Tea at Trianon: The Island We Saved, Then Surrendered

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, January 12, 2025

The Island We Saved, Then Surrendered

On Greenland. From Amuse on X:

April 1940: Denmark capitulated to Nazi Germany in a mere six hours. Greenland, severed from its colonial master, was left adrift—a geopolitical orphan. With a population of roughly 18,000 people at the time, the island found itself at a crossroads. Eske Brun, Greenland's governor, made the shrewd choice to align with the Allies. While Denmark collaborated with its occupiers, Greenland became a free agent on the world stage.
Recognizing Greenland’s strategic importance as a stepping stone across the Atlantic and a base for weather stations vital to Allied convoys, America seized the initiative. President Franklin Roosevelt authorized military occupation under the 1941 Greenland Agreement, brokered by Danish envoy Henrik Kauffmann—an act of defiance that came at great personal cost. As Denmark, under Nazi occupation, adopted a policy of collaboration to maintain its domestic stability, Kauffmann’s unilateral decision to side with the Allies was deemed treasonous by his homeland. By bypassing Copenhagen, which was effectively under Nazi control, Kauffmann ensured Greenland would serve as an Allied stronghold rather than fall into Axis hands. This bold move not only enraged Nazi authorities but also embarrassed Denmark’s collaborationist government, which sought to maintain a veneer of sovereignty despite its subservience to Berlin. Kauffmann’s branding as a traitor underscores the tension between moral conviction and political expediency in times of national crisis.
The island became a critical Allied outpost, hosting airbases and radar stations that bolstered the fight against the Axis. Greenland wasn’t just a slab of ice; it was a fortress and a gateway. Remarkably, these U.S. bases and operations established during World War II remain active to this day, underscoring Greenland’s enduring strategic significance in the Arctic and beyond. (Read more.)

From The Hill:

Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede said he is “ready” to talk with President-elect Trump, who has recently expressed ambitions for the U.S. to acquire Greenland, the world’s largest island. Egede was asked during a press conference in Copenhagen on Friday if he was in touch with the president-elect. He said no, but added that “we are ready to talk.”
Trump has previously said the U.S. control of Greenland, an autonomous island within the Kingdom of Denmark, is “an absolute necessity.” He declined to rule out using the military in hopes of getting the island with a population of over 56,000 people, arguing its control is crucial to national security, a sentiment echoed earlier this week by his pick for national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.).
Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen met with Egede in Copenhagen on Friday. Both were at the press conference. During the address, Frederiksen said she had asked for a meeting with the president-elect.

Egede emphasized Friday that, “Greenland is for the Greenlandic people. We do not want to be Danish, we do not want to be American. We want to be Greenlandic.” (Read more.)