Thank you, a very interesting read. I am just finishing a piece on the 1917 transfer of the DWI. I will send you a link when its done if I may.
I understand that as well as the $25 million, the US ceded any rights they had to Greenland under that treaty. From what I have read, it sounds as if that was some sort of a fig leaf for Danish politicians to argue that this was about consolidating overseas territory as well as selling it.
I have also been reading about a proposal that was doing the rounds in Danish circles at the time to do some sort of grand three way swap where the US took the DWI and Greenland, while giving Germany part of the Philippines in exchange for the return of Schleswig! The suggestion was that the British at the time would probably have blocked any transfer of Greenland to the US; one of many reasons why it never got off the drawing board. Those were the days!
Given your knowledge and experience of US/Danish diplomacy, it would be great to get any further insight you have on all this.
Hi Paul George--yes, by all means forward the link when you are ready. Would love to see it. I did come across information about that possible 3-way trade in 1910, but let it slide as too detailed for my blog entry. (I suspect President Taft may have opposed it as a former Philippine governor?) It was probably all for the best, historically--imagine how it might have altered history, with Germany operating from Mindanao in World War I, spreading hostilities all across the Pacific ...
What I had not focused on was the unsuccessful 1902 proposal to purchase the DWI, which failed by just one vote (an abstention) in the upper Danish house. By then of course, Puerto Rico was a U.S. possession--and Roosevelt clearly had his eye on building the Panama Canal. I believe the "fig leaf" allusion aptly captures the 1915-1916 negotiations, for Danish cover--
Thank you, a very interesting read. I am just finishing a piece on the 1917 transfer of the DWI. I will send you a link when its done if I may.
I understand that as well as the $25 million, the US ceded any rights they had to Greenland under that treaty. From what I have read, it sounds as if that was some sort of a fig leaf for Danish politicians to argue that this was about consolidating overseas territory as well as selling it.
I have also been reading about a proposal that was doing the rounds in Danish circles at the time to do some sort of grand three way swap where the US took the DWI and Greenland, while giving Germany part of the Philippines in exchange for the return of Schleswig! The suggestion was that the British at the time would probably have blocked any transfer of Greenland to the US; one of many reasons why it never got off the drawing board. Those were the days!
Given your knowledge and experience of US/Danish diplomacy, it would be great to get any further insight you have on all this.
Thanks again
Hi Paul George--yes, by all means forward the link when you are ready. Would love to see it. I did come across information about that possible 3-way trade in 1910, but let it slide as too detailed for my blog entry. (I suspect President Taft may have opposed it as a former Philippine governor?) It was probably all for the best, historically--imagine how it might have altered history, with Germany operating from Mindanao in World War I, spreading hostilities all across the Pacific ...
What I had not focused on was the unsuccessful 1902 proposal to purchase the DWI, which failed by just one vote (an abstention) in the upper Danish house. By then of course, Puerto Rico was a U.S. possession--and Roosevelt clearly had his eye on building the Panama Canal. I believe the "fig leaf" allusion aptly captures the 1915-1916 negotiations, for Danish cover--
Keep me posted! Best regards, Ben J. ( bjustesen3@gmail.com )