Until Donald Trump Jr touched down in the capital city of Nuuk onboard Trump Force One in early January, Greenland's locals had every reason to believe life would continue as normal.
Usually, the world's largest island has very little to do with the daily churn of US politics.
But in late December, President Donald Trump claimed American ownership and control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, was an "absolute necessity" in a Truth Social post.
Days later, his son was on a charm offensive as he smiled and shook hands with passengers at Greenland's airport, though he said he was visiting as a "tourist".
At the upscale Hotel Hans Egade, the eldest Trump child attended a lunch where locals awkwardly rubbed shoulders while wearing MAGA hats.
At one point, Trump Jr put his father on speakerphone.
"We're going to treat you well," the president said.
Then Trump Jr left almost as quickly as he arrived. The Guardian later reported the "Trump fans" in attendance weren't supporters as their MAGA hats suggested, but homeless people who had been promised free food if they listened to the president's son.
Regardless, the visit achieved its objective: Trump's desire to purchase Greenland was back in the limelight.
The president first proposed the radical "real estate deal" in 2019 but was swiftly rebuffed by Denmark.
This time, Trump doesn't appear to be so easily deterred.
Since returning to office, he has raised the possibility directly with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, threatened to impose tariffs on Denmark if it opposed him, and declined to rule out using military force to take control of the island.
He also has the backing of some Republicans. Congressional representative Buddy Carter introduced a bill this week that would authorise Trump to enter into negotiations with Denmark over Greenland and rename it "Red, White, and Blueland".
But Trump's interest isn't as fantastical as it might seem. It turns out the land of the midnight sun has been tied to American ambitions for more than a century.
And this recent bid is just one of many attempts by the US to gain control of prime Arctic real estate.
Where America's obsession with Greenland began
America doesn't think of itself as a traditional empire but, in the 19th century, its government was on the hunt for territory across North America.
In 1865, American president Andrew Johnson purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire for $US7.2 million, less than $US242 million ($AUD383 million) in today's currency.
Around the same time, Johnson's secretary of state William H Seward approached the Danish government with a similar proposal for Greenland and Iceland.
Until that point, Greenland hadn't attracted much interest. To many countries, it was considered the end of the earth, an inconsequential bit of land lurking at the edge of a map.
Denmark and the US entered negotiations, but a deal on the Arctic island was never struck.
That same year, former president Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, setting off a political earthquake that redirected focus away from land negotiations.
"It's not until World War I that the topic really becomes of importance, not just in the US, but in several other European — and indeed British — imperial countries," John Mitcham, chair of the history department at Duquesne University, tells .
"It's World War I that marks this watershed of the great imperial annexation, of schemes, the plotting, the backroom deals that are taking place in an attempt to sort of redraw global boundaries."
Like all major powers at the time, the US was interested in expanding its naval bases beyond its borders. They were also concerned European territories in the western hemisphere could fall prey to a great power in times of war.
"There is concern that Germany could … whether through conquest or purchase, gain control of the Danish West Indies [in the lead up to World War I]," says Mitcham.
In 1917, the US State Department offered to pay $US25 million ($US61 million in today's money) for the Danish West Indies, now known as the US Virgin Islands.
Bankrupt and worried about a possible German invasion, Denmark agreed to the sale — but not before pulling off a "diplomatic trick", Mitcham says.
"As part of these negotiations, they extract this pledge that the US will recognise Danish claims to sovereignty over Greenland."
The bargain only lasted until World War II, when the US occupied Greenland in the interests of national security after Germany took control of Denmark.
"If you knew what the weather was like in Greenland, you would know what the weather was like in Europe 48 hours later. And that's pretty important when you have a war to run," says Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen, head of research at the Centre for Arctic Security at the Royal Danish Defence College.
"So for that reason, Germany tried to establish weather stations in Greenland and the US tried to prevent Germany from having weather stations."
The US didn't specify the terms under which they would leave.
After the war ended, the Danish government was left in an awkward bind because, while it wanted to maintain good relations, it hoped to eventually push the Americans out of Greenland in order to re-establish Danish sovereignty.
The tug of war was ultimately settled in 1949 when the US agreed to give up its claim to stay after Denmark (which had wanted to join a Scandinavian defence alliance) joined NATO.
Greenland formally became the territory of the Nordic Kingdom in 1953 and the US lost interest.
Cold War presented new challenge
Greenland is a winter wonderland. Glaciers, fjords and mountains dominate the landscape just as the eerie glow of the northern lights stretches across the sky.
But the island's natural beauty wasn't what drew the attention of the world's biggest superpower back during the Cold War.
It was Greenland's proximity to Russia and its potential as a deterrent against Soviet aggression.
