Today’s renewed interest signals that great powers are once again seeking to control vital sea routes, oceans, islands, and resources at the top of the world. It’s a stark warning of rising tensions and increased competition. Yet, just as his counterparts did in the past, Trump may find that "buying the Arctic" is not as straightforward as he thinks.
In 1865, in the wake of the Civil War, the U.S. began looking to expand its influence on the world stage. This happened at precisely the moment when Russia, having just lost the Crimean War, was seeking to counterbalance British power in the Pacific. This proved to be the perfect recipe for American expansion in the Arctic.
In 1867, Russia sold Alaska to the U.S. for $7.2 million, with the territory soon placed under the control of the U.S. Army. Both countries shared hostility towards Britain, so the sale was a shrewd and calculated deal for both parties. Although it ended Russia’s footprint in North America, it expanded Washington's access to the Pacific and helped counter British activity in the strategically important and economically prosperous region. This was just the start of America’s foray into the Arctic.
The move was part of President Andrew Johnson’s naked and vast geopolitical ambition. Having successfully purchased Alaska, Johnson’s Secretary of State William Seward floated the prospect of buying the islands of Greenland and Iceland, this time from the Danes. Denmark had been weakened by its defeat during the Second Schleswig War of 1864, and at this moment of Danish weakness, Seward had already discussed the purchase of Danish islands in the Caribbean to establish a naval base.
Negotiations took place, but failed to win Republican support in Congress.
This setback, however, failed to dash American desires to buy the strategic Danish territory. In 1910, the administration of President William Howard Taft again explored the possibility of buying Greenland. The move came at a moment when there was growing interest in Arctic resources, such as minerals for the growing armaments industry, not to mention increased attention on Greenland’s strategic location between the U.S. and Europe. The two sides discussed proposals to purchase the island outright or to swap it for U.S. territory in the Philippines, but with World War I looming, attention soon turned to more pressing matters.
The U.S. was not the only country looking to the Arctic to shore up its interests in this period.