Canada And Denmark’s Whiskey War Is 50 Years Old And Finally Over
When people think of Canada and Denmark, war is not a word that comes up but for nearly 50 years the two countries have been involved in a land dispute called the Whiskey War.
Canada
Canada has been great neighbors to us Michiganders. I have been to the country several times and all the people I came in contact with were very nice people.
Canada is the second-largest country in the world by size. They are also the 8th largest economy in the world and its three main exports are energy, automobiles, and automobile parts.
Denmark
I have not traveled to Denmark. The only people I have met from Denmark are Lars Ulrich of Metallica and Volbeat's Michael Poulsen and Jon Larsen. They all seemed happy and were all good dudes.
Denmark is 16,580 square miles and has 443 named islands. The three main exports of Denmark are pharmaceuticals, machinery that includes computers, and food.
Canada and Denmark's Whiskey War
Neither Canada nor Denmark has been known to be warmongers but the two have had a land dispute that has gone on for 50 years. This is a war that was never fought using guns but simply a flag and a bottle of local whiskey.
As you see amongst the icebergs Hans Island is not very big and is just a barren piece of land that is really of no use to Canada or Denmark.
Hans Island is located between Greenland and Ellesmere Island in the middle of the Kennedy Channel.
Canadian soldiers planted their flag and left a bottle of Canadian whisky but when the Danish Minister of Greenland Affairs came to visit the island he left the Danish Flag, a bottle of Cognac, and a note that read, "Welcome to the Danish Island.
Canada and Denmark's militaries took turns planting flags and exchanging bottles of whiskey but the war now is finally over.
As of June 14, 2022, according to Politico, there is a line in the middle of Hans Island with one half belonging to Canada and the other half belonging to Denmark.
It just goes to show that Canada and Denmark know how to fight a war in that no one gets injured and there can be a peaceful end to a conflict. I'll drink to that.