The great landmass of the Americas was first discovered after Europeans were searching for a quicker passage to the Indies, a resourceful and exotic land. The Americas were quickly colonised but the original intention of the first explorers was never forgotten. Now, in the 21st century, world leaders and ambassadors are having disputes over territories. One such dispute, which is engulfing Canadian and foreign news, is the situation in the Arctic. It is creating friction between many powerful nations, who all want a slice of the ice-cold pie. Gas, oil, minerals, and even shipping routes are bringing about a curious cold war over a cold piece of land. Northern nations like Canada, Russia, the United States, and Denmark are competing with their
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In order for the UN to decide which country should own what, they must consider the following: the history, discovery, mapping, and settlement of the location, which countries border the location, and more. With Canada, one may need only to look at the history to see who should have sovereignty. With a culture and history that started long before Europeans even set sail for the New World, the Inuit were the First Nations people of the Arctic. They had mastered transportation through sleds and canoes and created the first maps of Canadian coastline by carving the general outline into wooden pieces (M.R. Freeman).The Inuit Peoples covered, and still continue to cover, the far northern coasts of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. The fact that these people have had such a strong presence here for generations should give these countries a stronger claim, including Canada. Also, European and BNA explorers like Vilhjalmur Stefansson, John Rae, and Richard Collinson, whose Canadian and British heritage give proof of a large Canadian effort in the exploration of the Arctic (H. Neatby). Not only the exploration but the actual land ownership should be taken into account when crediting or discrediting claims to the arctic. In 1670, Charles II, King of England gave the Hudson’s Bay Company, then a fur trading business, rights to Rupert’s Land, which meant that all rivers that ran into the Hudson’s Bay were owned by the HBC. This was extended when parts of the northern landmass was added to the HBC’s lands. When HBC gave it’s lands to the Dominion, it extended Canada’s reach north (W.R. Morrison). The British Government gave Canada all of its arctic land in the north, spreading Canadian influence upwards, while the Americans made vague claims to islands closer to Greenland. But it can be disputed that Norway, in fact, should own these islands as apparently Norwegian explorer Otto
In order for the UN to decide which country should own what, they must consider the following: the history, discovery, mapping, and settlement of the location, which countries border the location, and more. With Canada, one may need only to look at the history to see who should have sovereignty. With a culture and history that started long before Europeans even set sail for the New World, the Inuit were the First Nations people of the Arctic. They had mastered transportation through sleds and canoes and created the first maps of Canadian coastline by carving the general outline into wooden pieces (M.R. Freeman).The Inuit Peoples covered, and still continue to cover, the far northern coasts of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. The fact that these people have had such a strong presence here for generations should give these countries a stronger claim, including Canada. Also, European and BNA explorers like Vilhjalmur Stefansson, John Rae, and Richard Collinson, whose Canadian and British heritage give proof of a large Canadian effort in the exploration of the Arctic (H. Neatby). Not only the exploration but the actual land ownership should be taken into account when crediting or discrediting claims to the arctic. In 1670, Charles II, King of England gave the Hudson’s Bay Company, then a fur trading business, rights to Rupert’s Land, which meant that all rivers that ran into the Hudson’s Bay were owned by the HBC. This was extended when parts of the northern landmass was added to the HBC’s lands. When HBC gave it’s lands to the Dominion, it extended Canada’s reach north (W.R. Morrison). The British Government gave Canada all of its arctic land in the north, spreading Canadian influence upwards, while the Americans made vague claims to islands closer to Greenland. But it can be disputed that Norway, in fact, should own these islands as apparently Norwegian explorer Otto