"Greenland became important because [the US] could use it to stage long-range bombers," says Rahbek-Clemmensen.
The US maintained its presence on the island until the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War ended.
"The Americans closed all of their military installations in Greenland fairly quickly, and today they only have one main military installation, which is the Pituffik space base … formerly known as the Thule air base," says Rahbek-Clemmensen.
It specialises in missile defense and scientific research at the northern end of the island.
The next major development in US-Greenland relations occurred in 2004, when America and Denmark agreed to the Igaliku agreement.
This agreement stipulated the reduction of defence areas in Greenland and recognised the island's government should be consulted on America's continued presence.
"They establish two bodies where the Greenlanders can sit in together with Denmark and the US, and where they can discuss ways in which the US can compensate the Greenlanders for the American presence by supporting education and mining and a host of other issues," says Rahbek-Clemmensen.
Five years later, Greenland was granted self-governing autonomy, including the right to declare independence through a referendum.
Why is Trump interested in Greenland now?
If you look at a map of the world, Greenland looks enormous compared to most other countries.
Surrounded by the Arctic Ocean to the north and the North Atlantic Ocean to the south-east, the icy island is often depicted as equal in size to Africa.
That is part of its appeal to Trump.
"You take a look at a map. I'm a real estate developer, I look at a corner, I say, 'I've got to get that store for the building that I'm building,' etc. It's not that different," he told two reporters for their book, The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021.
"I love maps. And I always said, 'Look at the size of this. It's massive.' That should be part of the United States."
But what the US president sees as a savvy land deal is, in part, a quirk of map making.
The Mercator projection has been the standard used for map drawings since the 18th century, and it often distorts the size of countries the further away they are from the equator.
Greenland is bigger than Northern America in most depictions of the world and double the landmass of Australia.
But at 2.16 million square kilometres, it is actually roughly a quarter of the size of the US and roughly a third of Australia.
There's something else that has the US's attention: Greenland is situated in one of the most strategically important regions in the world.
As ice melts in the Arctic due to climate change, shorter shipping routes are opening up between Europe, Asia and Russia.
It's a game changer for the US and its rivals. Russia and China have stepped up military and commercial activities in the area, including conducting joint military exercises.
"From around 2014, various Chinese actors tried to get a presence in Greenland, and I think that is part of the reason why the Americans started becoming interested," says Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland's minister for natural resources, business trade and national resources.
"At the same time, it becomes obvious to the US that, while they have been fighting wars in Afghanistan, Africa and the Middle East, China and Russia have been increasing their presence in the Arctic, and the US has fallen behind militarily, economically and diplomatically.
"So during the first Trump administration, there's a push to regain an American position in the Arctic … and of course, it all culminates with Donald Trump's first attempt to buy Greenland in 2019."
She says the US president's renewed interest in the island has coincided with the shifting strategic situation in the region.
Changing climate conditions will also make it easier to access Greenland's abundant reserves of rare elements and minerals, which can be used to make advanced technology.
"There's all kinds of resources in Greenland, including rare earth elements that are important for the energy transition, precious gems — such as rubies and diamonds — iron, coal, base metals — like tin, lead and zinc," says Nathanielsen.
"So there's a lot of resources out there that other countries have their eye on."
Trump doesn't seem to want to take no for an answer
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has reiterated Greenland is not for sale, just as the government did in 2019.
But Trump has continued to express his interest, even during a fiery phone call with Frederiksen last month.
"He was very firm. It was a cold shower. Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous," one official briefed on the call told the Financial Times.
Last month, Greenland's 37-year-old prime minister Múte Egede met with his Danish counterpart in Copenhagen to discuss the US offer.
Egede said that his nation needed to be "smart" in handling its diplomatic affairs. Denmark appears to be following similar advice.
But in the interim, Greenlanders have been left to wonder what Trump's statements mean for their future.
What does Greenland think?
To Greenland's leaders, America has long been seen as the gateway to the international community.
"From the beginning, I think the Americans were the first one who sort of opened Greenland up to the world," Nathanielsen says.
The island's economy, which is largely powered by shrimp fishing, is still heavily reliant on a $AUD950 million annual subsidy paid by the Danish government.
It's why some of Greenland's leaders see American interest as potentially lucrative.
"The reality is we are going to work with the US — yesterday, today and tomorrow," Egede said last month.
But most locals are against the notion of America buying Greenland.
Opinion polls indicate around two-thirds of Greenland's population say they want to be independent.
"I think many people [were] offended in Greenland. We are not for sale. We're not a commodity you can buy or sell. We are a people with our own right," Nathanielsen says.
"We are not Americans, we don't want to be. We're not Danes. We are Greenlanders, and we have a democracy, and we're an ally, and we want that respected and understood."
