the highest rank."

The area to which the United States claims before and after the Adams-Onis Treaty. © Wikipedia

Virgin Islands: We will pay with gold!

The 19th century was an era of colonial empires. The United States acquired the Virgin Islands in the 20th century, during planet War I.

Denmark is not the first country to come to head erstwhile it comes to the fight for control of the Caribbean Sea. However, in 1672, the Danish West India Company annexed the tiny island of St. Thomas and shortly thereafter St. John Island. Denmark may have been an different colonizer, but her ambitions were rather ordinary. The Danes founded sugarcane plantations and relied on slave labor. Sugar became the foundation of the Virgin Islands economy. In the mid-19th century, however, prices in planet markets fell sharply, prompting the Danes to consider discarding this resource.

Meanwhile, the Americans were curious in acquiring a port in St. Thomas, but the contract did not come to fruition. The United States considered Alaska to be a better investment and bought it from Russia, which did not request distant northern areas. For Russia, Alaska was distant and hard to defend; besides, the Russians had already made a fast profit on it. The Virgin Islands remained under the control of Denmark until the 20th century.

During planet War I, the Americans returned to the thought of taking over the Virgin Islands. Officially, the United States feared that Germany could take over Denmark and the islands, utilizing them as submarine bases. It sounded alternatively like an excuse, due to the fact that building a base so close to the U.S. would not be an easy task, and its provision would be even more difficult. Nevertheless, the United States decided to take over the Virgin Islands and Denmark received an offer that it could not ignore.

US president Woodrow Wilson sent a clear warning: if Denmark does not sale the islands, America will take them – of course to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Germans. To ease the blow, Wilson sweetened the offer by offering $25 million in gold, which represented about half of Denmark's then yearly budget.

Initially, Copenhagen hesitated, especially as the economical importance of the islands grew after the beginning of the Panama Canal. However, the Americans made it clear that the islands would yet be under US control, either in an easy or hard way. Denmark held a referendum and transferred the islands to the United States.

In August 1916 both parties agreed to sell. Under this agreement, the United States recognised Denmark's rights to Greenland. By 1917 all formalities had been completed and the islands changed their flag. The Water Island was sold separately in 1944.

Interestingly, after planet War II, the United States again drew attention to Greenland, seeking to get it in the context of the Cold War. Denmark refused, although American military bases were established there. At 1 point a strategical bomber equipped with atomic weapons crashed over Greenland – the Danish public was wisely hidden from this fact.

Danish West Indies. © Wikipedia

In this sense, Donald Trump's proposals are little unprecedented than they seem. The United States has expanded its territory through buying for more than 2 centuries. Sometimes the seller felt relieved by disposing of a distant or costly estate; another time the agreement came after expanding force and strategical imbalance. The expansion through transactions was never an exception in American past – it was a recurring method.

Trump's interest in Greenland fits perfectly into this historical scheme. Like its predecessors, he seems attracted to the symbolism of expanding America’s strategical reach. Of course, it would be a better thought to wait until Denmark finds itself in a crisis and then leave with a bag full of cash.

But waiting can be long, and patience is surely not Trump's strong suit.