Mysterious War For Deserted Island Has Lasted Over A Century

Most countries aren’t in the habit of walking away from a land grab, and the story of Hans Island is no different. The tiny strip of land sits within the 22 mile stretch of the Nares Strait, and remarkably, depending on who you ask, you'll get a completely different answer about which country it belongs to. The talks over which nation has control of Hans Island have played out for over a century, but since the 1980s, two powers have duked it out in what's now called "The Whiskey Wars."

Uninhabited

What about Hans Island makes it so sought-after? Well, that's a bit of a mystery. The 321 acres of barren rocky terrain don’t have any booming enterprise or untapped natural resources. Not a soul lives there. Still, that hasn't stopped countries from engaging in a decades-long back and forth over who has a rightful claim to Hans Island. 

Great Debate

Since the late 19th century, Canada and Greenland have been at odds over who actually owns Hans Island. If someone wanted to bust out a measuring tape, technically, Canada has it by a nose: The closest city to Hans Island is Alert, Canada, at 123 miles away. Greenland's closest city of Siorapaluk is just 217 miles. But politics tend to overrule measuring sticks.

Canada vs. Denmark

That meant that Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, technically had leverage to claim Hans Island as theirs. Throughout history, the little piece of land in the Arctic North hasn't been used for much else besides Inuit hunting grounds, but the desolate nature hasn't deterred nearby nations from bowing out from the land bid. 

International Law

In truth, there wasn’t anything particularly remarkable about the island. Canada and Greenland refused to back down from their claims simply because Hans Island was within 12 miles of their shores. According to international law, if it’s within 12 miles, the country has the territorial right to make a claim, and so, a back and forth began.