Whiskey War: How an uninhabited piece of land caused a rift between Canada and Denmark for half a century (9 photos)

Somewhere in the harsh waters of the high Atlantic, on the very edge of the icy breath of the Arctic Ocean, lies a tiny piece of land.





Named after a 19th-century Greenlandic polar explorer, Hans Island is as barren as an uninhabited piece of land can be—a flat, bare cliff without a blade of grass, no water, and no hint of natural resources. Yet this unremarkable rock became the center of a territorial dispute between Canada and Denmark that raged for nearly half a century.



Aerial view of Hans Island

Hans Island lies right in the middle of the Nares Strait, a waterway separating Canada and Greenland (an autonomous territory of Denmark). International law states that each state has the right to claim territory within 12 nautical miles of its own coast. This principle places Hans Island in both Danish and Canadian waters.





The dispute erupted in 1973, when both countries were delimiting their maritime borders. The parties failed to reach an agreement, and the matter was put on hold. The conflict really erupted in 1984, when the Danish Minister for Greenland landed on the island, raised the national flag, and left a note: "Welcome to the Danish island," along with a bottle of schnapps. Upon learning of this, Canada immediately dispatched a detachment of soldiers to the island. The Danish flag was replaced with a Canadian one, and the Danish schnapps with Canadian whiskey.



A bottle of cognac and jars of pork and fruit left by Danish troops on Hans Island in 2003

Thus began the frivolous "whiskey war." For years, Canadian and Danish troops took turns visiting the island to change flags and leave bottles of alcohol. In 2005, the Canadians upped the ante by placing a metal plaque on the island. The Danes didn't reciprocate. Their foreign minister declared that "landing on the island to tear down each other's flag and plant your own would be somewhat childish."



In June 2022, Canada and Denmark signed a historic agreement dividing the island. The border ran along a natural fault line running north to south, dividing the rock roughly in half (the Greenlandic portion is slightly larger).



In December 2023, Denmark was the last to ratify the treaty, and it entered into full force.



Thus, after half a century of the "Bottle War," Greenland now has its first and only land border, and Canada has gained a common neighbor with Europe.



For the indigenous Inuit of Nunavut and Greenland, the island, which they call Tartupaluk ("kidney"), retains its historical significance as a hunting ground. The agreement guarantees them freedom of movement and traditional use of the territory.